Intention

Measuring social impact of buildings and spaces is critical to understand how architecture intersects with society. Which physical elements contribute to which aspects of social life? Which elements are most likely to affect it positively, how and for whom? This knowledge will allow us to evaluate our work and incorporate user perspectives into future projects. As a result, architects will not only be better informed about the potentials of our impact, but we will also be able to create more socially sustainable (loveable and useful) architecture, landscape, and urbanism.

Implementation

For this project, we concentrated on the topic of sense of comfort in three of HL’s residential projects. With a group of 21 graduate students, we investigated a simple question: how does the courtyard/outdoor space of the building affect the individuals' sense of comfort? We studied a diverse group of people - families, women, youth, the elderly, people of various ethnicities, residents, and visitors - to see how the space promotes comfortable social diversity. The students collected data using three methods: (1) qualitative interviews; (2) observations of life in the space; (3) observations of the physical space.

Impact

The evaluation ended up with identification of several spatial concepts, such as the characteristics of conditional openness, how the space supports social inclusion or exclusion, how shared spaces are experienced, and how defined or undefined space affects ownership. On top of that, the students also received valuable feedback on the physical design and how daily life unfolds in the space. For instance, the building's angled design, which reduces visibility between units, and the use of recycled bricks are both valued by residents.