I am writing a thesis entitled 'To what extent has cognitive design influenced the design of libraries in the last 10 years?' and have a strong idea on where I am heading with it.
I am curious to explore how buildings manipulate people psychologically and physically (i.e more light in a room theoretically leads to heightened moods or the positioning of escalators in order to force us to move around a shop in a strategically thought out way.) More specifically, as I found that this area is one that could be explored endlessly, I have decided to focus my reading to the evolution of Libraries over the last 10 years and was planning to look at a few case studies and how their rebuilds have been designed in a certain way to change how people behave in these spaces.
My problem is that I am struggling to find texts that would enhance my thesis. I have a limited amount of resources and would much appreciate it if anybody has any recommendations on academic texts that correlate with my study.
Additionally, anything that links to this thread in regards to sustainability and the effect that cognitive design has on the environment would also be useful (e.g. does designing to manipulate the user effect the efficiency of the building?)
( o Y o )
Jul 6, 19 12:50 pm
The term "cognitive design" is redundant.
15wedwards
Jul 8, 19 6:57 am
How do you suggest I pitch my research question instead?
SneakyPete
Jul 8, 19 11:51 am
"the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses aka design"
Non Sequitur
Jul 6, 19 12:51 pm
was that topic given to you or did you come up with it by yourself?
15wedwards
Jul 8, 19 6:55 am
It was something that I decided to explore by myself.
Non Sequitur
Jul 8, 19 7:14 am
That’s rather hard to believe. I would think that if you would already have a decent foundation to pull from before committing to it. Anyways, try not limit yourself to only 10years of library history. Take 1000 years and see the progress. Fuck it, start with Alexandria and end with Kahn. That’s your research bracket. Now work on developing a real thesis statement. What you have is a weekend essay subject. Not a thesis.
15wedwards
Jul 8, 19 7:20 am
haha, thank you. I was inspired to study the area when observing the school's own library. How people interact with such buildings and how they use them on such a frequent basis. Then, after further thinking, I flipped the situation and questioned rather than asking 'how do we interact with buildings' i considered 'how do buildings interact with us', more specifically, how are they designed to force and manipulate us and our interactions.
Non Sequitur
Jul 8, 19 8:34 am
^so, building on that, how do libraries affect/manipulate us? Is there some sort of "big book" company that funds key library design architects to place certain collections or subject matter in more prominent locations? Is the scale of the space just so that other books get pushed into the shadows so that no one is tempted to peruse them?
Then flip the question again and make deliberate design choices in a new library design that effectively manipulates people to certain collections. If you succeed, you can have full control on the information available to the peasants (think of yourself as the church from past centuries, minus the rape of children and whatnot). You will be king (or queen).
x-jla
Jul 6, 19 2:11 pm
The thesis is what exactly? Sounds more like a case study.
x-jla
Jul 6, 19 2:14 pm
You need to dissect the ways that design affects cognition, and categorize it somehow, find evidence, then form a thesis that can be stated in 1-2 sentences, and applied to other projects.
x-jla
Jul 6, 19 2:16 pm
Daylighting, natural ventilation, openness to outdoors, seating arrangements, materials, etc etc etc...it’s a loaded topic.
15wedwards
Jul 8, 19 6:55 am
Thank you!
Volunteer
Jul 8, 19 7:51 am
Several very good books on the subject to start you off: "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" $42,98, "The Library: A World History", $52.71, and Massimo Listri: "The Worlds Most beautiful Libraries XXL" $129.05.
One element that is almost universal in these libraries is one you did not mention: Art (including sculpture). Almost all of the architects went to extraordinary lengths to bring light into their libraries even though many were designing within a classical framework.
15wedwards
Jul 8, 19 8:06 am
Thank you! This is incredibly useful.
Volunteer
Jul 8, 19 8:02 am
^
Non Sequitur
Jul 8, 19 8:32 am
I love the thought that the OP is struggling to find texts while researching the subject of libraries... If only there were a building with rows of books one could easily search.
,,,,
Jul 8, 19 11:18 am
1.Great buildings don't manipulate-they create a dialogue.
2.Why are you only looking for evidence that supports your idea?
I am writing a thesis entitled 'To what extent has cognitive design influenced the design of libraries in the last 10 years?' and have a strong idea on where I am heading with it.
I am curious to explore how buildings manipulate people psychologically and physically (i.e more light in a room theoretically leads to heightened moods or the positioning of escalators in order to force us to move around a shop in a strategically thought out way.) More specifically, as I found that this area is one that could be explored endlessly, I have decided to focus my reading to the evolution of Libraries over the last 10 years and was planning to look at a few case studies and how their rebuilds have been designed in a certain way to change how people behave in these spaces.
My problem is that I am struggling to find texts that would enhance my thesis. I have a limited amount of resources and would much appreciate it if anybody has any recommendations on academic texts that correlate with my study.
Additionally, anything that links to this thread in regards to sustainability and the effect that cognitive design has on the environment would also be useful (e.g. does designing to manipulate the user effect the efficiency of the building?)
The term "cognitive design" is redundant.
How do you suggest I pitch my research question instead?
"the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses aka design"
was that topic given to you or did you come up with it by yourself?
It was something that I decided to explore by myself.
That’s rather hard to believe. I would think that if you would already have a decent foundation to pull from before committing to it. Anyways, try not limit yourself to only 10years of library history. Take 1000 years and see the progress. Fuck it, start with Alexandria and end with Kahn. That’s your research bracket. Now work on developing a real thesis statement. What you have is a weekend essay subject. Not a thesis.
haha, thank you. I was inspired to study the area when observing the school's own library. How people interact with such buildings and how they use them on such a frequent basis. Then, after further thinking, I flipped the situation and questioned rather than asking 'how do we interact with buildings' i considered 'how do buildings interact with us', more specifically, how are they designed to force and manipulate us and our interactions.
^so, building on that, how do libraries affect/manipulate us? Is there some sort of "big book" company that funds key library design architects to place certain collections or subject matter in more prominent locations? Is the scale of the space just so that other books get pushed into the shadows so that no one is tempted to peruse them?
Then flip the question again and make deliberate design choices in a new library design that effectively manipulates people to certain collections. If you succeed, you can have full control on the information available to the peasants (think of yourself as the church from past centuries, minus the rape of children and whatnot). You will be king (or queen).
The thesis is what exactly? Sounds more like a case study.
You need to dissect the ways that design affects cognition, and categorize it somehow, find evidence, then form a thesis that can be stated in 1-2 sentences, and applied to other projects.
Daylighting, natural ventilation, openness to outdoors, seating arrangements, materials, etc etc etc...it’s a loaded topic.
Thank you!
Several very good books on the subject to start you off: "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" $42,98, "The Library: A World History", $52.71, and Massimo Listri: "The Worlds Most beautiful Libraries XXL" $129.05.
One element that is almost universal in these libraries is one you did not mention: Art (including sculpture). Almost all of the architects went to extraordinary lengths to bring light into their libraries even though many were designing within a classical framework.
Thank you! This is incredibly useful.
^
I love the thought that the OP is struggling to find texts while researching the subject of libraries... If only there were a building with rows of books one could easily search.
1.Great buildings don't manipulate-they create a dialogue.
2.Why are you only looking for evidence that supports your idea?