Transformational Spaces have the power to positively affect their occupants in conscious and unconscious ways and through multiple modes of perception. In addition to perceiving with the physical senses, humans subtly respond to their environment spatially (or functionally), psychologically and emotionally. If a design addresses only physical and functional concerns, it will fall short of its potential for enhancing the lives of those who experience it. The more perceptivity factors that are considered in the design, the more profound the impact of the overall spatial experience will be.

Depending on the desired scope of transformation, our projects work on multiple experiential levels:

                 Functional         Sensory            Emotional         Harmonic

Functional – how the space works

Space Planning – the fluid flow of human activity

     Obviously, a keen sense of spatial harmony and the fluid flow of activities in a space is essential. Space Planning is a basic concern of spatial transformation. The spaces must be flexible enough to accommodate the present requirements as well as anticipate future needs. There must be a natural flow of space to support circulation within and between activity areas.

Light –  a basic requirement for useful space

     Light, both natural and artificial, has a profound effect on the experience of space in functional as well as psychological ways. Scientists have discovered a correlation between quality of light and certain psychological disorders which can be treated through redesign of architectural lighting.

     Natural Light – The most harmonious environments make effective use of natural sunlight. Our bodies use the Sun's light as an external metronome to set our bio-cycles and body rhythms. For instance, the production of melatonin, an important hormone in controlling sleep, and serotonin, a hormone involved with moods, are both closely linked to sunlight.

     The usefulness of natural light is not just an effect of its quantity. It is equally important to filter and balance the natural light in order to minimize stress caused by glare and ultraviolet radiation. Inadequate attention to proper lighting design can cause one to have to continually adjust to contrasting light levels. This can create unneeded tension by demanding constant eye adjustments between extreme brightness and shadow. This can tire eyes quickly, causing headaches, tension, nausea and other disturbances.

     Artificial Light - In a world of electric light bulbs, late nights, early mornings, coffee and long distance travel across time-zones we often need to re-set our body's relationship with the Sun. This is where full spectrum light therapy can help. Being exposed to light that mimics natural sunlight can re-balance the hormonal system causing a cascade of beneficial effects.

Sensory  -  How space registers on our senses

Vision

Color  - The most basic level of visual perception is color. This is one area where a relatively low cost renovation can produce dramatic results. Though the effect of color is superficial, it can produce dramatic results.

Materials - Before we perceive materials by feeling, we respond to how they look. We have a different reaction to warm inviting materials than we do to cold hard materials. 

Light - Light effects space in functional, sensory as well as psychological ways. Attention to natural and artificial lighting produces the most powerful effect of the quality of the design.

Sound

What we see seems to be outside of us, but when we hear something it resonates within us. This is one of the reasons that music touches us so deeply. Besides balancing the acoustic performance of a space, our auditory experience can be engineered through the use of Water Features, Music, Ambient noise management and by eliminating or masking unpleasant sounds.

Smell 

Our sense of smell connects to our brain at its core most primitive level. Effects from the sense of smell are often overlooked even though they can bring back associations more vividly than sight or sound. For example, one bad dental experience can create emotional anxiety triggered merely by odors associated with a dentists office. The effects of even unconsciously perceived odors can create negative mood changes.  

Many offices that wouldn’t dream of providing unfiltered tap water for their employees and clients will inundate them with unhealthy and poor-quality air to breathe. Odorless but harmful pollutants from carpets, paint, furniture, cleansers and common office supplies can create detrimental effects which are made worse because the source is never identified. The use of non toxic building materials and air purification systems can make a powerful difference in one's experience of a space.

Touch

Touch is the foundation of physical existence. It is the most elemental sense and the first to evolve. You know how different it is to sit on fine upholstery rather than cheap vinyl. One makes you feel embraced while the other makes you tense. Each material in your environment initiates a sensation response. Usually these responses are unconscious and yet their cumulative effect can take their toll. Many people have learned to numb themselves to the negative effects of their physical environment. This leads to numbing in other ways and eventually to a diminishing of one's natural energetic aliveness.  

Emotional – Beyond the Physical Senses

One example of the emotional effect of design is through the science of color. Scientists have studied color and light extensively and recognize that colors bring about emotional reactions in individuals. Color has been successfully used in the treatment of psychological disorders and found to modify prisoner’s aggressiveness. Research supports the need for chromatic variety and contrast to break up the weariness of a bland environment, which can add to feelings of anonymity and isolation. Color can have a powerful healing effect in our lives if we use it to replicate the inherent harmony of color in the natural world. High stress environments need a calming atmosphere, which is easily achieved through color. When workers must use their eyes a great deal, it helps to use low-reflective colors. Flat absorptive colors can ease the strain of working at computer terminals all day. Office workers spend half their waking hours on the job, and satisfaction with the environment is closely associated with job performance. When an employer creates a beautiful working environment it communicates that she cares about her staff. Drab offices are counterproductive. Off-white, buff and gray surroundings offer little inspiration. Employers can show how they care for their employees by providing environments that will raise spirits and not suppress them. Health care facilities and retirement homes, especially, can benefit from good color design. The key here is to create user-friendly physical structures that are practical and spiritually uplifting. Bland environments cause sensory deprivation and can be detrimental to healing. The human brain needs constant change and moderate stimulation to maintain a sense of well being.

Harmonic –  the integration of multiple factors affecting our well-being

The most important task of a Transformational Space is to balance over a thousand different environmental concerns and integrate them into a coherent and balanced design. While a certain kind of wood finish might be perfect for one location, the same material might be jarring in another. Harmonic design is not only a result of balancing many design factors, but includes many factors of its own.

Environmentally sound building technologies

Many unseen details affect the quality of a spatial experience as well. Just as you wouldn’t feel good profiting from an investment in a business that utilized slave labor, the unseen details of construction can affect the occupant’s sense of well being. As with human beings, the healthier the bodies of our buildings are the more they support us in living a rich creative joyful existence. An action creates a habit, a habit creates a characteristic, a characteristic creates a personality, a personality creates a destiny. With every interaction, the deeper essence of a person is revealed. With each day, the deeper aspect of a harmonic design is appreciated.

Just one example of environmentally sound building material is commercially produced carpets, which have been found to outgas as many as 14 different carcinogenic compounds, sometimes for the entire the lifespan of the carpet. It is possible to use carpet that uses no toxic chemical in its manufacture, is made in factories that produce no waste whatsoever, where even all discharged waste water is drinkable!