... Pull up a comfortable chairif you can find oneand read it." WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI ... more ... Pull up a comfortable chairif you can find oneand read it." WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI I The Chair RETHINKING CULTURE, BODY, AND DESIGN Galen Cranz ... Provocative yet thoughtful, with more than a kernel of truth." Booklist "The Chair is uncommonly exciting work. ...
Ethnography for Designers teaches architects and designers how to listen actively to the knowledg... more Ethnography for Designers teaches architects and designers how to listen actively to the knowledge people have about their own culture. This approach gives structure to values and qualities. It does this by noting the terms and underlying structure of thought people use to describe aspects of their culture. By responding to underlying cognitive patterns, the architect can both respond to the user and interpret creatively. Thus, ethno-semantic methods can help designers to enhance their professional responsibility to users and, at the same time, to feel fulfilled creatively. This book is a practical guide for those teaching social factors and social research methods to designers and for those using these methods in practice.
Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 2016
This paper offers a pedagogy for teaching post-occupancy evaluation (POE) research, which emphasi... more This paper offers a pedagogy for teaching post-occupancy evaluation (POE) research, which emphasizes learning by doing and offers an efficient division of labor. One of the two major assignments of a primary human factors course, the POE is assigned to 150 students in a single semester. Research is divided into six researchable questions to be answered by sections, of 25 students each. Each section is then broken into 5 teams, and each team is assigned one of the following 5 social science data collection techniques: (1) direct and indirect observation, (2) interviews, (3) questionnaires, (4) photo elicitation, or (5) archival analysis. This results in a matrix of questions and answers; each question is answered by 5 different data collection techniques, providing a comprehensive analysis with minimal effort from each student. This paper outlines class planning, student survey results, and the strengths and limitations faced in such assignments. The research project gives students h...
The home would become an arena of retreat. A special chamber designed for the kinds of activities... more The home would become an arena of retreat. A special chamber designed for the kinds of activities I have described, a cross between a gymnasium and a meditation room, might appeal to those who want separation, but I would prefer to see the entire home recognized around these concepts. They do require continued, regular use to be effective. Redesigning our entire home setting as a place for creature comfort has several implications. The most important one, over and above the actual physical changes, is the challenge to the notion of the home as a place for status display. Typically, people decorates their homes to show their educational level, taste, class, and where they have travelled. Instead, the home could become a retreat for recharging and rejuvenation. In the long run, those who have the new “creature comfort” home might accrue high status; but in the short run, it might mean abandoning old forms of status. The aesthetic of the new ensemble created by this new use of surfaces...
International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, 2014
Learning about human behavior, cultural diversity, and user perspectives are all part of the NAAB... more Learning about human behavior, cultural diversity, and user perspectives are all part of the NAAB-required curriculum for educating architects. Beyond that, these skills help architects compete in a global and diverse world. Semantic ethnography offers a method for understanding the user perspective in cultural settings. We present a research and design project centered on semantic ethnography as a way to teach architecture students about how to design for user groups. A survey administered to two years of students indicates that this project is indeed helpful for teaching students about how to find and listen to the user perspective.
... Pull up a comfortable chairif you can find oneand read it." WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI ... more ... Pull up a comfortable chairif you can find oneand read it." WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI I The Chair RETHINKING CULTURE, BODY, AND DESIGN Galen Cranz ... Provocative yet thoughtful, with more than a kernel of truth." Booklist "The Chair is uncommonly exciting work. ...
Ethnography for Designers teaches architects and designers how to listen actively to the knowledg... more Ethnography for Designers teaches architects and designers how to listen actively to the knowledge people have about their own culture. This approach gives structure to values and qualities. It does this by noting the terms and underlying structure of thought people use to describe aspects of their culture. By responding to underlying cognitive patterns, the architect can both respond to the user and interpret creatively. Thus, ethno-semantic methods can help designers to enhance their professional responsibility to users and, at the same time, to feel fulfilled creatively. This book is a practical guide for those teaching social factors and social research methods to designers and for those using these methods in practice.
Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 2016
This paper offers a pedagogy for teaching post-occupancy evaluation (POE) research, which emphasi... more This paper offers a pedagogy for teaching post-occupancy evaluation (POE) research, which emphasizes learning by doing and offers an efficient division of labor. One of the two major assignments of a primary human factors course, the POE is assigned to 150 students in a single semester. Research is divided into six researchable questions to be answered by sections, of 25 students each. Each section is then broken into 5 teams, and each team is assigned one of the following 5 social science data collection techniques: (1) direct and indirect observation, (2) interviews, (3) questionnaires, (4) photo elicitation, or (5) archival analysis. This results in a matrix of questions and answers; each question is answered by 5 different data collection techniques, providing a comprehensive analysis with minimal effort from each student. This paper outlines class planning, student survey results, and the strengths and limitations faced in such assignments. The research project gives students h...
The home would become an arena of retreat. A special chamber designed for the kinds of activities... more The home would become an arena of retreat. A special chamber designed for the kinds of activities I have described, a cross between a gymnasium and a meditation room, might appeal to those who want separation, but I would prefer to see the entire home recognized around these concepts. They do require continued, regular use to be effective. Redesigning our entire home setting as a place for creature comfort has several implications. The most important one, over and above the actual physical changes, is the challenge to the notion of the home as a place for status display. Typically, people decorates their homes to show their educational level, taste, class, and where they have travelled. Instead, the home could become a retreat for recharging and rejuvenation. In the long run, those who have the new “creature comfort” home might accrue high status; but in the short run, it might mean abandoning old forms of status. The aesthetic of the new ensemble created by this new use of surfaces...
International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR, 2014
Learning about human behavior, cultural diversity, and user perspectives are all part of the NAAB... more Learning about human behavior, cultural diversity, and user perspectives are all part of the NAAB-required curriculum for educating architects. Beyond that, these skills help architects compete in a global and diverse world. Semantic ethnography offers a method for understanding the user perspective in cultural settings. We present a research and design project centered on semantic ethnography as a way to teach architecture students about how to design for user groups. A survey administered to two years of students indicates that this project is indeed helpful for teaching students about how to find and listen to the user perspective.
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Papers by Galen Cranz