Architects’ Perception of Quality of Life—Impact, Practice, and Barriers
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Procedure
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Housing Examples Associated with Quality in Architecture
3.2. What Impacts QoL
3.3. How Can Architecture Impact QoL?
3.4. Barriers to Building for QoL
4. Discussion
5. Limitations
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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ID | Gender | Role | Years of Practice | No. of Staff | Region | Workshop Participant |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Male | Owner | >15 | 10–19 | Capital | Yes |
2 | Female | Partner, owner | >15 | 20–29 | Southern Denmark | Yes |
3 | Female | Partner | <15 | 20–29 | Northern Denmark | Yes (online) |
4 | Male | Owner | >15 | +40 | Capital | No |
5 | Female | Partner | >15 | +40 | Capital | Yes |
6 | Male | Partner, owner | >15 | +40 | Mid Jutland | No |
7 | Male | Partner, owner | >15 | +40 | Mid Jutland | No |
8 | Male | Owner | >15 | 1–4 | Capital | Yes |
9 | Male | Co-partner | >15 | +40 | Capital | Yes |
10 | Female | Partner, owner | >15 | +40 | Mid Jutland | Yes |
Task | Method | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Free association | The participants were asked to freely associate an example of multi-residential housing types (apartment buildings, townhouses, dormitories, etc.) that they related with architectural quality. They were asked to elaborate on (1) why it was an example of architectural quality and (2) how they perceived that the architecture impacted QoL. |
2 | Card sorting | Twenty-one words related to QoL were written alphabetically on one card. The words were inspired by Eger and Maridal’s [25] classification of various QoL concepts. Participants were asked to (1) choose five words that they perceived impacted QoL and (2) elaborate on their choices. |
3 | Card sorting | Participants were presented with the same card showing 21 words as in Task 2 and asked to (1) choose 5 words out of 21 that they perceived architecture could impact the most and (2) elaborate on their choices. |
Task | Method | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Card sorting | Participants were given photos of six housing buildings identified in Task 1 (from the in-depth interviews) as examples of architectural quality. They were asked to rank the photos, first, according to how they perceived that the architecture positively impacted resident QoL, and second, how they perceived the architecture positively impacted residents’ sense of community. |
2 | Matrix, Organizing and prioritizing | The participants were presented with a matrix. The X-axis was labeled “maturity to adopt the idea in the architectural firms” (small, medium, and large), and the Y-axis was labeled “impact potential of the action” (small, medium, and large). They were asked to (1) discuss and write down ideas on how architectural firms could promote QoL in housing construction, (2) place their notes in the matrix, and (3) elaborate on their thoughts. This task was established to provide a discussion on barriers to promoting QoL in new buildings. |
Housing Example | How It Supports QoL (Verbatim Examples from the Participants) |
---|---|
Maison de Verre | “I can just remember almost fainting when I saw it… in Maison de Verre, you are provided with daylight and transparency… and you can feel it”. ID-5. “At Maison de Verre, they built what they dreamed of, and there is QoL in having influence”. Workshop, ID-7. “I think Maison …. reflects my sense of QoL… where all qualities are optimized”. ID-5. |
Bellavista | “Sea view is important to QoL, and everyone has equal access to it and there is a sense of togetherness in the shape of the estate”. ID-7. “It was typical for its time… but it is still equally attractive in a new societal context. So, it is an example of something that has quality and durability”. ID-7. |
Klinte- gaarden | “It’s a building that fits in the location very well. There are some very basic elements of a good view, a good apartment layout, and a good large balcony for all—things that I think give the residents daily well-being…You have the feeling of being in a building where things have been thought through”. ID-6. “There is also a large common area where you can meet each other... So a lot of thought has gone into the matter of seeing each other and meeting. And of course, it is also helped by the fact that the homes are organized around this shared courtyard, where you move around and see each other”. Workshop, ID-5. |
Vestersøhus | “I like it as a residential building because it takes an enormous amount of courage to create a building that huge and robust and sober… and with an enormous amount of quality in the detailing... And then there is maximum love for everything that has to do with people. In other words, edges and materials and everything has been thought of, and it gives enormous respect for the individual, which I like”. ID-1. “…It manages to take care of the private space and the public space. And this thing with it pressing in and out, there is a dialogue going on about when you are private, and when you part of the community… transitions and respect zones, it’s done so well... it is molded around human needs. There are all sorts of housing qualities woven into these details”. ID-2. |
Kingo houses | “It is designed for QoL, for example, with the open kitchen and the courtyards…The fact that you have a small area that is yours, and next some public space. The mediation between landscape and privacy, the scale, makes these small houses feel big”. ID-04. “Speaking of the Kingo houses, they are cheap, high QoL, fantastic with a small front garden, and down to earth”. Workshop I-D3. |
Tietgen dormitory | “To me, Tietgen is the ultimate piece of architecture. The circular shape and the private living spaces at the outer ring, and the common spaces located around the inner courtyard. I think it contains everything that architecture can be in the most beautiful form. So the residents are both part of the city on the outside, but you also have a community with those you live with, and you have a community around your own kitchen and your own room”. ID-P08. “It is designed so you don’t feel alone and tied at the end of a dead end. The building organizes the communities and flow of people. The smaller community, it starts in your hallway and your communal kitchen, and you can connect with that community, just like you can connect with the community of the entire dormitory. And then there is also the community with the city, which many residents use”. ID-P02. “QoL is so closely tied to something that is outside the building”. Workshop, ID-7. “The community works best in places where there are no individual kitchens. Because then, you’re forced to go out and get a glass of milk or whatever…”. Workshop, ID-2. “Tietgen creates community and engages the young. I think it is the best new example of good architecture that creates both joy and community”. Workshop, D2. |
Category | Verbatim Examples |
---|---|
Environment | “It’s also difficult to live in a home if it doesn’t support the basic things that you need to be happy, including a good daylight and good room height, and access to the outside”. ID-2. “For me, QoL is impacted by physical surroundings, beauty, and sensuousness… I believe that when you get your dream home, or you fulfill some other dream, it gives you an enormous QoL, and it changes something in your physical and mental well-being”. ID-3. “The home is something architecture can influence… how we live every single day… a correctly placed window with the right morning light, shining in, can make the difference of a good start to the day”. ID-5. |
Beauty | “I believe beauty is an essential aspect of QoL. I think many people don’t truly realize it; sure, they can appreciate a beautiful sunset or nature somewhere. But the beauty of light flooding into a home, the beauty of order—I don’t think everyone is blessed with that. Yet, I believe they still sense it. It is important for me, at least, for my well-being, and I think it is for many others too, even if they are not aware of it”. ID-8. “…I think especially the presence or experience of beauty can help bridge some other aspects of life that might not necessarily be ideal, and still install a sense of purpose”. ID-7. “We influence people’s living conditions, how they, in one way or another, live... and then we have the opportunity to influence the surroundings in terms of their beauty”. ID-1. |
Physical health | “Airflow is one of the basic elements that must be in place. It sounds banal, but very unfortunately, we often fail in this”. ID-03. “I simply believe that bad spaces and under-lit, cramped living spaces are bad for physical health… living in an ugly place with a bad view and a balcony from which people can look in makes people sick”. ID-8. “You can promote physical health with mobility and infrastructure, exercise…. But some layers are deeper than that, which we rarely recognize in our architecture, or in the way we live”. ID-4. |
Theme | Frequency | Verbatim Examples |
---|---|---|
Economy and resources | 27 | “Money for improved QoL is the thing that goes out of the budget. It could be, e.g., money allocated for the outdoor environment. It is included last in the budget and is taken out first. I would say that in 99 out of 100 projects, there is planned QoL, also in the drawings, but when it is going to be built—it is all gone because it costs money. But that is also the client and developer who are not ambitious enough for high QoL”. ID-04. |
Building codes and regulations | 20 | “We spend many resources on the process. There is more and more administration, and more and more administrative layers are included in the project. The easy part is to draw the homes—the most difficult part is to get there from beginning to end, to survive all the administrative work, which takes the time from the project”. ID-2. |
Knowledge and communication | 15 | “I think a major barrier could be the lack of knowledge… Now we have lots of generic housing projects based on an old formula, which is rarely challenged”. ID-07. “So, architects must also be knowledgeable about and interested in how people behave. That’s actually where it begins, meaning all our ideas and visions”. ID-P02. “It is easier to talk about a nice wall in oak with a certain distance between the slats as something that can help generate a mood, a certain feeling, a certain identity in a room, a feeling perhaps of QoL, than if we talk about it in terms of what it costs and why it’s difficult to set up”. ID-06. |
The client/ owner | 7 | “The clients do not want any experiments. They want the same thing as last time. So it is very much repetition, and not any new elements for that [QoL]”. ID-7. |
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Jacobi, S.L.; Bjørner, T. Architects’ Perception of Quality of Life—Impact, Practice, and Barriers. Architecture 2024, 4, 267-280. https://doi.org/10.3390/architecture4020016
Jacobi SL, Bjørner T. Architects’ Perception of Quality of Life—Impact, Practice, and Barriers. Architecture. 2024; 4(2):267-280. https://doi.org/10.3390/architecture4020016
Chicago/Turabian StyleJacobi, Stine Lea, and Thomas Bjørner. 2024. "Architects’ Perception of Quality of Life—Impact, Practice, and Barriers" Architecture 4, no. 2: 267-280. https://doi.org/10.3390/architecture4020016