How to Design a Home as a Fitting Ecosystem

American Anthropology Association - Annual Meeting, November 22, 2008 Moderator – Elizabeth Tunstall, Ph.D. – Transdisciplinary Theory Panel A Systematic Approach to Designing a Home as a Fitting Ecosystem Christopher K. Travis Sentient Architecture, LLC Nidiant Corporation – Truehome.net E-mail – chris.travis@nidiant.com

Question: What is “home”?
A building
A financial asset
A state of being
A concept or set of ideas
An emotional experience
A claim to personal space
A statement of identity
A pattern of relationships
ASSUMPTIONS

What is “home” made of? (Not a house…a home!)
Dreams and Memories
Past experiences, fantasies, desires
Bricks and Sticks
Construction materials & components
Money, Time and Effort
Mortgages, rent, home improvements
Brain Function
Memory, perception, hormones, neurotransmitters

Evidence that “home” exists
Language
Words, cross-cultural concepts
Qualitative Evidence
Anecdotal stories, patterns of behavior, social agreements
Physiology
Animal-built structures, biometrics
Patterns of Relationship
Genetic, environmental, cultural, political, financial, psychological

A Definition of “Home” For humans, “home” is the complex relationship between the physical characteristics of a claimed, intimate space; the experience, nature and behavior of the inhabitants of that space; and the environment in which all occur. Like a forest, a pond, a city or a living body…a “home” is an ecosystem.

Question: What is a “human being”?
Animal with unique DNA
A unique set of behaviors
A unique phenotype
An ontological experience
A socio-cultural phenomenon
A psychological structure
A complex adaptive system
ASSUMPTIONS

What is the experience of being “human” made of?
Sensory Perceptions
Thoughts
Emotions & Feelings
Physical Sensations
ALL are the result of brain functions cued by the environment around us.

Evidence that the experience of being “human” exists
Complex Language
We have a broad variety of ways to say we are human.
Qualitative Evidence
Anecdotal agreement. Again, we are human because we say so!
Built Environment
Humans are uniquely invasive for a large species. We change the world in big ways.
Patterns of Relationship
We keep doing the same things over and over and over.

How do you design a “home” to fit the experience of being human?

Particularly since most homes are shared by more than one person.

… and each of us has a unique “experience of home”!

What is stopping human-centered architectural design?
Complexity of problem
Limited cross disciplinary study and “real world” applications
Timid or limited theories
Humans are irrational and lack awareness of what motivates their decisions!

Our Homes Are in Our Heads! (But most of us think our “experience of home” is in a building and approach the problem with “how to” methods.) People make most of their choices about their homes based on emotion and instinct…then rationalize their decisions after the fact.

At Truehome  , we see a “home” as an ecosystem, so we map the behavior and features of the inhabitants’ system.

Truehome  Testing Domains
Site Conditions
Map what already exists in their heads about the process of creating a home
Emotional Response
Map affective and aversive emotional responses to images and questions
Birth Family Associations
Seek associative environmental structures in their attachment psychology
Goals and Values
Rational goals and values and subconscious behavioral goals and values
Relationship Dynamics
Map interpersonal, lifestyle & decision dynamics
Privacy and Intimacy
Map the dynamics of how they regulate their availability and needs for attention
Style Associations
Trend user responses to images. Random samples of styles, orientation and features.
Physical & Financial
Record physical objects, dimensions and emotional associations. Work with the dynamics of budget VS desires

Other techniques used to translate data into design criteria:
Mental health professional and consumer join the design team
Work in an idealized metaphoric context
Observe body language, vocal tone, facial expressions. Visit existing homes
Seek stories of past homes - regression
Give priority to strong aversive and affective responses to features in images
Investigate birth family dynamics and space memory associations in memory
Employ techniques for prioritization

Evidence that it works as a systematic process
Over a decade of successful use in the field
Substantial increase in customer satisfaction
Significant increase in client retention
Roughly 30% reduction in production costs
Endorsed by a variety of academic experts
All clients report long-term satisfaction in terms of the objective – fitting personal environments

… and a reasonable amount of media attention.

Automating Truehome  on the Internet to facilitate delivery
Truehome’s environment/behavior authoring, analysis and delivery software is functional – Exercises can be authored by non-programmers.
Now engaged in user experience and product user interface review – Pre-market
Patent filed 2006
Current Challenges: User experience, project specific products, capital, new paradigm for design

Truehome  Projects Project: Johnston Major psychological influences: Need to control social environment, self expression Major style influences: Desire to be site appropriate; California childhood (arts & crafts) Time spent in rural Italy (lifestyle and dining)

Project: Ferester Major psychological influences: , empty nest, fun and family, high level of socialization Major style influences: Rural setting; innovation, antique materials, complex finishes

Project: Raymond Major psychological influences: Final home, expression of territory, father’s lighthouse studio Major style influences: Old world architecture; Need for style that allowed tower (lighthouse).

Project: Serenity Retreat Center Major psychological influences: Religious scripture, sacred psychological healing. Major style influences: Monasteries, Nature, Biblically referenced materials, symbolic details

Christopher K. Travis Sentient Architecture, LLC Nidiant Corporation – Truehome.net E-mail – [email_address] or [email_address] Blog – http://architecture-of-life.blogspot.com Phone - 979.249.5961

How to Design a Home as a Fitting Ecosystem

by Christopher K. Travis

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