Architecture Shapes our Interactions and Experience
I have, over the past few months started to think about what experiences can we learn from other professionals that draw parallels to our current work in the field of UX as it pertains to the web?
I began brainstorming: professional athletes, nurses, fire fighters, rock climbers, teachers, professors, religious leaders, etc. The list filled a giant whiteboard in the office. Sitting back I started to focus on one of the terms: construction. For some reason that one word sparked a memory from University.
The professor was teaching a class on Sociology and brought up a fascinating observation about the evolution of the architecture of homes in North America from the early 1900’s compared to today.
Take for example this ad run in 1911 by Sears Roebuck and Co. for a home in Chicago, Illinois. Click on the picture for a larger image
A few key differences from homes built today, similar observations were made by my classmates at the time, include:
* 12 foot walls from floor to ceiling; much higher than many model homes built today.
* Price. A model home in 1911 went for just under $1,250. A comparable home today would sell for at least $200 000.
* Sears is no longer in the business of selling homes; only the material objects to furnish and decorate the houses we purchase.
However, the professor noted that while all of those things were true, the most prominent feature of the home in the early 1900’s was the front porch.
Large front porch, 40 feet by 9 feet 6 inches, with massive Colonial columns; also large rear porch.
People spent many hours on their porch interacting with family and neighbors. If a mother of three needed to walk down to the grocery store for a few things there was no concern in asking a neighbor to keep an eye on the kids playing in the front yard.
When comparing the blueprints of a home built today with that of those constructed in 1911, there is a dramatic shift in the focus of the home from the porch to that of the garage. Click on the picture for a larger image.
Without taking the time to observe such changes we never think twice about their impact on our interactions and relationships with other people; yet the change is logical. In North America we depend on our vehicles to get us to work, take the kids to soccer (football) practice, and attend social functions.
In other instances, the car is a status symbol and presumes professional success, or the values an individual holds highest such as the importance of family (mini-van), speed (sports car), recreation (SUV), and the like.
If we leave for work in the morning by getting into our cars, pushing a button to open the garage door and come home following the same process to enter the garage – what are the social implications? We don’t have a need to interact with our neighbors; nor rely on them for assistance. In many ways this has drawn a greater divide in the communities where we live, play, and work.
By the same token, how are the advent of tools like Twitter, and Facebook changing the way we learn and share experiences? How will technology shape the lives of future generations growing up in a world that will never know what it’s like to not have access to any form of information by simply tapping the screen of their favorite mobile device?
If something as simple as moving the focus of the architecture of homes from the front porch to the garage can impact our experiences with others, how will this lack of interaction with people in the real world impact our ability to effectively communicate on the web?
