Occupants’ Perceptions of Amenity and Efficiency for Verification of Spatial Design Adequacy

• Main Authors: Sangwon Lee, Kwangyun Wohn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: spatial design adequacy; future occupants’ perception; satisfaction; amenity; efficiency; perception processing elaboration
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/1/128

The best spatial design condition to satisfy the occupancy needs of amenity and efficiency is determined through analyzing the spatial design adequacy (SDA). In this study, the relationship between the space design elements and space on future occupants’ perception are analyzed. The thirty-three participants reported their self-evaluated SDA that describes the quality of eight alternative housing living rooms with different spatial factors. The occupants were guided through the perception processing elaboration in order for them to evaluate the actual perception in the real space. The findings demonstrated that the spatial size (e.g., width, depth, and height) is significantly correlated with the overall satisfaction of amenity. It is also found that the spatial shape (e.g., the width-to-depth ratio, the height-to-area ratio, and room shape) may significantly influence the overall satisfaction of efficiency. The findings also demonstrate that the causal relationship between the spatial factors and space is clearly present in the occupants’ perception, reflecting the time-sequential characteristics of the actual experience divided into amenity and efficiency. This result indicates that the correlation between the spatial factors and space of SDA under the occupants’ perception processing elaboration can be a useful guide to predict the occupancy satisfaction of amenity and efficiency in real spaces.