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Interior designers learn early on that the most important aspect of their designs is to meet a set of function requirements needed for people to do their thing, whether it is working, learning, healing or living. At its most fundamental, space planning entails two kinds of knowledge. Knowing what things need to be included (partitions, rooms, furnishings, accessories) and knowing how to organize those things to achieve a functional and perceptually good solution to the challenge of space.
Accommodating humans and their things is a complex task. Not only are people different from one another, but the same person is often different in different settings and roles. Furthermore, people’s needs at home differ from those in an office, library or school.
This featured content will cover the fundamentals of space planning in four key environments: offices, healthcare spaces, hospitality and residential environments.
Space planning for the office environment is a many-faceted task that incorporates not only clients’ program requirements (needs, wants, and wishes) but also their current and future conditions, workflow, culture, and vision.
This chapter by Mary Lou Bakker from ‘Space Planning for Commercial Office Interiors’ provides the foundation to starting a new office space plan and covers practical approaches to how to map out space, carry out a plan and assess the culture of the client for whom the planning is being done.
Healthcare design encompasses a variety of facilities including hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centres. Healthcare design is concerned about the physical and psychological well-being of individuals and its primary focus is to deliver quality and efficient care. Space planning is essential to meet this goal whilst ensuing patient-centred needs such as privacy are met alongside facilitating communication and collaboration, empowering patients, promoting safety and security and supporting staff.
The chapter by Linda L. Nussbaumer from ‘Human Factors in the Built Environment’ delves into these requirements, bridging the gap between theory and practice in space planning for these key environments.
As with all forms of design, human-centred approaches are essential for function and form to be in harmony. This is certainly true of the variety of hospitality spaces from large hotels to family-owned inns. These spaces must be designed with human factors in mind to create a place which balances the essentials, such as space, crowding, and security with the possibility for people to socialise and feel comfortable. This chapter looks at these factors as well as anthropometrics and inclusive design to accommodate a diversity of guests, especially those with disabilities, children and the elderly.
Residential design relates to the house—the physical structure. For this structure to become a home, it must be a safe, healthy, and comfortable environment where a person develops a sense of home. As housing varies from a one-story dwelling to multi-level housing, from small dorm rooms to luxury homes, space planning is required to be adaptable to consider individual needs for personal space; good ergonomics for all sizes; and diverse needs based on culture, gender and age. This chapter covers different space planning approaches for different types of housing with example floor plans and photographs to illustrate. This chapter by Dak Kopec explores the broader concepts behind what makes a home and how this is shaped by history, cultural factors and the fusion of functionality with personal taste.
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