Architectural Design and Well-being - Intermediate Transitional Environments

Established research indicates a relationship between environmental comfort and its impact on energy use and demand whilst on-going research demonstrates that comfort and well-being have a significant impact on physical and psychological health affecting an individual's performance in the workplace and at home. Users' well-being and satisfaction, comfort, health and happiness can be influenced by architectural design. Climate and cultural regionalism affect in an individual's perception of and response to an architectural space while the adaptability of the built environment can play a key role in users' evolving needs. Intermediate spaces between highly serviced specialised interior accommodation and natural outdoor environments could act as a climate moderator, provide users with a varied range of sensory experience, incorporate adaptability, promote straightforward access to gardens and be a filter in relation to comfort, air quality and pollution. Considering the uncertain consequences of climate change, intermediate spaces could potentially contribute to the adaptability of architecture over time helping to maintain comfort, maximising the built environment's design life and use. Intermediate transitional spaces can be associated with different building uses and scales; ranging from a single space to urban design. This research proposes to focus on 'how intermediate transitional spaces improve well-being in the built environment.