Empathy and difference

Front view of a person praying

Empathy and difference

ARC620 | Fall 2020
Professor Adam Thibodeaux

The relationship between designer and user is inevitably marked by difference; in most cases, the designer’s lived identity and experiences are different than those of the user for which they design. These differences may be the direct or indirect result of language, race, sex, ability and physiology, among other factors. This difference is unavoidable, but should not be seen as restrictive. Inclusive design requires difference to be acknowledged, understood and bridged.

Empathy can be used as a tool for acknowledging and addressing difference between the designer and user. The notion of empathy is closely related to its historical precursor, sympathy, but takes on a more specific definition in the context of inclusive design. Where the two concepts do overlap, sympathy implies sharing (or having the capacity to share) the feelings of another, while empathy implies imagining, or having the capacity to imagine, feelings that one does not actually have. Empathy is the ability to recognize, internalize and relate to difference.

As a technical methods course, students engaged methodology directly by enacting it. The seminar used its participants as its case studies. Throughout the semester, students alternatively assumed both the roles of user and designer, to understand difference and action empathy among the group. The group first learned to understand and articulate their own differences and how they impact relationships to space. Through introspection, vulnerability, and ultimately empathy, students then worked in pairs to assimilate these differences and design with them in mind.

Design for inclusive environments

Student rendering - wooden tiny house

Design for inclusive environments

ARC623 | Fall 2020
Professor Jordana Maisel

Inclusive Design empowers the people who use products, buildings and communities by taking their perspective and making it the central focus of the design process. Rooted in a critique of designer-centric practice and embracing an ethic of social responsibility, this new paradigm focuses on developing form from function to increase the usefulness and responsiveness of our physical world for a diverse range of people. Students selected a group of individuals currently excluded from the environment and prepared a literature review. Students then conducted a focused interview with a person currently excluded from the environment. Based on the interview, students identified a design need and developed a preliminary schematic plan and/or design proposal.

Methods of gathering information – Learning about people in the designed environment

Diagrams of different methods of gathering information

Methods of gathering information – Learning about people in the designed environment

ARC621 | Spring 2020
Professor Sue Weidemann

Creating environments which all people can experience in an inclusive and positive manner is important.  The previous course in this sequence (ARC 620 : Space and Behavior) explored behavioral issues related to different environmental settings. This course explored the methods by which we can learn about people’s responses to the designed environment. Learning about these techniques is critical to get evidence-based user information for future design & planning work. Information gathering methods explored during this course included both qualitative and quantitative approaches : archival methods, trace measures, spatial syntax analysis, observational techniques (both indirect and direct), focus group methods, interviews and surveys.

Practicing inclusive design

musuem lobby with seating

Practicing inclusive design

ARC624 | Spring 2020
Professor Edward Steinfeld

This course provided experience in the implementation of universal design and introduced key methods in the practice of universal design to the students. Four major topical areas were explored : learning spaces, wayfinding, accessibility, and stair safety. The methods introduced included representing people in places, knowledge translation, evaluation in use, systematic audits and recommendations, diagnostic evaluation. Case studies from design practice, research and service activities conducted at the IDEA Center over the last 20 years were presented to the class. 

 

Design for inclusive environments

Photographs of projects by the IDEA Center

Design for inclusive environments

ARC623 | Fall 2019
Professor Jordana Maisel

Inclusive Design empowers the people who use products, buildings and communities by taking their perspective and making it the central focus of the design process. Rooted in a critique of designer-centric practice and embracing an ethic of social responsibility, this new paradigm focuses on developing form from function to increase the usefulness and responsiveness of our physical world for a diverse range of people. Students selected a group of individuals currently excluded from the environment and prepared a literature review. Students then conducted a focused interview with a person currently excluded from the environment. Based on the interview, students identified a design need and developed a preliminary schematic plan and/or design proposal.

Space and behavior – Human responses to intentional environments

Photographs of a restaurant in an aquarium and an office space

Space and behavior – Human responses to intentional environments

ARC620 | Fall 2019
Professor Sue Weidemann

Architects and other designers/planners have a responsibility for being knowledgeable about how their designs affect the people who use them. When people’s needs are adequately addressed, there can be many positive results. Health care recipients can experience less stress and recover more quickly. Student learning in schools and classrooms can be enhanced; office workers may have higher levels of performance and job satisfaction (and fewer work related illnesses), etc. Thus, it is critical to learn how to design humane, useful, and enriching places and spaces.

This course helped the students examine the many ways in which humans respond to (and often modify) both private and public space. Human responses to the environment, including behavioral, emotional, perceptual, and cognitive reactions, issues such as privacy, safety, usability, way-finding, satisfaction, wellness, comfort, etc. were examined in various environmental settings (e.g., residential, healthcare, educational, work, entertainment, etc.). 

Design for inclusive environments

Diagrammatic plan and photos of bars

Design for inclusive environments

ARC623 | Fall 2018
Professor Jordana Maisel

Inclusive Design empowers the people who use products, buildings and communities by taking their perspective and making it the central focus of the design process. Rooted in a critique of designer-centric practice and embracing an ethic of social responsibility, this new paradigm focuses on developing form from function to increase the usefulness and responsiveness of our physical world for a diverse range of people. Students selected a group of individuals currently excluded from the environment and prepared a literature review. Students then conducted a focused interview with a person currently excluded from the environment. Based on the interview, students identified a design need and developed a preliminary schematic plan and/or design proposal.

Design for inclusive environments

Axonometric of a bamboo and steel structure with material swatches

Design for inclusive environments

ARC623 | Fall 2016
Professor Jordana Maisel

Inclusive Design empowers the people who use products, buildings and communities by taking their perspective and making it the central focus of the design process. Rooted in a critique of designer-centric practice and embracing an ethic of social responsibility, this new paradigm focuses on developing form from function to increase the usefulness and responsiveness of our physical world for a diverse range of people. Students selected a group of individuals currently excluded from the environment and prepared a literature review. Students then conducted a focused interview with a person currently excluded from the environment. Based on the interview, students identified a design need and developed a preliminary schematic plan and/or design proposal.

Design for inclusive environments

Diagrammatic plan of an exhibition space

Design for inclusive environments

ARC623 | Fall 2015
Professor Jordana Maisel

Inclusive Design empowers the people who use products, buildings and communities by taking their perspective and making it the central focus of the design process. Rooted in a critique of designer-centric practice and embracing an ethic of social responsibility, this new paradigm focuses on developing form from function to increase the usefulness and responsiveness of our physical world for a diverse range of people. Students selected a group of individuals currently excluded from the environment and prepared a literature review. Students then conducted a focused interview with a person currently excluded from the environment. Based on the interview, students identified a design need and developed a preliminary schematic plan and/or design proposal.

Design for inclusive environments

Student rendering - interior view of an office space

Design for inclusive environments

ARC623 | Fall 2014
Professor Jordana Maisel

Inclusive Design empowers the people who use products, buildings and communities by taking their perspective and making it the central focus of the design process. Rooted in a critique of designer-centric practice and embracing an ethic of social responsibility, this new paradigm focuses on developing form from function to increase the usefulness and responsiveness of our physical world for a diverse range of people. Students selected a group of individuals currently excluded from the environment and prepared a literature review. Students then conducted a focused interview with a person currently excluded from the environment. Based on the interview, students identified a design need and developed a preliminary schematic plan and/or design proposal.