Week Two: Control Theory

     Imagine you are standing in IKEA. Overwhelmed? I know. I’ve been there!

    You walk in the door and up the elevator to the showroom. Unlike a normal IKEA, this showroom had no directors on the floor, no sections where like furniture is arranged, and no map. You are staring at a wide-open warehouse full of random pieces of furniture.

    This would make anyone feel out of control, maybe even uneasy. Luckily, IKEA is smarter than that, and we do not have to experience what I laid out above. A normal IKEA can make anyone feel out of control, but in an effort to make the shopping experience more pleasant for consumers, there are directors on the floor, like furniture arranged together, and a clearly laid out path for people to follow so that no items or furniture are missed.

    This is purposeful! Not only do these measures prevent people from getting lost, the design plays directly into our basic human need for control.

     In built environments, our need for control must be addressed for the design to be effective. Our control level, whether it is perceived or actual, varies depending on the setting of the environment. We have more control in private spaces than we do in public spaces. By addressing the difference between these two types of spaces and seeing real-world examples, control theory begins to take shape.

• Private spaces are those areas intended for personal use. A clear private space in interior design is a bedroom. 

• Public spaces are common areas occupied by many different people at many different times. Public spaces include office buildings, parks, and restaurants. 

     Now, it is easy to see how one might experience control theory in a private space, such as a bedroom. Usually, in a bedroom, the occupant may have complete control over the environment, its contents, and the behavior that occurs in that space. As a designer, a bedroom is an easy place to offer the user actual control. 

My bedroom is an example of a private space where I have a high sense of control over the furniture and its location and behaviors that occur in the space. 

     A public space, such as an office or city park, is challenging when attempting to give the users of the space a sense of control. Office buildings have private office spaces; even a cubicle can be a private space. Even something as simple as a cubicle can provide a worker with a sense of control, making him more comfortable in the space. Control in an open area, such as a city park, is a little more difficult to account for in a design. While parks do not necessarily have built-in control, the concept is all around us. When walking through the park, you might notice people on their phones, scrolling through twitter. This simple act is a form of control, blocking oneself off from unwanted contact or conversation. As humans, we also require some level of personal space. Through control theory, this need for personal space can be achieved. 

 Have you ever sat down on a bench and placed a bag next to you? This simple act is also a form of control we take when we are in a public space with little built-in control. 

     Now, these theory might sound a little dense, I know, but without addressing these concepts, our designs will fall short in creating control, whether it is actual or perceived. By addressing the difference between public and private spaces and how we naturally have control or adjust our behavior to gain control, the importance of control theory in built environments becomes clear. Control theory allows designers to make users of a space more comfortable and the space itself more functional, and how important is that! After all, people's needs are at the core of our industry!

Resources:

IKEA

Control and Public Space Quality