The aim is to develop guidance for indoor design that inspire a desire to read. The background is that there is dissatisfaction with the work environments in open offices. The starting point for the thesis is that "Prospect-Refuge" theory is atttracting interest among architects working with outdoor environments. The theory's basis is that the natural selection has resulted in a preference for places where one can "see wihout being seen". The case study builds on 77 questionnaire answers and 14 interviews. The contacts have included dialogue about lighting design and reading dogs. The librarians would like their libraries to invest in reading recesses, but they also worry about risks with not visible areas. There is interest in stimulating, intelligible library layouts with cosy seating's where the readers feel safe to have their "back free", i.e. that nobody will approach (from behind) without being detected. However, almost all library investments in indoor environments are restricted to faults and risks, usually related to physical accessibility. None of the interviewees' are aware of any policy document that promote library investments in comfortable circumstances for reading. The library persons view is that the Reading-Refuge concept has the potential to be useful as a guide for development of settings for reading. The concluding part make use of theories about restorative recovery. There is a need for reading environments that match people's inherited and acquired abilities to build and manage mental energy. The thesis concludes with tangible recommendations for design of reading-promoting library layout, reading refuges and lighting design. This is a two years master's thesis in Library and information science.

This project centers on an office environment and the physical and psychological well-being of the people who work within it. Located at 525 Beresford Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Churchill Park United Church was converted to serve as an office space for a hypothetical publishing firm, Choice Publications. With recent knowledge concerning the health and well-being of employees, the design of workplaces has shifted to comprise a human-centered approach. The purpose of this practicum project was to investigate the evolving nature of the office and to determine its role regarding the identity, well-being, and behavior of individuals in order to better accommodate their needs. Central to the exploration is the study of environmental psychology theories and the introvert-extrovert dichotomy. Research into third place theory and the significance of home act as the primary lenses to evolve conventional office design into a hybrid of new typologies. / October 2015

Master of Science / Department of Architecture / David R. Seamon / This thesis provides an overview of some key researchers and research topics in the field of environment-behavior studies (EBS), an interdisciplinary field that examines ways in which the natural and human-made environments contribute to human well-being. A key aim of environment-behavior studies is to better understand clients’ and users’ environmental needs, and to design the physical environment accordingly. Specifically, this thesis highlights two key research questions: (1) What are environment-behavior studies and why are they relevant to architecture and environmental design? and (2) How can environment-behavior studies be drawn upon practically to generate more effective architectural and environmental design? To provide answers to these two questions, the thesis first introduces five “pioneers” in environment-behavior studies— psychologist Roger Barker, anthropologist Edward Hall, psychologist Robert Sommer, urban designer Kevin Lynch, and architect Christopher Alexander—and reviews their major work. This discussion provides a general understanding as to what environment-behavior studies involve and how they have design significance. Next the thesis overviews three major theories developed in environment-behavior studies: (1) territoriality theory; (2) cognitive-mapping theory; and (3) prospect-refuge theory. Each of these theories is overviewed, and pragmatic examples are provided to indicate each theory’s value for architecture and environmental design.

Children today have difficulty in finding places to play in the modern Swedish welfare society. Spontaneous play in the streets has almost vanished. When parents drive their children to different activities and institutions where the children are supervised and controlled by adults, the children are under constant surveillance. It’s not children or children’s desire to play that has changed, it is society. Despite this surveillance children still manage to create their own places. The aim of this study is to investigate when children create their own places in the preschool in a structured surveillance society as well as to find out what kind of materials they need to create such places. To be able to find out the answers to these questions I performed a mini ethnographic study in a preschool where I observed children. I followed the ethics rules of the Swedish research council. Ideas and concepts that I used were places for children – children’s places, breaking rules as a way to enter play, affordance as well as the theory of prospect refuge. Through these it was possible for me to identify and analyze when children were creating their own places as well as what materials that they used. The results show that children are capable of creating their own places, despite being under constant surveillance in the preschool. They managed to do so both indoors and outdoors. They both created their own places as well as used “places for children” as their own. By creating children’s places of their own, they get to break rules and use creativity as well as learn with their whole bodies, which benefits both their experience of joy as well as their learning.

本研究目的是從注意力恢復理論的觀點檢驗服務環境中的人際因素如何影響恢復體驗，進而帶給顧客注意力幸福感。人際因素有顧客小群體的人際融洽、其他顧客的相似性、外表及行為適當性、以及服務人員的服務友誼、顧客導向行為與銷售導向行為。本研究執行兩個研究，研究一將會透過量表建構過程發展一個恢復體驗量表，適用於享樂型人身處理或心理刺激處理類型的服務業，並得知恢復體驗的概念內涵與組成要素。研究二將檢驗恢復體驗的前因與後果，以及恢復體驗是否會中介人際因素與注意力幸福感之間的關係。研究一結果指出恢復體驗由內容迷戀、暫時逃離、動機相容、能力相容、活動新奇感與心流六個子構面組成，該量表共以21題衡量，並具有良好的信度、收斂效度、區別效度與外在效度。研究二結果指出服務環境中的人際因素會顯著的影響恢復體驗，而恢復體驗亦會帶來顧客的注意力幸福感，恢復體驗會完全中介人際因素與注意力幸福感之間的關係。根據研究結果討論理論、方法與管理意涵。在服務業情境的恢復體驗概念內涵比大自然情境多了過程迷戀面向，但是少了一致性面向。恢復體驗的前因應不只限於與大自然有關的實體因素而已，因為人際因素亦是恢復體驗重要的前因。恢復體驗與其子構面間的關係應被建模為反映型而非形成型。本研究提供服務業者指南，告知其如何透過人際因素的形塑與管理，帶給顧客注意力幸福感。由於小群體融洽相對於其他人際因素而言對顧客的恢復體驗影響較大，服務業者應將較多資源分配在管理顧客小群體上，並促成其產生小群體融洽。最後，提出研究限制與未來研究方向。 / The purpose of this research is to examine how interpersonal factors in service environment influence restorative experience, which in turn facilitates attention-related well-being of customers from the perspective of attention restoration theory. Interpersonal factors include small groups (i.e., interpersonal rapport), other customers (i.e., similarity, physical appearance, and suitability of behavior), and service providers (i.e., service friendship, customer orientation, and selling orientation). Two studies were conducted. Study 1 developed a scale of restorative experience applicable to hedonic service industry of people-processing or mental stimulus processing types. Also, the conceptual domain and components of restorative experience were discussed. Study 2 examined the antecedents and consequences of restorative experience and whether restorative experience mediates the relationship between interpersonal factors and attention-related well-being. The results of study 1 indicated that restorative experience is comprised of six dimensions- content fascination, escape, motivation compatibility, competence compatibility, novelty of activity, and flow. The new scale is measured using 21 items and has good reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and external validity. The results of study 2 indicated that interpersonal factors in service environment significantly influence restorative experience, which in turn influences attention-related well-being. Restorative experience completely mediates the relationship between interpersonal factors and attention-related well-being. Theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications are discussed. Compared to natural environment, restorative experience in the service environment contains the dimension of process fascination but has no dimension of coherence. Since interpersonal factors facilitate restorative experience, the antecedents of restorative experience should not be confined to natural elements of physical environment as done in the past studies. The relationships between restorative experience and its sub-dimensions should be modeled as reflective, not formative. This research provides guideline for service marketers to manage and harness interpersonal factors and improve attention-related well-being for customers. Since rapport in customer small group has more influence than other interpersonal factors on restorative experience, service marketers should put more resource in managing customer small groups and facilitating rapport among members in customer small group. In the end, limitations and direction of future research are presented.