In psychoanalytic literature, psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott defines 'potential space' as the space between 'inner world' - creation of the unconscious fantasy, a private replica of the world and objects around us - and 'outer world' - the actual world, objects and people around us - where intimate relationships and creativity occur. Converged around spatial design and psychological concepts, and developing an understanding of the importance between both, I intend to explore the possibility of bringing the 'potential space' notion into the constructed environment. Highlighting, thus, the human condition of architecture where the designer is not a separate entity from the built environment but an intimate part of it through the design process. This investigation concerns how a psychoanalytic approach can be used to establish a background research which provides a foundation from which new ways of understanding one's own design processes can be launched: a way of moving towards the design practice through a 'self' inner sense.

The main objective of this thesis was to understand the environmental variables that affect humans psychological states when it comes to stress. More specifically, the environmental variables at the company Maintpartner AB's  new Swedish headquarters office in Årsta, Stockholm, a company concentrated on customized industrial maintenance and operation service. In my thesis I found evidence that open-plan solutions would be a stressor due to increase disturbance from coworkers. Open-plan offices could also be perceived as a stressor because of the limitation in personal control. Through implementing nature and/or integrating it via visual escape the space could be perceived as more attractive and less crowded. Maintpartner AB's administrative personnel has highly individual work tasks and therefore a need for customized workplaces.  This resulted in a design concept with separated office rooms, individually designed to meet the staffs individual need. Some areas are designed to work as meeting areas for work or social related encounters

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The thesis is primarily a proposal for a research methodology. Its concern is with the analysis of southern African domestic architecture, which, it is argued, has become separated from the study of social systems and human behaviour. It is suggested that architectural research needs to be grounded in a coherent theoretical framework of a sociological nature if the meaning of buildings in society is to be adequately understood. By combing Bill Hillier et al.' s theory of ' space syntax' with Anthony Giddens ' theory of ' structuration' , a set of concepts and techniques for the study of domestic architecture is formulated. This model is demonstrated using two dwellings in the Cape Town metropolitan area. The emphasis throughout is with understanding systematically how spatial design is integrated with the wider aspects of domestic social life. To reach this understanding, a major theme in southern African architectural studies is examined. This relates to a persistent categorisation, based on formal and functional criteria, of African architecture as 'traditional' , against which is counterposed the more modern or 'designed' architecture of western cultures. As such, two approaches to the study of African architecture on the sub-continent are identified. On the one hand there are those writings that study aspects of built form by focusing on stylistic and technological details. On the other, the emphasis is on the function of buildings, focusing mostly on the non-physical principles of social organisation. Both approaches have as their objective the explication of the social meaning of built form, and each generally excludes the subject and approach of the other. The view adopted in this investigation is that each form of analysis on its own is inadequate. Theories of form and theories of function must, it is argued, necessarily incorporate each other if a rounded and systematic analysis of meaning is to take place. The problem for research is thus one of establishing an adequate methodological basis for understanding in theory that which is materially realised in built form already, namely the integration of society and space. The concern ill this dissertation is consequently with an attempt to answer two seemingly simple questions: How do buildings affect behaviour and activity patterns? and, how do interactions among people affect the form of buildings? By integrating the methodological and descriptive procedures in space syntax with the interpretive framework for social system analysis in structuration theory, an attempt is made to provide sane answers to these questions and thereby to contribute towards a non-functionalist theory of architecture. The conclusions are firstly that the pervasive distinction between 'traditional' and 'modern' architecture is unnecessary and misleading. Secondly, theoretical aspects of both syntax and structuration are identified that may be useful to the development of both.

As most elderly people are believed to spend the majority of their time indoors, the physical interior environment is likely to be of particular importance to them. Research relating to the concerns of elderly people and their perceptions has been subject to significant growth in recent times. This study, then, is concerned with acquiring knowledge of elderly people’s perceptions toward sheltered housing design. The principal aims are to examine and apply multi-methodologies to improve the effectiveness of data gathered from elderly respondents and to understand their perceptions of the interior environments they inhabit. Moreover, the purpose of the study is to determine the relative importance that the elderly attach to the various key interior elements and spatial areas within a sheltered housing scheme, in order to facilitate an improvement in these schemes as a whole. Initially, this thesis provides an introduction briefly explaining the motivation and background of the study along with the research aims and objectives. The related academic literature is then presented along with an outline of the background of each method used. Following this, the main research is detailed describing the four different methods, namely: Visual Record survey, Sketch Map survey, Detailed Recall survey and User-centred Conversational Tour, which are subsequently integrated with the goal of achieving more accurate and reliable results. Furthermore, the findings of the study established the priority of selected interior elements and spatial areas within the recent sheltered housing scheme, as assessed by elderly subjects. The design issues were summarised as the subjects’ perceptions of sheltered housing arrangements and their spatial design preferences. Indeed, they provide a provisional check list for the future design of residential environments for the elderly or modifications to existing facilities. In addition, the study provides a basic understanding of how elderly people observe unfamiliar spaces. More specifically, the results could be used to establish budget priorities relative to the building of new sheltered accommodation and should certainly be considered in the design or modification of residential environments for the elderly. The research was carried out by De Montfort University and in association with Leicester City Council Housing Department (LCC Housing Department). It was an investigation into elderly persons' perceptions of the interior environments of sheltered housing, with the intention of improving contemporary sheltered housing design. The facts presented and views expressed in this thesis are, however, those of the author and not necessarily those of the LCC Housing department.

We are immersed in an era of supermodernity, an age defined by excesses: of information—the acceleration of historical time—spatial overabundance—the nullification of distance by electronic media and transportation—and an excess of self-reflexive individuality. In this context, the idea of place is giving way to non-places: designed spaces in which social relations are tangential and the boundary between the individual and the group is increasingly mediated. Media plays an important role in the creation of non-places, by favoring a removed form of communication made pervasive and extensive through mobile devices. The blurring of the line between media and actuality extends its definition to encompass not only traditional modes such as radio and television but to a web of systems that regulate and determine relationships between people and collective entities. As a visual communicator, I seek to understand the evolving relationship between individuals and society by focusing on the spatial-social codes and gestures that permeate and define our interactions. In my thesis project, I explore the boundary between personal, subjective space and social space in their physical manifestations. I perceive the latent tension that exists between what is expressed and what is kept to ourselves in a highly codified environment. I depict the inadequacies of media narratives to portray human drama and the strength of these codified visual systems to represent the drama of living inside their constraints. I look for ways of representing the duality of our shared vulnerability in the alienation of contemporary living perpetuated through media, and our acceptance of its imbalances.

How form translates as it moves between the physical and the digital has caught my interest. I collect data through different types of 3d scanning exploring a range of technologies. In the digital realm, the information captured presents itself as a messy abstraction to the original where some information is added while other is lost. Developing the material, I adopt complex content aware auto fill algorithms - a strategy that becomes essential for the project.  In my installation visitors can explore thresholds between the real and the virtual. My firm belief is that the traces from the physical and digital wear and tear add value in that they unpack my process, birthing something strange while familiar. / Hur form översätts när den rör sig mellan det fysiska och det digitala har fångat mitt intresse. Jag samlar in data genom olika typer av 3d-skanning och utforskar en rad olika tekniker. I det digitala rummet redovisas den dokumenterade datan som en rörig abstraktion till sitt original, där viss information adderas medan annan förloras. Jag antar i min designprocess komplexa content aware auto fill-algoritmer - en strategi som blir central för projektet. I min installation bjuds besökare att utforska möten mellan det verkliga och det virtuella. Det är min övertygelse att spåren från det fysiska och det digitala slitaget adderar mervärden genom att de packar upp min process samtidigt som något märkligt men bekant materialiseras.

Boundaries and Matter - The intangible and the corporeal A space dedicated to contemplation in a public realm With a philosophical approach to the topics I aim to absorb the dynamics in the meeting between the intangible and the physical. In the urban contemporary environment that we live in I see a need for a physical context that contrasts the flow of information and inputs that we are exposed to.From this point of view I have created a concept of a space for contemplation, as a reply for both visual as well as mental boundaries that connects both the abstraction of the mind to the corporeal. The perception of our surroundings is an acknowledgment and a consciousness of our senses. In our everyday life we are constantly surrounded by a flow of impressions. To contrast this I have created a space where you can calmly travel inward & outwards without being disturbed by the constant flow of information. This project departs as a statement towards the intense frequency of information inputs in our contemporary surrounding, the stressful act to manage our mental boundaries for what we let in and what we leave out. Through this project I wanted to define the abstract spectra of inspirations in the design-process of how I relate to form and the surroundings. Mapping it, formulate and gestalt it. Defining the boundaries to what I see as the scenery of the project. Taking the broad turns of the process leading me to collect bits and pieces from various sources and apply these thoughts in a secondary phase to the actually form-giving. Turning the abstract ideas to a space and an object, interpret in two different manners to a pavilion for contemplation and an idea of seating furniture. Throughout the process I balance the two poles through reflection from a philosophical angle that I follow up with the sensibility for the tactile sensors in how one perceive a physical object. Leading through historical values and ideas tied towards the spatial dimensions and the various scales in handling space and object. Using the materiality to create a connection to the body and wrapping up to embrace as a protective shield around the body. With the gestalt of a boundless space within given dimensions that are not obvious or sharply defined, to instead become an extension of your mind and body. As you become the centre of the space, your thoughts are the boundaries and the spatial dimensions are framing the action.

Den här rapporten beskriver ett examensarbete som fördjupat sig i rummet som informationsbärare. Studieobjektet var gårdsplanen till en nyförvaltad fastighet som ska skifta funktion från äldreboende till företagslokaler och lägenhetsboende. Arbetet skedde i samarbete med utvecklingsbolaget Nygarn Utveckling AB och var förlagt i Östergarn på östra Gotland. Målet var att skapa en attraktiv och lättorienterad miljö i anslutning till fastigheten. För att nå målet har teorier om bland annat miljöpsykologi, färglära och rumsdesign samt kvalitativa observationer, analyser och intervju använts. Resultatet blev ett förslag som innebär att den framförliggande gårdsplanen till fastigheten förändras. Marken kuperas och nya gångvägar, planteringar och parkering anläggs och gårdsplanens form och uttryck blir därmed både mer intimt och parklikt samtidigt som orienteringsbarheten ökar. / This report describes a degree project about space as a information carrier. The object of study was a yard belonging to a recently accessed property that will shift function from retirement home to apartments and commercial premises. The work was done in collaboration with Nygarn Utveckling AB and was stationed in Östergarn on eastern Gotland, Sweden. The aim was to create an attractive and easy-oriented environment adjacent to the property. To succeed, theories including environmental psychology and spatial design, and qualitative observations, analyzes and interview have been used. The result was a proposal whereby the landscape of the front yard changes. New footpaths, plantation and parking construction makes the form of the yard change and the expression becomes both more intimate and park-like while making it easy to navigate.

Det här är ett examensarbete i informationsdesign med inriktning mot rumslig gestaltning. Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka utvecklingsmöjligheterna för den rumsliga utformningen i X huvudentré, med målet om att rumsligt stärka informationslänken mellan företaget och besökare. Genom att skapa en förståelse för hur rummets gestaltning samspelar med människans upplevelse ges en större insikt i hur ett rum bör utformas för ett bestämt syfte, både för att kunna stödja en praktisk funktion och även en visuell upplevelse. Syftet med de undersökningar som utförts i examensarbetet har varit att få en uppfattning kring besökarnas upplevelse av den rumsliga utformningen i X huvudentré. Huruvida rummet som informationslänk fungerar mellan företag och besökare. Genom att använda mig av olika metoder såsom litteraturstudie, semistrukturerad intervju, observationer, notationer och enkäter kunde en bristande informativ länk konstateras. Med stöd av litteratur och olika forsknings- teorier har jag designat en modul där olika rumsliga element har inkluderats, för att på ett tydligare och mer integrerande sätt presentera företaget. Med modulens centrala placering skapas ett mer lättillgängligt informationsflöde i rummet. Modulens form och innehåll väcker besökarens intresse ”på vägen”. Det blir en central plats för information, där företaget genom sin moderna teknik kan förmedla nya projekt, sin visionsbild och på så sätt stärka sin image.