IV. b.4 Posturas sobre la lengua y el lenguaje
IV.5. Meta-Epistemologías
Attaianese and Duca (2010) referred to four recent approaches which are usability measurements for building, ergonomics and building design, building use in design management perspective and buildings’ accessibility and design for all. Also, there are several theories that refer to history or build- ing elements. There is also another trend that considers the current issues. A usability measurement for buildings is one of the recent approaches. The concept of usability is integrated into designing build- ings for human purposes. It is conducted through (Alexander, 2010). Blakstad (2010) referred to usability as buildings that support EU activities and physical surroundings through contributing to
them with efficiency, satisfaction and effectiveness. The USETool has been determined as a tool to evaluate the usability of the workplace. Usability could be a process, as argued by Fenker (2008, as cited in Blakstad et al, 2010) and could refer to social construction. It is defined as follows: “... given
that they are designed for one or more activities, the artifacts are bearers of a set of possibilities and constraints as well as, most importantly, activity and social practices models.” The activities and so- cial practices of the EUs clarify the importance of the usability. As has been stated, it is designed for more than one activity. Blakstad (2010) said that usability covers three main points as follows: firstly, specified buildings enable EUs to achieve their needs. Secondly, the importance of the building con- text, will lead to determining the dimensions of the relationship between building and EUs. Finally, EU satisfaction and value creation contribute to the usability to achieve a specified goal. These three points reflect to the researcher the importance of identifying the EU, whether they are visitor, worker, resident, and their age and abilities. The second point is the building type where the usability require- ments for a school are not similar to those for an office building or residential building.The final stage is meeting EU needs to the satisfaction of the user. EU needs could be considered without achieving a high level of satisfaction, such as providing functions that are not suitable to EU abilities. Blakstad (2010) related EU experience to space design as one of usability’s determinants. For this reason, the spaces should be well-functioning to be as EUs wish. This theory to some extent is focused on usabil- ity and its imporance to be integrated into building design. This theory is distinguished because it considers human needs as well as their satisfaction and activities. One of the recent theories is post- occupancy evaluation (POE). The post-occupancy evaluation as a theory considers the EU needs through including physical, technical and psychosocial aspects and evaluations. POE is: “… the pro-
cess of evaluating buildings in a systematic and rigorous manner after they have been built and occupied for some time”, according toPreiser et al (1988, as cited in Blakstad, 2010). So this defini- tion reflects the importance of EU perceptions after using the building. This theory is an assessment for EUs after they have occupied the building.
Issues learned from the literature
Argumentations Research gaps Research Questions Is there an architect who
has proposed a theory that meets EU needs in
related to PD?
As per the literature re- view discussed in this chapter, there is no archi-
tect proposed a theory that meets EU needs in
relted to PD?
There is a need to pro- pose a theoretical model
that relate EU needs to PD.
What is the conceptual model that interact EU
with PD?
Table 2-1: The issues learned from the literature
2.11
Summary of this Chapter
From what has been reviewed above, it could be concluded that the variety of design theories is re- flected in the development of architectural design theories over a long period of time. In addition, the
various architectural trends clarify the different architects’ interests. These theories involve various and different issues that could be considered to fulfil EU needs. Some of these theories are related to ecological issues. However, there is not a theory that includes criteria that could relate EU needs to PD, which is the problem and the gap that this research aims to address. In a way, the EU needs be- come the main driver for designing PD. The design process comprises PDS and PDHAs that helps the designer to ensure the EU needs have been met or not. The contents of these theories could be used as EUFs