Designing User-Centred Prefabricated Family Houses in Denmark - Essay Sample

Introduction

The results obtained from data collection and analysis will give a conclusive idea of what should be done to make prefabricated family houses in Denmark more user-centred. The five houses that were selected will enable the project manager to know the missing elements and add the features to those houses without redesigning the constructions. The main goal is to ensure that the occupants of the houses interact with the buildings through the senses of touch, smell, vision, and hearing, and emotionally connect with the houses.

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The first action will the identification of the materials that were used in the five prefabricated houses in Denmark chosen for the project. Only the necessary adjustments will be made to achieve the objective of the project. For instance, the materials used in the furnishing space will be transformed in such a way that there will be an emotional appeal afterwards, not only visually, but also considering other senses like touch (Gepshtein & Snider, 2019). For instance, the flooring could be changed. In most cases, designers often consider the flooring patterns or the qualities of the materials used. The unfavourable materials will be changed and replaced with those that are warm and those that do not produce echoes (Mehaffy & Salingaros, 2018). One of the main considerations will be transforming the sensory experience of space. The flooring can also be changed into concrete squares to assist in temperature moderation in the houses.

Another consideration that may be made to make the family houses to make them user-centred. It would be essential to consider children in architectural design. A spiral staircase will be added to those houses out of the five selected with families with children to facilitate their play but with a lookout on the roof (Gepshtein & Snider, 2019).

The other strategy that could be used to transform the prefabricated houses into user-centred homes is by adding some gardens around the selected houses. A green-environment around the homes with different species of plants will enable the occupants' senses to be incorporated into the surroundings and have a neuroscience appeal too. For instance, some sections could contain thorny plants, other sweet roses, or a garden of strawberries. Therefore, the gardens will psychologically interact with human senses since some are soothing while others are horrendous (Gepshtein & Snider, 2019). The main goal of the study is to understand human needs instead of financial decisions, which most architects consider when establishing a building.

The next consideration will be the sense of sight. After the research study, the results will establish if the five houses that were selected have a good appeal to the eye. Those houses that will have dull colours on them will be repainted. Those colours that have a calming effect on the brain like grey will be used. Bright colours could also be used to ensure that there is a lively atmosphere for the pleasure of the eye (Mehaffy & Salingaros, 2018). Some colours have a negative visual impact since sight has a significant effect on the perception process. Some of the factors that will be considered regarding the lighting in the selected houses are the wavelengths, purity, and amplitude.

The results obtained during the study will also determine if some of the surfaces in the houses need some transformation. For instance, some surfaces will be made smooth and others rough since the texture is also part of the emotional appeal required in architecture (Mehaffy & Salingaros, 2018).

Gepshtein, S. and Snider, J., 2019. Neuroscience for architecture: The evolving science of perceptual meaning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(29), pp.14404-14406.

Mehaffy, M.W. and Salingaros, N.A., 2018. The Neuroscience of Architecture: The Good, the Bad-and the Beautiful. Traditional Building Magazine.