Prospect and Reffuge

"Environments that feel secure and thereby meet basic human psychological needs will often provide people with the capacity to observe (prospect) without being seen (refuge)."

As humans, when we choose a place or environment to relax in, we gravitate to a space that allows us to see out and around us, but that has a blockade or wall behind us. This is because of our natural instinct to be able to see what is happening and predict what may happen around us. Having a sort of blockade behind us also prevents the ability for someone or something being able to come up behind us. Before human evolution, each gender had a role in survival, males were the hunters and females were gatherers. Because of this, it is more evident in males to feel safest when the ability to be approached from behind is not a concern.

This picture shows how we tend to gravitate towards places with the option to lean against something, in this case a tree trunk or a brick wall next to a building, instead of choosing to sit on the walk way or in the middle of the grass. 

Refuge is expedited in the picture above because of the ability to see out and around when sitting in the chair, but because the bookshelf is placed behind the chair, this creates a since of security. There is also the ability to close the curtains on the windows so that no one can see in. Refuge is critical aspect of design because if the person(s) being designed for do not have the required sense of security needed to enjoy an environment, they will not want to use the space. It is also important to consider the proper amount of refuge appropriate for what the space will be used for.    

This is an example of prospect because of the openness of the environment. There is the ability to both see out and around yourself, but also for others to see you. When designing, it is very common for  clients to prefer their prospect to be in the kitchen with a large window above the sink, or in the living room with large windows allowing natural sunlight to come in and create a more open feeling to that are of the house. This is also because these areas are usually the main places that hosts company, whereas we tend to prefer our bedrooms and bathrooms to have a more refuge type feeling to them.

Dosen , Annemarie S, and Michael J Ostwald. “Prospect and Refuge Theory: Constructing a Critical Definition for Architecture and Design.” The International Journal of Design in Society » Prospect and Refuge Theory: Constructing a Critical Definition for Architecture and Design, The International Journal of Design in Society, ijgs.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.236/prod.8.

Sugihto, Esther. “Prospect - Refuge Theory – Esther Sugihto – Medium.” Medium, Medium, 17 May 2016, medium.com/@social_archi/prospect-refuge-theory-ca5d80379e51.