This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Steidl, R. E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

User Effort Related to Apartment Design

Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, New York State College of Human Ecology, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

To study the quality of the interior physical environment of apartment dwellings for the users and their activities, 115 residents in two-bedroom apartments were interviewed using a structured schedule. To obtain an evaluation of the human costs of using the environment, respondents rated their effort for tasks in each room. The users' evaluations of specific design features helped interpret ratings. Of 5, 059 ratings of effort relative to effect of room design on 22 tasks, 50 percent were decreased effort, 23 percent little effect on effort, 27 percent in creased effort. Ratings of increased effort averaged 11.87 per respondent. Implicated espe cially were kitchen, entry, and bathroom designs. Negative evaluations of storage, space, floor and wall materials, and sound insulation were associated (X²) with increased effort. As satisfac tion with apartment decreased, the average number of ratings of increased effort increased. User characteristics, including presence of a child, wife's employment, and the habit of sav ing/collecting things, were also examined. This research provides descriptive information about effects of some design decisions on user effort.

Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4, 297-309 (1981)
DOI: 10.1177/1077727X8100900404


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?