Housing design during COVID-19: effects of psychological states on Japanese architecture students

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, people worldwide were psychologically affected by being limited to mostly indoor, at-home activities. This study sought to clarify how COVID-19-related psychological states and anxiety affect changes in designs and perceptions of living environments. Hence, this study assigned a housing design task to architecture students – considerations included windows (window-to-wall ratio), lighting plan, color plan, and floor area – and conducted a survey regarding the related deliverables. The results showed that anxiety about going out affected perceptions of openness and publicity, whereas fear of COVID-19 infection affected impressions of space, brightness, and naturalness. These psychological effects are reflected in the total floor area, window area, and color planning. These effects reveal how the psychological state of the designer affects the spatial elements in architectural design. Abbreviations: SD method - Semantic differential method SD - Standard deviation WWR - Window-to-wall ratio Df value – Degrees of freedom value

Keywords

• architectural design
• eco design
• architectural environment
• perception
• psychology of design