Privacy dimensions: a case study in the interior architecture design studio

Abstract

The most commonly used space in architectural education is the studio, which functions both as a learning centre and as a complex social organization. The behavioural elements in the design studio are analysed with respect to the social processes of environmental psychology; namely privacy, personal space, territoriality and crowding. A case study was conducted to evaluate the differences between the desired and actual conditions of a design studio in the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Bilkent University. The expectations and preferences of the interior architecture students pertaining to the design studio were analysed by considering the sex differences in patterns of privacy preferences and the results of this study are expected to be used as input for a new design studio. Results showed that there was no difference between preferences of solitude, reserve, anonymity, and isolation among sexes. Although there was a significant difference among sexes where females preferred intimacy with family and males preferred intimacy with friends.