COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

SVIT, VASAD

ARCHITECTURE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE

SNIGDHA GUPTA
13 ARG 80
GUIDE: PROF. RUHEE GALA
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Foremost, I would like to express my gratitude towards Professor Ruhee Gala for the
continuous support of my research paper, for her patience, motivation, enthusiasm and
immense knowledge. Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this
research paper.

Furthermore, I am extremely thankful to Professor Sanjeev Trivedi for their valuable

comments, support and time.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of my parents and friends during my research.

SNIGDHA GUPTA
13 ARG 80
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: ABSTRACT
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Need to Study
1.3 Aim & Objectives
1.4 Scope & Limitations
1.5 Methodology

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Modes of Perceiving the built environment
2.1.1 Physical modes
2.1.2 Psychological modes
2.1.3 Environmental Psychology
2.2 Patterns of Human Behaviour in:
2.2.1 Schools

2.2.2 Rehabilitation Centres and Prisons

CHAPTER III: CASE STUDIES

3.1 DPS Kindergarten School, Bengaluru
3.2 Yellow train School, Tamil Nadu
3.3 Ekta Early Years, Bengaluru
3.4 Muktangan Rehabilitation Centre, Pune
3.5 Maggie Cancer Care Centre, Manchester, U.K.
3.6 Tihar Jail, New Delhi.
3.7 Halden Prison, Norway, Sweden.

IV: INFERENCES

V: REFERENCES
“Design needs to be plugged into human behaviour.
Design dissolves in behaviour.”
Naoto Fukasawa.
INTRODUCTION
The human-environment relationship is symbiotic in that the environment influences our
behaviours and we in turn influence the environment.

“The architectural/built environment consists of the artificial arrangement of different

surfaces, materials with pigmentations and/or different textures, illumination, and degrees of
transparency/translucency, and of spaces between them.” And the environment can be seen
as a series of relationship between things & things, things & people and people & people.
It deals with the description and explanation of what three-dimensional layout of the
environment affords different people for their surroundings.
The concern therefore, is with the person-environment and person-person relationships
within the environment.
Because environment-behaviour relations is a meeting of a discipline and profession there
have always been two major agenda: generation of knowledge about the relationship
between people and their physical environment and management of that to enhance the
quality of people’s lives.

We need to study the social environment so that we can create surroundings which make it
easier for people to do what they want to do, to live the way they want; and to make it
unnecessary for them to do things they don’t want or would otherwise not do (Lang 106).

In what ways, can Architecture Influence Human Behaviour?

Architecture can impact or affect human behaviour in positive and negative ways, and impact
or affect the health and well-being of humans, as well as human performance; which
influences human behaviour. It is varying architectural designs that impact or affect human
behaviour.
Humans spend most their lives in built environments and less of their lives in natural
environments; therefore, it is inevitable that architecture regardless of its types will indeed
impact or affect human behaviour in positive and negative ways.
The direct and indirect consequences of architectural designs can either be functionally
appropriate and aesthetically pleasing to humans; therefore, fostering positive behaviour or
functionally inappropriate by imposing restrictions on behaviour.

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NEED OF STUDY
Our brain is in constant interaction with the environment in both conscious and unconscious
states.
As a result of this interaction we tend to behave in a certain manner in that environment.
That behaviour is controlled by spatial organizational settings which are induced in the design
intentionally or unintentionally.

Christopher Day has said that buildings have the life the architect gives them, a personality
that is either positive or negative, and that aura is captured by those who reside in them.
Therefore, the need to study is due to the architectural designs that fail to serve the purpose
of uplifting the spirit and provide the necessary environment in which community daily life
and activities can become most effective.

AIM & OBJECTIVES

This project aims to explore the power of environment on human perception through the
manifestation of architectural phenomenon.
To study about architecture as a means of controlling human behaviour.

SCOPE
The research is based on the understanding of natural behavioural patterns in buildings.
Along with this, the typology selected is of the buildings that are designed with a motive of
shaping human behaviour.
Human psychological needs and perception of the environment differ according to the
multitude variables including age, personality, social class and cultural background, past
experiences, motives and daily routines of individuals.

Therefore, it is not possible to predict the probability of any particular impact.

The relationships cannot be clearly and separately specified as each factor is being treated as
a restriction.

LIMITATIONS
The study is more oriented towards the School spaces and their impact on the occupant’s
behaviour than Rehabilitation centres and Prisons. This is because the latter two target more
users with psychological disorders. Due to high security, restriction in exploring and
understanding their spaces is limited.
Also, due to lack of time no field study (site visits, interviews etc.) but internet and journals
have been utilized as the source of formulating this research.

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METHODOLOGY

Understanding how the occupant’s behaviour is affected by the architectural spaces.

Studying the direct and indirect elements of psychology leading to human perception.

Understanding the existing behaviour setting in terms of user response to already designed
spaces namely:

SCHOOLS REHABILITATION CENTRES PRISONS

Conclusion of the impact of architectural design in shaping the human mind.

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PHYSICAL MODES
People function with all the five senses (in most cases) and these five senses constantly
reinforce each other to provide the intricately ordered and emotion – charged world we live
in.
These modes do not work in isolation but in unison they make us aware of spacious world.
Human behaviour in space is affected by the way people see, hear or touch things and the
way they relate to these things due to their age, social, cultural, economic and professional
background and the extensions attached thereby.
The combined effect of active, passive and physical modes is what makes the perception of
on individual different from another.

HUMAN SENSES
Experiencing the environment is a matter of all our senses and there are even some
situations where hearing, smell and tactility are more important than vision; they are
experienced with extraordinary intensity.
Human beings (in most cases) have five senses namely, touch (tactility), vision, auditory
sense (sense of hearing), taste, olfactory (sense of smell).
Certain spatial factors can enhance perception of the user, by taking care of these senses.
Taste does not affect spatial experience of a user, as much as the other four. Hence, we shall
see the working of tactility, sound, vision and smell in determining human behaviour in space.

To understand man, one must know something of the nature of his receptor system and
how the information received from these receptors is modified by culture.

TACTILITY
“(…) while the tactile space separates the observer from
the objects,
the visual space separates the objects from each other (…)
the perceptual world is guided by the touch, being more
immediate and welcoming than the world guided by sight.”

The skin registers sensations. It reports on its own state

and also that of the object pressing against it. It is not a
distance sensor. Tactile perception is at the opposite
extreme of visual perception. The skin is able to convey
certain spatial ideas without the support of the other
senses. For example, entrance into a warm bath gives a
more massive feeling than the prick of a needle.

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It is well known that it is not enough just to look at beautiful objects on display: we want to
touch them, examine the weight and the textural quality of the surface and its forms.
Touch: in urban context, as porteous (1996, pg.36) notes, much of our experience of texture
comes through our feet and through our buttocks when we sit down, rather than through
our hands.
When the skin comes in contact with flatfish objects, it can judge approximately its shape
and size. At a micro level, the skin can easily recognize geometric properties as roughness
and smoothness. Similarly, it can differentiate these characteristics on spatio – geometric
evidence. Usually tactility occurs at human height levels. Wherever people walk, sit, move,
pass through, hold, lean against etc., they are in direct contact with the object concerned.

SOUND
“We feel pleasure and protection when
the body discovers its resonance in
space.”

Hearing is not only involved in areas of

entertainment where its demands are
well known, it also has a role to play in
the paving of streets, in the material of
staircases, in the ceilings and floors for
a work place, etc.

Sounds greatly enrich the human feeling for space. Human ears are not flexible, so they are
not less equipped to discern direction but by turning one’s head, one can roughly identify
the direction of the sound.
They interpret auditory space through subconscious awareness of sources of noise. Sounds,
though vaguely located, can convey a strong sense of size and distance for example, in an
empty cathedral, the sound of footsteps lapping sharply on the stone floor.
The quality of sound associated with a behaviour setting affects perceptions of the quality
of the setting. The evaluation of the sound depends on several things: The sound itself, it’s
intensity, predictability, pitch, the degree to which it interferes with the activity, attitudes
towards the sound source - as well as the object that is the source of the sound and
perception of the degree of control that somebody has over it.

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VISION

“The sight separates us from the world, while the

rest of the senses joins him.”

Vision does not get affected in spite of distance.

Unlike the olfactory, auditory and tactile senses, the
intensity and clarity of vision remains unaffected.
Visual impact is often created
at a level higher or lower than human height.

Whereas tactility happens at human height, our vision

gets drawn to things, while we are a little far, have a
bigger scale or is at a height other than the eye level.

SMELL

The nostrils awake a forgotten image and

fall into a vivid dream.
The nose makes the eyes to remember.”

Architects and engineers are skilled in the

design of visual and acoustic
environments, as to satisfy functional
requirements.
However, designers are now creating
olfactory environments. Places where
smell is used to create emotion,
recollection and mood.

Perfumes of gardens, the smell of wood, of concrete, smell of cooking, the smell of soot,
seam from laundries, incense in church, the dryness of granaries, dust, damp smell o cellars
etc. The smell identifies places and moments for a life time. Perhaps it is the relative rarity of
these experiences which makes than all the stronger.

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COMFORT LEVEL
Human beings feel comfort at three levels:

1. Physical
2. Psychological
3. Visual

Usually we are unaware of being comfortable. We are more aware when we feel
uncomfortable for each environment is subjectively too hot or cold, or smell foul or is badly
lit.
Ergonomics and anthropometrics with required environment support and detailed
anatomical measurements is a must in various activities for comfort.

ANTHROPOMETRICS

The psychological capabilities of people differ. They go through rapid change from infancy to
adulthood and they vary in gender. A person usually has full strength and mobility in early
adulthood, and then a gradual degeneration of morphological systems take place.

Hence what may seem an element of adventure to a kid may become a big hurdle in
movement for an old man. Similarly, a right handed-handed person would access an element
in quite the opposite way than a left-handed person would.

Anthropometric and psychological factors also show that the inter-relationship of

psychological and cultural variables in designing is supposedly in response to purely human
psychological needs.
The layout of the environment has to cater to a diverse set of users. This is particular truth of
the public environment.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL MODES
Apart from physical factors, human psychology also affects the human behaviour in built
environment. Unconsciously, people affect the way they perceive and use space and
determine how comfortable that space is. Man has various psychological requirements,
which he doesn’t realize consciously but which affect his behaviour in space.
The basic human inner condition may be classified into four generalised grouping of
motivational forces and psychological needs:

A. Social needs/Togetherness
B. Stabilizing/Security needs
C. Individual/Privacy/Solitude
D. Territoriality
There is inevitable overlap and potential conflict among the above-mentioned categories.
They cannot be seen in absolute isolation. They interact in different ways at different time
and places to form the basis of what we call “Human Nature”.
Each of these categories further consists of various factors that form the basis for that need.

SOCIAL NEEDS/ TOGETHERNESS

This includes the need of the individual for social interaction, for group affiliation, for
companionship, and for love.
Man lives not as an isolated part of a world at large, but as a part of smaller group of people
sharing common beliefs and values. The built environment, that he lives in, expresses his
belonging to a group of people and thus affords him and society an identity as a group.
Social interaction thus forms an important part of his life and he needs life spaces where he
can carry out these interactions in the manner in which he likes. His social needs by and large
comprise of his need for social interaction.

STABILIZING/ SECURITY NEEDS

Human beings have a need to be free from an anxiety, fear and danger and have a clear
orientation in a given environment, without which he does not feel free and safe enough to
use/perceive elements in the space. Security and stabilizing needs can be visual, physical or
psychological. Physical aspects deal with balance of body, safely in movement areas and
physiological compatibility. Visual aspects deal with the scale, orientation, balance and
massing of interior forms while psychological aspect deal with the fear factor attached to
certain elements of a space due to their peculiar for all this in order to fulfil this human need.

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PRIVACY
There are several kinds of privacy, each of which serves a different purpose.

1. Solitude: the state of being free from observation of others

2. Intimacy: the state of being with another person but free from the outside world.
3. Anonymity: the state of being unknown even in crowd.
4. Reserve: the state in which a person employs psychological barriers to control
unwanted intrusion.
Privacy is important in terms of the relationship between an individual or a group and the
rest of society.
Too much privacy leads to feelings of social ion, and too little privacy leads to subjective
feelings of ding.

TERRITORIALITY

A territory is a determined space that a person group uses and defends as an exclusive
preserve. It involves psychological identification with a place, symbolized with attitude of
possessiveness and arrangements of object in the area.
Some basic characteristics of territories:

1. The ownership of or right to a place.

2. The personalization or making of an area.
3. The right to defend against intuition.
4. The serving of several functions ranging of basic psychological needs to the
satisfaction and aesthetic needs.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
It is the interaction between humans and the environments they inhabit.
Environmental Psychology and Design examines the assortment of psychological factors that
affect human perception and subsequent use of space. Included in this content is an
examination human development in terms of various environmental elements.

To innovate to an architectural design through Environmental psychology, it is required to

understand how to scrutinize the behavioural cues of the occupants.

The five key dimensions that feed into occupant health, going beyond comfort, to impact
interactions – all from an occupant-centred design approach.

HEALTH

PHYSIOLOGICAL INTELLECTUAL EMOTIONAL

BEHAVIOURAL SPIRITUAL

Architectural environments can impact these different types of health, and these five critical
health types are interconnected.

INTERACTIONS
INDIVIDUAL EMOTIONAL SOCIAL

Occupants are Occupants spend Occupants interact

Interacting or Time and interact more directly with the
spending time with each other. environment.
with themselves.

As the occupants interact in any of three manners, they are physiologically, intellectually,
emotionally, behaviourally, and/or spiritually being impacted or affected.
Also, as health begins to impact the different interactions that occupants engage in,
behavioural cues begin to manifest, and this is one way we can tell how our environments are
being perceived, being used, and how they’re impacting or benefiting occupants.
By looking at the behavioural cues that the target occupants exude, the cues can be filtered
down into the above-mentioned health characteristics. Following this, desired environments
can be designed so that they can tap into each of these dimensions more holistically, to help
occupants thrive within the architecture space.

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BIOLOGICAL REASONING – DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD’S BRAIN

PRE-SCHOOL YEARS
At birth, both motor and sensory systems of the brain are already up and running and
continue to develop during toddlerhood and the preschool years. Auditory and visual skills
improve during this time too. Although the age at which a child is ready to learn a specific
skill becomes hard-wired as the brain develops, learning itself is also environmentally
determined.
In the early grades, children learn how to coordinate fine motor skills and visual skills. They
are able to copy letters and figures they see.

EARLY ELEMENTARY YEARS

During the early elementary years, fibres continue to grow between neurons and the white
matter of the brain (also called myelin). The growing neural networks of connected neurons
and fibres are essential to the transmission of information throughout the brain. As the brain
matures, more and more fibres grow and the brain becomes increasingly interconnected.
These interconnected networks of neurons are very important to the formation of memories
and the connection of new learning to previous learning.

As skills become more automatic, brain resources are freed up to be used for complex tasks
that require more and more attention and processing. Skills in reading, mathematics and
writing become more specialized and developed.

LATE ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS

From late elementary school into
middle school, inferential
thinking becomes more emphasized in
schools, while rote learning is de-
emphasized.

Learning becomes more consolidated,

as it is stored in long-term memory.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL REASONING – A CHILD’S DEFINITION
Child is a mature and human’s daughter or son who has not been fully grown and is an
independent creature from individual features point of view put in the growth and
development trend in which they have not reached to a level to be called matured but they
are originally and naturally dynamic and potentially to be developed.
The child’s communication to the environment
Barker, founder of “echologic psychologist” believes there is a specific relationship between
physical aspects of architecture and behaviour of physical-behavioury stations which
expresses them with the same concepts (Mortazavi, 1988), (Young, 1990). In all alive
creatures and according to the law of affecting and to be affected in the environment. The
tendency to compromise the environment is available, so that child tries to compromise with
the environment in which they live.

At first the child tries to compromise the environment with their inner system and
intelligence but since it is not possible for ever and child runs into problems and cases not
appropriate with their previous experiences, they try to be in line with new experiences
(Moghadam, 1987).
According to Piyage, mental capabilities that a child owns in certain age, enable them to
show different emotional behaviours. In fact, there is a direct relationship between child’s
growth and learning.
He names four factors help child’s mental growth:
1. Emotional feelings which are motivations for learning;
2. Physical growth which child can gradually understand more;
3. Experiences which child learns to find out for themselves;
4. Social exchange or effective interaction with others especially parents, teachers, and
playmates.
To teach children, work with them and even love them, awareness and knowing their
growth stages, emotional, psychological and social needs in different ages is essential and
by complete recognition of children’s worlds and their needs can be obtained.

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“You can’t teach children to behave by making them feel worse.
When children feel better, they behave better.”
- Pam Leo.

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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
The three fundamental ideas from the environmental psychology of teaching and learning.

A. All learning takes place in a physical environment with quantifiable and perceptible
physical characteristics. Whether sitting in a large lecture hall, underneath a tree, or in
front of a computer screen, students are engulfed by environmental information.
Specific targets within the environment draw the students' attention.
B. Students do not touch, see, or hear passively; they feel, look, and listen actively.
Students cannot attend to all the environmental information bombarding them at any
given time; their ability to gather and understand incoming information is limited.
Through automatic and controlled processes, students select information for
consideration.
Students may direct their attention to particular targets in the learning environment
that they find more interesting, important, or unfamiliar than others. In any learning
environment, students manage their limited cognitive resources by actively selecting
environmental information for further consideration and by using existing knowledge
structures to interpret this information in ways that have worked previously.
C. The physical characteristics of learning environments can affect learners emotionally,
with important cognitive and behavioural consequences.
Environments that elicit positive emotional responses may lead not only to enhanced
learning but also to a powerful, emotional attachment to that space. Physical
characteristics that cause discomfort can be expected to interfere with learning;
environments that produce positive emotional states can be expected to facilitate
learning and the development of place attachment.

AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGY that relate most directly to classroom design and learning
environments:

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONAL HUMAN FACTORS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

(engineering)

Years of research on the impact of environmental variables on human thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours indicate that other variables often moderate the effects of environmental
variables.
Weinstein concluded that environmental variables can impact learners indirectly and that the
effects of different physical settings often depend on the nature of the task and the learner.
As students enter a virtual or brick-and-mortar learning environment, they form a cognitive
impression of that space and experience an associated emotional response

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People's preference for specific environments appears to depend on their cognitive
impression.
Kaplan and Kaplan suggested four cognitive determinants of environmental preference:
Coherence, or the ease with which a setting can be organized cognitively.
Complexity, or the perceived capacity of the setting to occupy interest and stimulate activity
Legibility, or perceived ease of use.

Mystery, or the perception that entering the setting would lead to increased learning,
interaction, or interest.

PROBLEM AREA
School buildings communicate values not only to the children but also the surrounding
community in terms of how we value our children and how we value education. The school
environment is one of the most important in the society, but is it how we value our school
buildings?

Historically school buildings used to be a manifestation of the belief in knowledge, but as

time passed, we can see the school buildings more and more often are replaced by
temporary modules functioning more as a container of students than a school building
representing the importance of education.
Currently many children spend several years of their education squeezed into modules, far
from suitable school environments. School buildings from more than hundred years ago, are
now listed buildings while more recently built schools are in such poor conditions that they
are being demolished.
School buildings have gone from being one of the most prominent buildings in the
community to being neglected and replaced by temporary pavilions. In these environments,
we expect children to learn and perform.

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FEATURES OF SPECIAL SPACES FOR CHILDREN (TIPS ON CHILDREN ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN)
Environment designed for children should include the following spaces:
1. Natural spaces such as trees and water and live creatures which form the most basic and
important space for the children;

2. Open spaces and wide spaces in which children could run freely and release their internal
energy.

3. Road spaces, roads before the presence of cars were children's main playground. They are
places in which children meet each other and a network which connects various spaces
together;

4. Spaces for adventure, these spaces are filled with complexity that strengthen children’s
power of imagination due to being in this environment;

5. Play structure spaces are spaces designed with game structure and children’s games and
playing become important in them. The spaces are known as playground (Mahdizadeh,
2006).
6. Rich, stimulating environments using colour, texture and sound.
7. Places for group learning, such as alcoves and breakout spaces.
8. Links to the outdoors such as land labs and play fields.
9. Corridors and public spaces symbolizing the community’s larger purpose.
10. Changing displays using interactive media to stimulate brain development.
11. Available resources in close proximity to encourage rich learning.
12. Personalised space for students to express self-identity.
13. Active/passive places for students to engage, reflect and retreat.
14. Flexible space to allow changing with the times.
15. A variety of places of different shapes, colours, lighting and size.
16. Safe places to feel valued, be nourished and receive help.
17. Places for the community at large to learn and interact.

Certain architectural features do affect behaviour and, it is assumed that student behaviour
does impact learning. One researcher found that the qualities of complexity, surprise, novelty
and beauty encourage exploratory behaviour among school building occupants. He found
that interest and involvement in school by young children increased as stimulus complexity
increased.

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In a study of preschools, spatial quality in the physical environment was linked with student
and teacher engagement in classroom activity. They found that when spatial quality was low,
teachers were more likely to be insensitive or neutral in their nature, while in high quality
space teachers were more likely to be sensitive, friendly and encouraging in their manner
toward children.
A school building’s physical condition is statistically related to students’ academic
achievement.
A study in two rural Tennessee elementary schools compared student achievement in the
oldest and newest buildings in the district. While both student groups were determined to be
from similar socioeconomic, the students in the new school outscored their peers in the
older school on achievement tests. It also found that students scored higher if their school
had positive outdoor spaces and technology for teachers.

Quality physical space affects student self-esteem, student-teacher and peer interactions,
student motivation and discipline.

Noise in classrooms also decreases learning in which unwanted sound in classrooms had a
negative impact on learning.

Issues of class size and school size, which are determined by the physical space of a building,
have been examined as well.
A study found that schools with larger numbers of students are often better able to offer
smaller classes because of more flexibility in staffing. Small buildings often do not have space
set aside for common areas or individual and small group instruction, limiting teachers'
methods of instruction. They also found out that high levels of cognitive achievement are
impossible to meet in large classes and crowded schools.

Common areas of the school can also facilitate student learning. Areas for counsellors and
social workers to come into the schools and work with students help students deal with
issues that may be inhibiting learning.

Safety should be mentioned. Learning is less likely to occur in settings where students and
teachers do not feel safe.
Narrow hallways that are too small for student traffic between classes encourage fighting and
hinder evacuation in emergencies. Design features that enhance school safety and security
are vital. Large, monolithic buildings with a labyrinth of halls.

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CLASSIFYING THE QUALITY CRITERIA FOR CHILD-CENTRED ENVIRONMENT
Elements forming the space can be divided into the following categories, and finally to look
at them from the perspective of a child:
1. Organizing;
2. Time and route;
3. Part and the whole;
4. Form;
5. Coordination, scale and;
6. Light;
7. Colour;
8. Signs.

THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: BRIGHTNESS

Light is one of the architectural principles to provide visual comfort space that its
psychological effects in humans are different. Researches have proven that natural and
transparent light has positive impact on children's senses based on children’s point of view
these spaces are friendly and joyful.

It has been shown to affect blood pressure, pulse, respiration rates, brain activity,
biorhythms, and the pineal gland's synthesis of melatonin and serotonin.

The use of natural lighting along with manmade lighting is a current trend in architecture that
is believed to be positive for learning. Exposure to full-spectrum lighting has been associated
with better school attendance, more positive moods, great concentration, and better
scholastic performance.
1. Good and proper lighting in spaces causes increased Children’s appetites;

2. Accuracy and concentration increase and eye health and vision ability are preserved and
prevents nervous exhaustion;

3. Create variety and space emphasis. Since children’s adoption to tolerate stress and
exhaustion is less, sharp contrast from the lighting, whether artificial or natural, which causes
fatigue and stress should be avoided. As a result, soft light equitability about children's spaces
seem desirable.

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ENVIRONMENTAL GRAPHICS TO SPECIFIC CHILDREN
Understanding the psychological characteristics of children in different age groups, through
the identification of line and colour, space and form helps the designer to get familiar with
their spirits, and try to communicate with this audience and to create space for them.
In an environmental graphics, to create a visual communication with the audience, the
graphic designer should be a messenger; targeted message towards introducing the
environment. But the message and its applicability is one of the aspects of the case.
Another aspect is the aesthetic aspect and efforts to make the environment beautiful and
ideal. Therefore, graphical form in addition to conveying a message to viewers presented
with symbols and signs, can also influence the audiences in different format, and change the
environment by decorating, and emotional, psychological and beauty aspects has changed
and it will stay for the audience's heart.

THE EFFECT OF COLOURS ON CHILDREN AND ITS APPLICATION IN DESIGNING THEIR OWN
SPACES
From the aesthetics aspect, creating a favourable and attractive landscape spaces can
prevent the anguish and depression in humans. In this regard, the use of paint and a nice
painting and coordination as well as timely and measured contrast between the colours in
public spaces are remarkable and creates a sense of peace and joy in the viewer. It is clear
that these effects in children are more and more important.
On the other hand, in psychological studies of children by analysing their paintings, valuable
conclusions regarding the use of colour by the child, the link between flowers and children's
imagination, the prospect of developing the use of colour and symbolic aspects of any
colours and combination of colours in the paintings of children, have been obtained
(Shaterian, 2008).
Although, the pleasure of watching a colour is due to the nature of human aesthetics. But it
rarely happens to react the colour of a painting while standing next to them. Because the
value of an art work is more in tune and deliberate contrast between the different colours
used in it. This is similar to the phenomenon of music that combines different set of sounds,
smooth or strident tone to be heard.

Colour has an impact on student learning.

A group of researchers found that students participated twice as much in discussions in
classrooms that were "soft", meaning they had warm colours, soft furniture, and textured
floor coverings. When students rated such classrooms, they rated them higher than
traditional classrooms.
Another study found that soft classrooms were associated with better attendance and more
positive attitudes toward the class, the instructor and classmates. Still another study found a
relationship between an "ugly" environment and feelings of discontent, the desire to escape,
and fatigue.

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THE PREDOMINANCE OF COLOUR AND FORM
Most children under school age, the ages between 3 to 6 years show strong interest to
colours, but at the age of 7 to 9 years pay attention to forms, and this interest is maximized
at age 9 years old. As the child grows up, the tendency to nature and form are increased. But
in a survey, about 10 percent of pre-elementary children have shown that they tend to
dominate the form to the colours.
Children who overcome a form more than the colours in terms of IQ are cleverer than alleged
colour groups. But some theorists believe that ingenuity and creativity are more in alleged
colour groups. Studies on documents related to children in relation to the colours showed,
the colour orange, and then red and pink are favourite colours for children between the ages
of 3 to 6 years old.
According to Alshler, applying colours with awareness and knowledge of its relationship with
the child’s life excitement is concluded that red colour is superior colour for children and
overall for children act based on their emotions. As they become older and are able to
control their feelings, they get interested in cold colours.
Researches showed that red colour has two contrasting features: first the feeling of affection
and love, and the second induces a sense of attack and hatred because red colours are
closely associated with very intense feelings. Blue is associated with emotional control.
Researchers have found that children are also interested in brown. However, scientists have

Maral Anbari, Hossein

Soltanzadeh discovered
the fact that children who
have a tendency towards
blue, may have very
severe emotions in some
cases that modify it or
change its direction.

26
Table 1: Psychology of colours and how to use them in spaces

How to use it in Spaces Specifications Colour Number

Using it in the environments of warm colour and stimulating Passion Red 1
game, show and sport and love, sincerity

For Educational spaces in Energizing and stimulating colour Orange 2

elementary school – due to the
prevention of
drowsiness and lethargy in
children - lively, invigorating,
warm peace of the children
Its combination with other Indicating Love and Romance Pink 3
colours and use it in the space
of rest
It is better to use the colour Expresses the sense of relief - Blue 4
with represents
combination with other peace, security and order-expresses
colours in classes and the
educational spaces. feeling of sorrow, introspection and
isolation in some people
To make interior decoration Warm and happy colour- stimulating Yellow 5
happy and bright. thought- making eyes bored more
than other colours
For decorating studying rooms, Cool colour and a symbol of nature - Green 6
educational spaces and a place represents peace, happiness, health
needs concentration. and jealousy, gaining the ability to
read
Pale violet spectrum in space The most spiritual colour represents Purple 7
and educational environment, harmony between reason and
gives peace and emotion and
happiness. as a result, it can be border between spirituality and
used practical and craft materialism
classes.

27
Table 2: Psychology of forms and how to use them in spaces

Researchers have found that there is a close relationship between selecting colours and
genders; so that in the ages between 6 to 17 years old girls consider warm colours and boys
consider cool colours but as the grow up this status get reversed. In terms of physical
physiology, certain colours are considered to be associated with various diseases and as a
sample table 1 can be considered and apply proper colours for any spaces regarding its
psychological features and table 2 can be considered to apply suitable forms for children in
designing spaces for them.

The Place of Use Excited Emotions Form Number

Child’s play space Imaginary – Creative Irregular forms 1
Imagination
Entrance Caller Concave 2
Emphasis Points and Innovation and Static 3
Pause spaces Complexity
Status of Rejection Convex 4

Spaces Children love Softness and Comfort Soft and Arched 5

Passage Comfort and Mobility Horizontally Expanded 6

Hard Angular and Broken 7

28
CASE STUDIES
The following case studies are of the schools that have incorporated the above research
conclusions and successfully display the desired results.

1. DPS Kindergarten, Bengaluru.

Architects: Khosla Architects.

Khosla Associates designed the Delhi Public School kindergarten as a prototype for a series of
school buildings that will be rolled out around southern India in the future.

While the overall master plan currently under construction comprises a kindergarten, junior,
middle and senior school block that will eventually cater to 4000 children; the current
kindergarten facility has 25 classrooms, and with 40 children a class, a total strength of 1000.

The architects believed in creating a warm, playful and welcoming environment for these
young children that would be filled with natural light and ventilation.

There are 25 classrooms in total and they are arranged around a pair of courtyards that can
be used as either playgrounds or outdoor learning spaces.
"The central linear open-to-sky court is the soul of the school and facilitates learning outside
the classroom," said the architect.
In places where more solid walls were needed, the architects added corrugated metal sheets
in vivid shades, intended to reference the colours of traditional Indian textiles. s.

2. Ekta Early Years, Bengaluru.

Architects: CollectiveProject.
The school reconceives an abandoned watch factory and overgrown two-acre site into a lush,
colourful and immersive environment for learning.

Designed as an exclusive preschool for both Montessori and Kindergarten environments, the
new design capitalizes on the beauty of an old industrial building, repurposing the existing
shell as a framework for spacious, naturally ventilated and sunlight filled classrooms.
The goal of this project was:

1. to provide a constant interaction between students and nature;

2. a design requirement of the Montessori brief and an ever-rarer experience within the
rapidly growing city.
To achieve this, the boundaries are blurred between inside and outside with the 13
learning environments (classrooms) accessed from a covered walkway
circumnavigating a densely planted central “Jungle” courtyard.

29
 Conceived in a “pinwheel” formation from the courtyard are four controlled access
points to the exterior recreational and learning landscape.

Features including an outdoor art room, amphitheatre, playground, sandpit and

individual classroom gardens radiate around the existing building footprint allowing
for easy access, supervision and maintenance.
The program includes - a full office/reception suite, 13 learning environments, art room, AV
room, flexible common areas and outdoor recreation/learning spaces.

3. Yellow Train School, Coimbatore.

Architects: Biome Solutions.
Yellow Train school is based on Waldorf principles wherein children are encouraged to
cultivate individual thinking. The promoter was also very enchanted with the story, Totto-
Chan: The girl at the window, which talks about a young girl Totto-Chan’s unique schooling
experience in Japan. The school was housed in train bogeys which were used as classrooms.
Architects at Biome solutions were quoted saying that, “Instead of either literally buying and
placing train bogeys or building the classrooms like a train distilled the essence of the story
and put in our energies to create a space which would allow for independent thinking, for
rumination and for play, all at proximity to the classrooms but still under the care of the
teachers.”
Each classroom was made different with respect to location as well as with subtle
introduction of a coloured circle. Each circle represents different stages in the Waldorf
educational while also anchoring the children. Kindergarten has a small mezzanine – a space
which no teacher can use.
The roof and floors are also arched, being made of Compressed Earth Block (C.E.B) precast
arch panels. Thus, the whole space is made extremely gentle and playful by the use of
structural elements. The walls too are of C.E.B and have a combination of steel windows and
jaali walls which allow for both light through to the end of the room as well as light breeze
over the body of the children.
The Arch is a structural element which supports the roof and also helps in creating different
activity spaces for groups, individuals and for a classroom library.

30
DPS KINDERGARTEN, BENGALURU

EKTA EARLY YEARS, BENGALURU

CHILDREN IN CLASSROOMS
YELLOW TRAIN SCHOOL, COIMBATORE

31
DPS KINDERGARTEN, BENGALURU

EKTA EARLY YEARS, BENGALURU

YELLOW TRAIN SCHOOL, COIMBATORE

CHILDREN IN PLAY AREAS

32
 DPS KINDERGARTEN, BENGALURU

EKTA EARLY YEARS, BENGALURU

CHILDREN IN OTHER AREAS

YELLOW TRAIN SCHOOL, COIMBATORE

33
DPS KINDERGARTEN, BENGALURU

YELLOW TRAIN SCHOOL, COIMBATORE EKTA EARLY YEARS, BENGALURU

CHILDREN IN MOVEMENT ZONES

34
35
REHABILITATION CENTRES

EFFICIENCY AND COST EFFECTIVENESS

The design of a successful rehabilitation centres should:

A. Promote staff efficiency by minimizing distance of necessary travel between

frequently used spaces.
B. Allow easy visual supervision of patients by limited staff. Nurse stations on inpatient
units should be designed to provide maximum visibility of patient areas.
C. Include all needed spaces, but no redundant ones. This requires careful pre-design
programming.
D. For inpatient units, provide a central meeting area or living room for staff and
patients and provide smaller rooms where patients can visit with their families.
E. Make efficient use of space by locating support spaces so that they may be shared by
adjacent functional areas, and by making prudent use of multi-purpose spaces.

THERAPEUTIC ENVIRONMENT
The character of the immediate surroundings can have a profound effect on the psyche of a
patient. The New York Psychiatric Institute reports a dramatic drop in the number of patients
who need to be restrained since occupying their new facility with its bright open spaces.
Every effort should be made to create a therapeutic environment by:

A. Using familiar and non-institutional materials with cheerful and varied colours and
textures, keeping in mind that some colours and patterns are inappropriate and can
disorient older impaired patients, or agitate patients and staff.
B. Admitting ample natural light wherever possible.
C. Providing a window for every patient bed, and views of the outdoors from other
spaces wherever possible. Views of nature can be restorative.
D. Providing inpatients with direct and easy access to controlled outdoor areas.
E. Providing adequate separation and sound insulation to prevent confidential but loud
conversation from travelling beyond consulting offices and group therapy rooms.
F. Giving each patient as much acoustic privacy as possible – from noises of other
patients, toilet noises, mechanical noises, etc.
G. Giving each patient as much visual privacy, and control over it, as is consistent with
the need for supervision.
H. Giving each inpatient the ability to control his immediate environment as much as
possible, i.e., lighting, radio, TV, etc.
I. Providing computer stations for patient use when patient profile and treatment
program allow.

36
 J. Designing features to assist patient orientation, such as direct and obvious travel
paths, key locations for clocks and calendars, avoidance of glare, and avoidance of
unusual configurations and excessive corridor lengths.
K. Designing a “way-finding” process into every project. A patient’s sense of competence
is encouraged by making spaces easy to find, identify, and use without asking for help.
Colour, texture, and pattern, as well as artwork and signage, can all give cues.
L. Providing exercise equipment for patient use where appropriate for the program of
care.
M. Providing access to kitchen facilities, preferably on the unit, where snacks or meals
can be prepared by patients, when patient profile allows.

CLEANLINESS
Rehabilitation centres should be easy to clean and maintain. This is facilitated by:

A. Appropriate, durable finishes for each functional space.

B. Proper detailing of such features as doorframes, case work, and finish transitions to
avoid dirt catching and hard-to-clean crevices and joints.
C. Adequate and appropriately located housekeeping spaces.
D. Incorporating operations and maintenance practices that stress indoor environmental
quality (IEQ)

AESTHETICS
Aesthetics is closely related to creating a therapeutic environment. It is also a major factor in
a facility’s public image and is thus an important marketing tool for patients and staff.
Aesthetic considerations include:

A. Use of new lighting systems, high performance glazing, increased use of natural light,
natural materials and colours.
B. Use of (soothing, not exciting) artwork.
C. Attention to details, proportions, colour and scale.
D. Comfortable and intimately scaled nursing units and offices.
E. Compatibility of exterior design with surroundings.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

The potential suicide of patients is a special concern of rehabilitation centers. The facility
must not unwittingly create opportunities for suicide. Design to address this and other safety
and security issues includes:

37
 A. Plumbing, electrical, and mechanical devices designated to be tamper-proof
B. Use of breakaway shower-rods and bars, no clothes hooks
C. Elimination of all jumping opportunities.
D. Control of entrances and exits by staff.
E. Provision for patient bedroom doors to be opened by staff in case of emergency.
F. Laminated glass for windows in inpatient units.
G. Fibre-reinforced gypsum board for walls.
H. Special features in seclusion rooms to eliminate all opportunities for self-injury,
including outward opening door with no inside hardware.
I. Careful consideration of appropriate locations for grab bars and handrails. Where
they must be used in unsupervised spaces, and patient profile justifies extra care,
special designs are available that preclude their use for self-injury.
J. Eliminate the use of door knobs and handles.
K. Solid material specified ceilings.

SUSTAINABILITY

Rehabilitation centres are public buildings that may have a significant impact on the
environment and economy of the surrounding community. As facilities built for “caring”, it is
appropriate that this caring approach extend to the larger world as well, and that they be
built and operated “sustainably”.

38
MUKTANGAN MITRA REHABILITATION CENTRE, PUNE.

LOCATION:

Muktangan Mitra is a Public Charitable Trust

dedicated to the treatment of substance users,
research in this field. It has achieved the status of
being one of the best institutes in the field of Drugs
& Alcohol deaddiction today.

Its treatment module of 5 weeks based on Gandhian

Principals, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy and
Alcoholic Anonymous is considered as a Role Model
and recommended by the concerned authorities.

FUNCTION NUMBER AREA (SQ.M.)

Waiting Area 1 27
General Ward 1 93
Coordinator 1 15
Consulting Room 4 8
Psychiatrist 1 8
Social Worker 1 8
Exhibition Hall 1 8
Servant’s Room 1 13
Store 1 8
Kitchen 1 25
Dining Hall 1 100
Gas 1 4

39
STATISTICS

Doctor to patient ratio 1:33

Counsellor to patient ratio 1:50

No. of WC’s per patient 1:33

Ward area to no. of patient ratio 1 patient has 2.5 sq. space approx.

No. of patients: 100

Staff

Doctors 3
Counsellors 2
Psychiatrists 8
Psychologists 8
Project manager 1
Administration 6
Social workers 4
Guards 3
Cook 2

The building is functionally easy to monitor with

only one controlled entrance. The Increased
visibility because of the transparency makes the
supervision easier.

A balance has been struck between a sense of

freedom and disciplinary control.

The architecture attempts at raising a sense of

belonging and sharing between the users and
therefore indirectly causing recoveries.

40
A small, enclosed landscaped amphitheatre in the centre, breathes
light and joy into the building while helping the inmates connect
with each other and the staff there.

Salient features of Muktangan Mitra:

1. De-addiction Treatment.
2. Counselling Centre at Narayan Peth, Pune.
3. Regional Resource and Training Centre – West Zone.
4. O.P.D Facility
5. Follow up Centres in Maharashtra.
6. Day Care Facility.
7. After Care Facility.
8. Sahachari Project.

41
“Architecture is really about well-being.
I think that people want to feel good in a space…
On the one’s hand it is about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.”
- Zaha Hadid.

42
MAGGIE CANCER CARE CENTRE, MANCHESTER, U.K.
“Located across Britain and abroad, Maggie’s Centres are conceived to provide a welcoming ‘home
away from home’ – a place of refuge where people affected by cancer can find emotional and practical
support. Inspired by the blueprint for a new type of care set out by Maggie Keswick Jencks, they place
great value upon the power of architecture to lift the spirits and help in the process of therapy.”

Norman Foster (Project Architect)

Throughout the centre, there is a focus

on natural light, greenery and garden
views.

The rectilinear plan is punctuated by

landscaped courtyards and the entire
western elevation extends into a wide
veranda, which is sheltered from the
rain by the deep overhang of the roof.

Institutional references, such as corridors and hospital signs have been banished in favour of
home-like spaces. To that end the materials palette combines warm, natural wood and tactile
surfaces. Staff will be unobtrusive, yet close and accessible.

The centre combines a variety of spaces, from intimate private niches

to a library, exercise rooms and places to gather and share a cup of
tea. The heart of the building is the kitchen, which is centred on a
large, communal table.

An integrated glass house extends from the south of the

building, providing a space for people to gather and enjoy the
therapeutic qualities of nature and the outdoors while the
interior palette combines warm, natural wood and tactile
fabrics.

43
“I have first-hand experience of the distress
of a cancer diagnosis and understand how
important Maggie’s Centres are as a retreat
offering information, sanctuary and
support. Our aim in Manchester, the city of
my youth, was to create a building that is
welcoming, friendly and without any of the
institutional references of a hospital or
health centre – a light-filled, homely space
where people can gather, talk or simply
reflect.

That is why throughout the building there is

a focus on natural light, greenery and views;
with a greenhouse to provide fresh flowers,
and an emphasis on the therapeutic qualities
of nature and the outdoors. The timber
frame, helps to connect the building with the
surrounding greenery – externally, this
structure will be partially planted with vines,
making the architecture appear to dissolve
into the gardens.”
- Norman Foster.

44
`

45
PRISON DESIGN AND CONTROL
Prisons are not simply about detaining those who break the law; they also function to inculcate
social rules into those who have not been successfully disciplined in other institutions (such as
the family, school, and workplace).

In "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison", French philosopher Michel Foucault analysed
the famous model prison proposed by the 19th Century British philosopher Jeremy Bentham.
Bentham's Panopticon - a circular building with a central guard tower that can look into all the
cells lining the perimeter. The cells are kept illuminated but the observation tower is dark, so
that prisoners can be observed at all times but cannot tell when they are being watched.

The goal is for them to learn to act as if they are constantly under surveillance. Once this self-
discipline is instilled, prisoners can be released into society with the capacity to regulate their
own behaviour through a socially beneficial form of paranoia.

Foucault believed that disciplinary systems, and prisons (with the

Panopticon as the ideal type) were social failures. He considered
that the way disciplinary systems crush individuality and individual
freedom is antithetical to positive social goals such as
rehabilitation and peaceful coexistence.

He also saw the inherent cruelty of prison buildings for what they
are - spaces where state agents, dedicated to maintaining state
power, exact revenge and enforce discipline on those who fail to
abide by the system.

He said, “It is time for architects to find new means of building a

just society, and new buildings for a better set of institutions. The
disciplinary model of the prison/Panopticon is a failure.”

46
ARCHITECTURE AND PRISONS: WHY DESIGN MATTERS?
Questions answered by Isabela Hight (retired advisor of prison development to the UN and
International Red Cross Committee)

Why is the architectural design of prisons so important from a human rights and humane
treatment perspective?
Architecture sends a silent message to everyone walking into any place. It tells you what to
expect and where the limits of behaviour are. Prisons are the same. In my view, design is
crucial to creating an environment in which prisoners can live and not become
institutionalised. This means providing spaces for staying in contact with families, work,
education, and playing sport.

How easy is it to persuade governments in developing countries to build well-designed

prisons?

Governments generally recognise the need, but hospitals or schools often take priority. They
can be receptive to donor funding of new prisons. But large scale imprisonment is primarily a
western concept and donors can be tempted to build prisons similar to those in their own
countries. Historically colonial powers such as the Belgians, French and British built prisons
that were essentially replicas of what they had back home.

Is this what you see on the ground? Why are these prisons so problematic?
Yes, in Africa, for example, if you are familiar with nineteenth century British prisons you can
recognise instantly similar layouts in former British colonies. Large, two to three storey
buildings, long corridors, rather like you see on [the BBC series] Porridge. These prisons,
designed based on outdated ideas about incarceration and now very decrepit, are still in use
– and their limitations made worse by overcrowding. Living spaces built for 20 but holding
two or three times that number are not unusual.

Why is it important to take local cultural values into consideration?

What it comes back to is the purpose of imprisonment. If you want prisoners to lead a more
law-abiding life when they leave, for example, then it’s essential to design buildings so they
can keep up with social practices and community life. This means factors like eating
arrangements – do you sit and eat communally; do you eat in isolation in your cell? To eat
alone is socially unusual in most communities, and can be quite alienating and
institutionalising.

47
Is developed countries using a design from home still an issue?
Yes, this is still a challenge. A prison I know of in Asia was built based on the design of a
European high security prison – it’s single cell and without heating. You can’t have a prison in
that particular place without heating and single cells were alien to staff and prisoners. Prisons
like that are under-used or abandoned.

What do design teams and architects need to think about initially?

Choosing the location is the first issue. Prisons need to be where people are, near large
population centres: prisons need staff; prisoners need to attend courts, lawyers need to see
their clients; prisons depend on community services ranging from rubbish collection to health
services; families need to visit.

What sort of thing typically goes wrong when a prison is badly designed?
Inadequate water supply is a common problem. I know of prisons that have been built where
the water is, say, a kilometre away and that wasn’t factored into the costing so the prison is
unusable. It’s a similar story with electricity.
The women’s wing of Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. Women
are imprisoned for murder, child trafficking, drug smuggling and running away from home.
The women’s wing of Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. Women are
imprisoned for murder, child trafficking, drug smuggling and running away from home.
Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian
What happens when infrastructure is badly designed or fails?
When the design doesn’t work, prisoners and staff try to find a solution. If the kitchen isn’t
working, for example, prisoners will organise supplies from outside, and start cooking in
unsuitable places like sleeping areas. This creates problems with hygiene and vermin. And like
anything limited in prisons, food can become currency. It will be controlled by prisoners or
the staff and that can lead to abuse and corruption.

How does architecture impact the mental health of prisoners?

It varies. What we do know is that very restricted environments where prisoners are isolated
from staff and each other quickly have a negative impact on everyone. It’s really best to
design the flow of movement of staff and prisoners so there is contact between them.
Providing activities also helps. In some prisons I know of, companies have supported
workshops in prisons, and prisoners can then go on to work for them once released.

48
PUNISHMENT OR REHABILITATION
“As Architects, we can be far better employed providing the spaces needed for social
nurturing, healing, and reintegration – instead, the money spent on prison construction steals
the resources needed for these central social goals.”
Punishment?

There are several things that need to be considered whilst talking about the punishing or
rehabilitative system.
First and foremost, it is vital a system acknowledge human freedom, it also recognizes
significant limitations on punishment scope and intensity. Moreover, it recognizes the limited
power of hard treatment. Otherwise, it abandons communication, and expects no response
from offenders.

Excessive cruelty may “turn men into puppets who are creatures of their manipulator.:
Similarly, punishment cannot automatically reform prisoners because each person responds
differently to suffering. Some find meaning in it, while others see it as pointless.
State agencies have little knowledge of the offenders’ inner lives and possess scare resources
with which to influence them, they are in a limited position to understand how individuals
will react to moral change.
It may stop some from offending, but cannot by itself compel them to change their moral
understanding. It may produce personality changes that disappear when hard treatment
ceases.
What about Rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation can be inspirational and motivating, co-opting with rehabilitation, educational
and substance abuse programs helps positive reinforcement instead of punishing bas
behaviour only; example, extending prison time or SHU time. Installing fear into inmates
might work as prisoners would not desire to come back to prison, but a negative
psychological impact gives them no choice, because they are unable to live in the outside
world and cope.
How is Time and Architecture combined?

Time has a great impact to our psyche. With time, we experience a linked cycle of thoughts,
feelings or objects that is linked to change. Without change we would grasp only motionless
presence. Past, present and future and before and after seems connected.

Unable to determine change, those encountering architectural works sometimes experience

seem dame, and slowly sinks in you’re a buy. Thus, architecture can produce an oppressive
track of time.
Meaning and effective architecture helps one strive to a positive environment, however
these are expensive and is time-consuming: which is the reason architecture is likely to only
used for its functional matter.”

49
TIHAR JAIL, NEW DELHI, INDIA.

LOCATION:
Tihar Jail is the largest complex of prisons in
South Asia.

Originally, the jail was planned at Delhi gate

area in 1954 as a maximum-security prison
under the control of Government of Punjab
but later in 1958 got shifted to its present
state.

In 1966, the existing central jail was

divided into three central jails and other
required facilities were added and it was then
that the Tihar jail complex started
proliferating.
Tihar Jails are known as overcrowded prisons,
as of data from November 2006, it had almost
12,000 inmates against the sanctioned
capacity of 5,200.
Another reason for this overcrowding is that
large number of inmates are either under trail
or not even committed to trial.

The Tihar Jail Complex follows clustered layout.

There are various Central Jails within this
complex and one of the major prison typology
followed here is – courtyard in centre which has
a watch tower at the centre like Panopticon.

It resembles square centralised layout. The high

watch tower helps in surveillance by providing
the view of the whole jail compound. Being
distant, it does not generate anxiety in inmates.

The green expanse is Common Park for inmates

of all the wards.

50
 The central jail is further divided in wards and
each ward again follows enclosed courtyard
typology. Each ward is supposed to house
around 50 inmates; however, it is currently
housing 150 inmates.

There is one entry point to the ward which

has a guard room right at the entrance.
Each ward has a central courtyard, dining
space and common toilets.

PRISON CELLS

The inmates are either housed in common dormitory or cell with a capacity of three inmates
in each. Inmates in common dormitory share a common toilet area while the cells with three
inmates have individual toilet facilities in each cell.

The common dormitory has a long passageway/corridor which opens up into a large common
room. But due to extreme overcrowding of the prison, even the outside corridor is occupied
by inmates.
It houses around 36 inmates. Since both cell types are shared, there is loss in sense of privacy
and the provision for self-introspection is less, but it is compensated by healthier group
activities which are aimed at their reformation and rehabilitation like meditation. However,
due to overcrowding, the personal space of inmates is being compromised upon, and more
issues of territoriality and aggressiveness are anticipated.

51
some inmates have also chosen to work in one of
the many 'factories' running inside Tihar. The
produce is varied -- from furniture to hand-made
paper, from breads and biscuits to Petha, from
shirts and dresses to handicrafts. In fact, all these
are marketed in and around Tihar under the brand
name 'TJ's'.

Every day, approx. 7,000 kg of wheat flour is

used to feed the 14,000 inmates.
That's not all, similar quantities of 'quality
controlled' vegetables and other ingredients are
also needed daily. And the inmates themselves
do the cooking.

An inmate at work in Jail No. 6/7, the textile

centre in Tihar.

It isn't 'all work and no play' for the inmates. There

are myriad activities they pursue to gainfully utilise
their time. Some pursue studies, while others are
involved with RJ-ing on TJ FM, painting, reading,
growing herbs, tending domesticated cattle, playing
music, bringing up pets like rabbits and ducks, etc.
An interesting aside -- the literacy rate amongst
inmates is 100%.

52
LIGHTING CONDITIONS
All cells are well ventilated and lit with ample of daylight entering inside the cell through
metal bars and windows which imparts reformative quality to the cells. Also during daytime,
inmates are allowed to walk in courtyard which receives sunlight reduces their sense of
confinement.
COMMON FACILITIES
The common recreational room provides with facilities of indoor games, library and a TV for
entertainment of inmates.

Since currently the aim of Tihar Jail is reformation and rehabilitation; provisions for various
other functions like adult education, yoga and meditation sessions also exist in the
recreational block. There is a common dining area also to promote interaction amongst
inmates and also to help them to build healthy relationships with each other. These common
areas add to the reformative quality of Tihar Jail.
SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
Each Jail has a CCTV control room for watching the inmates’ activities and a control room is
setup in the main prison headquarters.
This system has 235 fixed cameras and 23 movable ones. These cameras record the inmates’
activities for seven days after which the backup is taken. Apart from this method, security
guards are always present in each ward in each jail i.e., 1 guard for 150 inmates.

There are three levels of security under which the inmates are kept inside the prison
complex:

SECURITY LEVEL AREA

1 House Block
2 Compound wall
3 External wall of the Prison Complex

Security by the virtue of built form is a

necessity which might seem overwhelming
and might generate anxiety as well.
Also, the CCTV recordings are observed by
the officers to check on inmates’ behaviour.
.

53
LANDSCAPING

There is a landscaped court inside very

ward and all the corridors of housing
block open right into that court.

So, all the inmates spend a lot of their

time in these landscaped courts and
there is a central green also where
inmates from all wards come together.

The green area also reduces the negativity

due to the confinement and provides them
with relief for some time which adds to the
reformative quality of the prison.

The large park also serves as a

congregational ground encouraging
interaction within the inmates as well as
with the society.

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HALDEN PRISON, NORWAY, SWEDEN
The Halden Prison in Halden, Norway is a
well-discussed prison as it shows how
much of a role architects can or should
have.

The Prison is mentioned many times in

articles as one of the ‘most luxurious’ or
‘most humane’ prisons in the world. The
Halden prison houses around 252 male
inmates and was opened in 2010.

One of the major reasons this prison is getting a lot of critical responses is because of the
extremity of the facility. Prison cells include amenities such as a TV, fridge, art and nicer
furniture than most prison cells. The prison also contains living rooms for every 10-12 cells
and provides plenty of activities such as running, rock climbing, or other means to give the
inmates a more communicative environment to spend their time. To avoid creating
unnecessary intimidation between inmates, half of Halden prison guards are female and do
not carry guns.
As this project is in Norway and its recidivism rates are much lower compared to the US (20%
compared to 67%), this shows rehabilitation has a strong impact on lowering recidivism rates.
Although the public has many conflicts with the idea of focusing on rehabilitating inmates
and using positive reinforcement as a means to help them get back into society and function
properly, this method shows that crime rates have lowered and the prison population as well
as return rates.
Even if this kind of architecture is more expensive than the prison systems in the US,
understanding that the return rate is less than a third compared to the US proves that money
well spent on rehabilitation will save taxpayers money.

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 One of the most successful aspects of this
institution is that it feels more like a holiday
camp or a behavioural facility than a
correctional institution.
The prison is located in a forested area with a
great amount of effort is put in the
landscaping around the facility.

One of the ways rehabilitation through nature

would also be put in place is by using thick
secure glass for windows rather than bars.

“The key principle is on of humanity – treat

people like animals and they will continue to
behave as such, but give them the
opportunity and surroundings to realize their
inner humanity and build on it, and the
people who are released may be more than
human than those who went in.”

Many people might look at the prison as luxurious, but one cannot ignore that inmates are
still in lockdown here. They are not with their families or friends, and Halden prison as much
as other facilities do not come without brutality.
The perimeter walls are finely finished but nevertheless intimidating masses of concrete.

Furthermore, the facility allows for a much better working environment that the average US
prison. Guards and inmates are encouraged to interact kindly with each other, thus making
the prison a more family-like environment where each element of the prison allows the
inmates to improve their behaviour and encourage them to be civil in the outside world.

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SIGNIFICANT POINTS:
1. Rehabilitation has a great impact on inmates
2. This can be done through architectural means: taunting noise, comfortable humane
and inviting spaces.
3. Daylight and natural views are encouraged to help ease the mind.
4. Landscaping allows for a therapeutic time during imprisonment.
5. Guard and inmate relationships show there is no power struggle.
6. The more you try to control or fear something, the more it is likely to retaliate.
7. Trees visually block the view of the protective walls.
8. Community spaces allow prisoners to easily adjust to the real world.
9. However, excessive spending on certain items are not necessary.

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INTERFERENCE
Architecture shapes our thoughts and actions positively and negatively. We feel elevated or
moved to action by its presence. Observing our responses, we notice patterns reflecting our
self-confidence.

A building may also aid in self-reminiscence, however as much as it may ease the mind, there
is a fine line on where it would harm the mind. For example, monasteries have a similar set
up as prison. They are communities that live in a secluded institution. The difference is the
quality of spirituality given through the rehabilitation though the soul, and the infringement
with the force of psychological decay in the two institutions.

Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”
Yet not all built forms have the necessary architectural impact. To be architecturally viable, a
building must respond to the subjective experience of its users, communicating with them on
physical, visual, sensual, intellectual and spiritual levels.

Designing, therefore is not merely a provision of indoor space incorporation, it’s required
scales of area and standards of lighting and ventilation.
Besides considering the climatic conditions and the users of the space, one should also try to
know more that how behaviour of people changes at certain places and restricted at some
particular place.
So, while designing it is important to reflect on the user responses to the built form.

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REFERENCES
Environmental Psychology for Design, Dak Kopec.
Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture, Sally Augustin.
The Architectural Spaces and their Psychological Impacts (National conference on Cognitive
research on human perception of built environment for health and well-being,
Vishakhapatnam, India), Jatish Bag (Dignity college of architecture, Chhattisgarh)
Jon Lang, Creating Architectural Theory: the role of behavioural sciences in environmental
design, (1987).
The Psychology of Architecture,
https://www.wired.com/2011/04/the-psychology-of-architecture/
Bhavsar Shreya (thesis,2010) Club as a social node: an inquiry into behavioural responses
within given spatial condition, a case of Ahmedabad.
The contribution of the five human senses towards the perception of space ,Panagiotis
Hadjiphilippou (Thesis, University of Nicosia)

Environmental Psychology:
http://theoreticalapproachestoenvironmentalpsycholkvf.wordpress.com

Architecture and the Environment (2011),

http://psychological-musings.blogspot.in/2011/08/architecture-and-environment.html

Human Psychology in Rehabilitative Architecture, Madhur Jain (2015),

https://issuu.com/madhurjain22/docs/human_psychology_in_rehabilitative_
The Psychology of Learning Environments, Ken A. Graetz, Winona State University
https://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/learning-spaces/chapter-6-
psychology-learning-environments

Brain Architecture, Centre on the Developing child, Harvard University

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/
The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison Adjustment, ASPE
https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/psychological-impact-incarceration-implications-post-
prison-adjustment

Halden Prison case study, Zolfar Hassib (2014),

https://issuu.com/zolfarhassib/docs/real_thesis_da0fc87ec03697
A View Inside Tihar, Blog,
http://www.huffingtonpost.in/ajay-sood/a-view-inside-tihar_b_6300430.html
Case studies: DPS Kindergarten, Ekta Early Years Elementary & Yellow Train School,
http://www.archdaily.com/search/projects/categories/schools/country/india

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