The residents satisfaction of the spaces occupied by them have been approached analysing the environment in its physical aspect (objective approach), and studies have expressly shown the abysmal extent of works that have been done in this regard. However, the subjective factors (Users intention, purposes, personality, and how they communicate in and through spaces) that initiate the different variables (such as layout, orientation, acoustics, luminous, thermal, space size, material etc) used for these studies have received little or no attention in Nigeria. This results from the view that changing physical characteristics of environment to user’s satisfaction is easier than intervening in their social and cultural norms (Lu, 1998; Mirmoghtadaee, 2009), and that it is the physical characteristics are seen tangible and measurable (Lu, 1998; Kim et al, 2005). Meanwhile, studies have also shown that the ignored intangibles determines the responsive effective use of the space to be either positive or negative (Wahl et al, 2003; Villarouco et al, 2008). These intangible in this sense are the functional and the psychological aspect that addresses user’s expectation and need through their perception of the space. The study therefore aim to investigate the user perception of physical spatial provision in the residences, evaluating from perception perspective the effectiveness in the use of the residential space and to understand if the space meet their functional and psychological needs.
The study is structured to answer the following questions:
i. How do users perceive the residential space designed for their use?
ii. What are users true expectation of the spaces provided or to be provided for their use
iii. How can user perception inform a design guideline that meet physical, functional and psychological need and expectation of users
I am of the opinion that it possible through questionnaire and modelling.
Hi, just to give a few comments.
Basically, question 1 & 2 are achievable through questionnaire survey, while question 3 may be addressed through the inferential statistics subject to the design of the questionnaire survey.
However, one important point to be kept in mind is that responses given by the dwellers (i.e. the survey respondents) may vary with different house type, house size, or even the income status. For example, a person who is occupying a low-cost housing may have different perception, expectation, or even level of satisfaction about their housing. From my knowledge, low-cost housing dwellers are seldom satisfy with the facilities and infrastructure surrounding their housing area, not just limited to the housing unit itself. Besides, a person who is renting a house may have different perception from the one who owns the house. Also, residents from different house type, be it a landed property or a multi-storey property, may have different perception as well. Not to mention the income level and employment status of the survey respondents. Therefore, the selection of survey target group is critical. Of cause, you may control these variables (related to demographic) to find out if there are any significant relationship between the respondents' perception and residential space design through inferential statistics. What I am trying to say is, by collecting and analysing the data, you may discover more and more new research elements which you never think about before but may contribute to the novelty of your research. By then, you may need to adjust your research title as well as the objectives and research questions.
Please consider below reference. I hope it will be helpful to your work.
Article Methods for adaptive behaviors satisfaction assessment with ...
Hello
I agree with the others about a possible survey. However, questions 1 and 2 are a bit vague. In both cases I am uncertain as to whom "their" refers to. Is it the users or is it the designed space.
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I want to sincerely appreciate you all for your contributions and information. I must say that of a truth you have added much value to the work and refined the scope and direction to trend in literature. Thank you so much.
I will also like to add that I wish to study this further in-depth for PhD research work and maybe specify on the aged (as users) this time. Kindly suggest me if there is someone in your school that can supervise me or even yourself if the study is in line with your field of research. Thank you.
Certainly also, consider the materials a space is built of: 'hard-wall' constructions such as brick, plaster, stone, or even packed-earth have very different characteristics that effect how heat/light, sound, and 'security' are going to be defined by residents; where as 'soft-wall' construction- wood, plywood, dry-wall (gypsum board), particle board (pressed wood), plastic or metal sheeting, and/or cardboard are less shielding, and tend to be defined as you move to flimsier materials, as 'less secure'. I would also look at other space- such as space between dwellings, and how it is characterized by residents. The Japanese live with very little space between people, but part of why it's not a problem is that they keep things very clean and safe.
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