When designers become arrogant or unresponsive, we hurt not only the particular recipient of our insolent behavior, but we damage for all of us the opportunity to become known, finally and at last, as the principal deliverers of design. In order to truly understand the reasoning behind human preferences, it is essential to understand human psychology. Other than the biological need for air, food and water, mankind's most pressing concern is security, the need to be safe. It is easy to see how wide open spaces, while offering full visibility, cause discomfort in that they are not protective. Deep, dark spaces, on the other hand, afford privacy but deny the opportunity to view and assess the outside world.
Windowless rooms pose the same problem.
Spacious-ness and partial enclosure appear to be the most satisfying. It's been only recently accepted that the environment could positively or negatively influence the body's ability to heal. Hospitals and clinics were white, hard-surfaced and sterile. Health care professionals, however, are beginning to understand the healing power of design and are demanding colors which comfort, architectural cues which aid wayfinding, plants and sunlight to relieve anxiety. Few places exist in which the power of design can be more keenly felt than in the workplace.