Sketching is a foundational skill in interior design education, yet students’ performance varies with cognitive style and perceived task difficulty. This study examined how these factors influence improvement in 2D and 3D sketching following a targeted workshop designed to develop spatial visualization and representational skills. Fifty-three undergraduate interior design students in the United States and South Korea completed pre- and post-workshop sketching tasks requiring the visualization of room shape, furniture proportion, and details in floor plans and perspectives. Learning outcomes were analyzed to assess task-specific performance gains and the role of individual differences. Path analysis using ordinary least squares regression examined the relationships among cognitive style, perceived difficulty, and sketching performance. Adaptive learners showed the greatest improvement in 2D tasks, whereas intuitive learners excelled in 3D representations. Perceived difficulty significantly predicted performance, particularly for 2D sketches, and analytic tendencies were associated with higher percieved difficulty for 3D tasks. The workshop effectively supported foundational sketching skills while highlighting areas that require additional scaffolding for complex tasks. These findings underscore the importance of task-specific, sequenced, and differentiated instruction that accounts for cognitive style and perceived difficulty. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs to explore how perceived difficulty influences self-efficacy and design performance over time and to identify instructional strategies that optimize sketching development across 2D and 3D tasks.
This study examined how the physical environment of hospital lobbies shapes first-time visitors’ first impressions and emotional responses. The research addresses a gap in the literature of healthcare design pertaining to these immediate judgments, acknowledging that first impressions are formed rapidly, frequently within minutes, and substantially influence the overall experiences of patients and visitors. The study was conducted at a hospital in West Texas and employed a convergent mixed-methods design. The primary focus of this paper is on qualitative data collected from 30 participants who were exposed to the hospital lobby for controlled durations. Data collection included think-aloud protocols, semi-structured interviews, and card-sorting exercises, analyzed through inductive content analysis to identify key environmental attributes affecting impressions. The results reveal that first impressions are formed within five minutes and are significantly influenced by factors such as spatial functionality, aesthetic characteristics (e.g., cleanliness, lighting, artwork), sensory stimuli, and wayfinding cues. These elements collectively evoke emotional and cognitive responses that shape visitors’ comfort, safety perception, and satisfaction. The study concludes that the integration of functional and ornamental design elements is essential for enhancing the overall experience of hospitals and promoting positive emotional engagement. Implications suggest that healthcare designers should prioritize user-centered approaches that balance safety, efficiency, and welcoming atmospheres to enhance well-being from the very first encounter.
Modern design has prioritized enclosed environments, disconnecting people from nature and contributing to environmental and health challenges. Biophilic design (BD) addresses these issues by integrating natural systems into built spaces, acknowledging the essential role of nature in human well-being. However, validating its applicability—particularly regarding the impact of natural elements that are difficult to quantify—requires further qualitative and quantitative research. Hence, this study proposes a Biophilic Interior Design Assessment Model (BIDAM) to assess how effectively interior spaces incorporate BD principles. The model uses image analysis of floor plans and visual representations, along with both qualitative and quantitative research methods, to evaluate the biophilic attributes. BIDAM was developed using three techniques: (i) literature synthesis, (ii) quantitative analysis, scoring twenty-three attributes with a total of eighty-two points, and (iii) expert perspectives provided by the research team through qualitative approaches. To test the model, three case studies were selected from among the top architecture projects in Australia, and their interior designs were evaluated in terms of BD principles, attributes, and patterns. The overall findings show that, along with quantitative analysis, a qualitative analysis is needed for a holistic evaluation. The findings also suggest that the most effective BD could be achieved not by simply increasing the number of biophilic elements or patterns but by creating a harmonious combination of patterns and attributes that complements and enhances the overall design concept.
Religion was once one of the primary drives behind the greatest architectural works, and religious principles undergirded architectural designs and aims. In an increasingly secular era, however, the place and values of religious architecture are changing, but it is unclear how. This study relies on a method of critical discourse analysis known as discourse-historic approach (DHA) to examine how five Western architecture and design magazines use language to construct contemporary understandings of the design of Abrahamic religious buildings. By investigating three interconnected dimensions of DHA, the article (1) describes thematic quantitative trends in the coverage of churches, mosques, and synagogues and (2) uncovers biases in narratives constructing these buildings in a major source of information for designers and architects. Findings indicate that design magazines largely portray religious architecture as sculptural and symbolic, emphasizing form, materiality, and aesthetics while neglecting function, community use, and designers’ roles. This narrow focus overlooks how such spaces serve contemporary social needs like sustainability, neurodiversity, and community well-being. The analysis critiques the lack of critical discussion on performance, context, and social relevance, arguing that current portrayals promote untested opinions driven by commercialization and awards culture. In addition, Christian spaces are overrepresented, while mosques and synagogues are treated generically, reflecting geographic and cultural bias. The findings call for a shift to a human-centered, community-focused approach in design media, one that better aligns with industry trends and promotes architecture’s potential to address pressing social and environmental issues.
This study explores the impact of culture and gender on hotel guestroom lighting preferences and emotional responses using virtual reality (VR) technology. As VR plays an increasingly important role in hospitality and interior design research, this study examines whether Millennials and Generation Z travelers exhibit significant variations in lighting preferences based on nationality and gender. Researchers implemented a within-group experimental design, allowing participants to experience and compare four distinct lighting conditions in a virtual hotel guestroom. The study recruited 126 participants from three cultural backgrounds-South Korea, the United States, and Iran-and analyzed their preferences and emotional responses using the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) model. Findings reveal a strong preference for warm/dim lighting, which participants described as comfortable and relaxing, whereas they least preferred cool/bright lighting, often perceiving it as harsh and uninviting. While cultural differences did not significantly affect preferred lighting, participants from different backgrounds showed significant variations in their least preferred lighting choices; Iranian males demonstrated the strongest aversion to warm/bright lighting. Gender differences also emerged as female participants expressed a significantly greater dislike for cool/bright lighting. Emotional responses further supported these trends, with participants reporting greater pleasure and relaxation in their preferred lighting conditions. By offering empirical insights into how lighting influences guest experiences, this study highlights the role of cultural and gender variations in hospitality design. The findings provide hotel designers, architects, and hospitality professionals with practical guidance for creating personalized and culturally adaptive lighting environments in hotel guestrooms.
