Research

There are a great many areas in the design of the built environment that lack fundamental research. Support for this research is vital to the improvement of the environments we design. Form4 has a commitment to funding and participating in research projects which advance our understanding the built environment. The initial stages of this commitment will focus on "Placemaking."

The study of "Placemaking" concentrates on the interaction of people with space. Architectural place occurs when a space supports a heightened significance to the people who use it, where its use and function create an emotional "fit" with the physical environment. Extraordinary places increase a variety of human emotions, such as satisfaction, contentment, concentration, and productivity. These places have a positive impact on the people who use them, resulting in better environments. In order to design better "People Spaces" on an urban, building, and interior scale Form4 has made two research commitments with the University of California at Berkeley.

Since 1999, Form4 has Funded a Master of Urban Design research assistant in the Department of City and Regional Planning. The nature of this project is to further the understanding of placemaking, through an analysis and description of "Great Place."

Form4 and John Marx are founding members of a formative UC Berkeley based group, creating a web based database of some of the world's great places.

This database will incorporate new advances in virtual reality, as well as a critical analysis of these places. The initial phase of this research is to create a digital template which is "open-ended", allowing for the contribution of "places" from a rich variety of sources around the world.

Research