Xiaobo Shen defends her PhD thesis
Xiao Bo Shen defends her PhD thesis 'Places that gather: A study of wellbeing through design'.
The defence is public, and everybody is welcome.
Follow the defense online via Zoom >
Department of People and Technology will host a small reception afterwards from 16.00 to approx. 17.30
Supervisors and assessment
PhD Evaluation Committee:
- Jonas Larsen (Chair), Professor, 兴发娱乐官网手机版客户端 University, Denmark
- Stig Lennart Andersson, Founder of SLA Architects, Professor, Denmark
- Ida Sandstr?m, Senior Lecturer, Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Lund University, Sweden
Supervisors:
- J?rgen Ole B?renholdt, Professor, Department of People and Technology, 兴发娱乐官网手机版客户端 University, Denmark
- Linda Lundgaard Andersen, Professor, Department of People and Technology, 兴发娱乐官网手机版客户端 University, Denmark
Abstract
Informal gathering places, such as neighbourhood cafés, serve as vital social amenities that provide opportunities for us to spend time freely outside of work or home. In the field of urban studies, these spaces have been conceptualized as urban public spaces (Montgomery, 1997), ‘third places’ (Oldenburg, 1999) or ‘social infrastructure’ (Klinenberg, 2018; Latham & Layton, 2019), with research highlighting their social value in supporting everyday processes essential to wellbeing.
However, much of this literature treats wellbeing as a broad, umbrella concept, often overlooking its complex and multifaceted nature. While some scholars argue that social processes within these places are indicative of wellbeing experiences (Davern et al., 2017; Zahnow, 2024), there remains a lack of research critically examining how these processes specifically contribute to different aspects of wellbeing (Lee, 2022).
In contrast, the building industry seems to focus narrowly on wellbeing – often by advocating for material provision of environmental stimuli – while neglecting the broader social and affective aspects. As a result, a significant knowledge gap persists regarding the relationship between informal gathering places, wellbeing and design.
The current dissertation addresses this gap by exploring the following research question: In what ways do informal gathering places promote wellbeing, and how can architectural practices nurture their wellbeing potential? This question is twofold, demanding both analytical insights and practical know-how. To answer it, the research adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from urban studies, health geography and design research. Grounded in assemblage thinking (Dovey, 2009) and the concept of enabling places (Duff, 2011), the study employs a mixed-methods approach, including qualitative interviews, observations, scoping review, and Research through Design (Simonsen, B?renholdt, Büscher, et al., 2010). This strategy allows for a detailed examination of the mechanisms through which built places enables wellbeing and how architectural engagement relates during the formation of places.
Findings from socio-spatial analysis reveal that the unique spatiotemporal flexibility (Shen, 2024) and affordances (Gibson, 1966) of informal gathering places encourage ‘passive’ forms of sociability. These are often mundane and subtle social engagement – such as simply being side-by-side with others – that foster a sense of belonging, social connectedness and opportunities for ‘attention restoration’ (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). Predicting the wellbeing effects of future buildings remains challenging. However, this research demonstrates – through two real-life architectural projects – that incorporation insights from lived experiences into early design stages, particularly through spatiotemporal programming, has important implication for supporting co-presence and enabling vital social resources.
In conclusion, this dissertation makes a contribution by synthesizing disciplines that are often studied in isolation. It identifies relevant practical design methods and proposes a novel framework to guide the design process of enabling gathering places. In so doing, the PhD project argues that a complementary relationship between design, perception and use of informal gathering places is essential for the emergence of wellbeing experiences. Future research should further validate these findings through studies of indoor social environments and post-occupancy evaluations to better understand the wellbeing effects. Additionally, the development and application of assessment tools that capture design, perception and use are recommended to fully realize the value of informal gathering places as enablers of wellbeing