Well-Being as an Effective Aspect in the Perception of Vital In-between Spaces within Art and Architecture Faculties

Abstract

In recent years, well-being has become an increasingly important consideration integrated with functional aspects in the design of educational spaces due to its significant impact on the built environment. Although the features of educational spaces have been explored in a myriad of studies, the potential of in-between spaces has not been well explored. This paper reveals the significance of in-between spaces in educational buildings beyond their functional use as the fundamental circulation within a building, indicating that they also play a dynamic role through their design as elastic gathering spaces that encourage informal interactions and link users psychologically and visually, which affects their well-being. However, the potential of these spaces is often overlooked compared to the main educational spaces. Additionally, during the design process, there seems to be a tendency to reduce these spaces to a bare minimum, in favor of exploiting larger spaces, which shows that they are regarded as merely connecting points or transitional spaces. The research problem addressed here is the lack of a clear, adequate understanding of the effect of designing in-between spaces on the productivity and well-being of users, as there are no criteria regarding in-between space designs to enhance well-being. The current paper aims to evaluate the reality of the in-between space design within the art and architecture faculties of Jordanian universities according to the perception of faculty members and students based on well-being requirements. Accordingly, a survey was designed to address the 11 key criteria identified in the literature, including (1) physical features and visual appearance; (2) size and design of in-between spaces; (3) circulation and movement space zoning; (4) ergonomics and furnishing; (5) lighting; (6) colors and finishing; (7) acoustics; (8) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; (9) visual communication and instructional tools; (10) social and cultural spaces; and (11) accessories. The paper utilizes a mixed approach through survey and observation, where the findings are analyzed from three case studies to reveal the dimensions that need to be taken into account and developed to meet the needs of users. The results of the study demonstrate that the specific dimensions of circulation and movement, ergonomics and furnishings, colors and finishing, and accessories must be taken into account to create an interactive environment that advances the educational process and therefore enhances productivity.