A potential danger in writing a book of this type is dealing with an area of study too large to be treated satisfactorily. Human dimension and interior space, by its very nature, is quite conducive to such an error in judgment. No great leap of the imagination is required to acknowledge the multitude of disciplines implied: ergonomics, anthropometry, biomechanics, architecture, interior design, environmental psychology. The list is almost endless. Each discipline and subareas of those disciplines could in themselves all qualify as legitimate topics for an entire network of books.
The problem, therefore, is to avoid erring in the direction of too large an area of study and risking superficiality or to treat the subject within too narrow a frame of reference by limiting the material too severely. We are hopeful that we have avoided these obvious pitfalls. The measure of success, however, can best be determined within the context of the purpose of this book.
The architectural and interior design professions have an abundance of reference material dealing with general planning and design criteria. Not enough of this material, however, addresses itself specifically to the actual physical fit, or interface, between the human body and the various individual components of interior spaces. Of the available material, much is based almost exclusively on trade practices, many of which are outdated, or on the personal judgments of those preparing the standards. With few exceptions, most reference standards are simply not predicated on enough hard anthropometric data.
This is understandable, given the minimal amount of such data available, the form in which most of these data are presented, the general inaccessibility of such data to the interior designer and architect, and, until very recently, the lack of centralized reference sources for such information. In partial defense, however, of the pragmatic approach underlying the preparation of much of the design standards currently in use, it should be recognized that the use of anthropometric data is no substitute for good design or sound professional judgment. It should be viewed as one of many design tools.
Within recent years and arising out of the pressing need for such information on the part of the equipment designer, industrial designer, and human factors engineer, anthropometric data have become more available. Not all the data are necessarily presented in the form most appropriate for use by the architectural or interior design professions. Nor are all the data necessarily applicable to the nature of the particular design problems peculiar to these professions. Moreover, its availability is still in terms of sources relatively foreign to the architect and interior designer and requires referral to a large variety of such sources for what data there are.
The important fact, however, is that anthropometric data are slowly becoming more available, both on a national and international basis. As the world population continues to grow, as our explorations of outer space increase, as international trade and marketing of services and products expands, and as society generally places more priority on the quality of life, it is expected that the inventory of such data will become even more abundant. Architects and interior designers should avail themselves of these data and become more knowledgeable concerning its applicability to the design process. In addition, they should provide the anthropometrist with input, relative to the type and form of data the profession requires.
In elaborating on the role industrial designers will play in the future development of engineering anthropometry, Mauro indicates the thrust of that role “is in defining their needs in terms that the research anthropometrist can understand.” The same should apply to the architect and interior designer.
The general objectives of this book, therefore, are as follows:
1. To develop an awareness on the part of the architect, interior designer, builder, manufacturer, and user of the importance of anthropometry as it relates to human fit and interior space.
2. To provide the architect and interior designer with a basic understanding of anthropometry and the nature, origins, limitations, and proper application of the data involved.
3. To provide the architect and interior designer with a source of the anthropometric data relevant to the nature of those design problems most frequently encountered by those professions and to present those data in an appropriate form.
4. Based on these anthropometric data, to provide the architect and interior designer with a series of graphic design reference standards, involving the interface of the human body with the physical components of some of the prototypical interior spaces in which people live, work, or play.
Accordingly, the book is divided into three major sections. Part A familiarizes the architect and interior designer with the elements of anthropometry in terms of theory, limitations, and application. In addition, the special anthropometric problems of physically handicapped and elderly people and of seating are also discussed. Part B consists exclusively of hard anthropometric data in the form of tables and related illustrations. Part C consists of a series of design reference standards. These standards are in the form of plans and sections of prototypical interior spaces, showing the proper anthropometric relationship between the user and the space.
During the course of developing the necessary research for this book, we found that many of our reasons concerning the need for the architect and interior designer to utilize anthropometric data as a tool in the design process were continually and in some instances, dramatically, reinforced. The urgency for so doing became ever more apparent. We wanted to share some of what we learned and also offer some suggestions for appropriate action that might be taken. Accordingly, the Epilogue contains some jolting examples of how insensitivity to human dimension in the design of various aspects of interior space can result not only in discomfort to the user but, in certain cases, in bodily injury and even death.