How Design Is Appropriated: Understanding Habitation through the Observation of Situated Behavior

The relationship between people and designed space is often approached exclusively with text-based research techniques (e.g., interviews and questionnaires). After proposing a theoretical framework for design from a sociological perspective, this paper first illustrates the limitations of those techniques when investigating appropriation of designed space, i.e., situated behaviors and perceptions. Then, the observation of socio-environmental indicators is proposed as a research technique, illustrating how this unobtrusive approach overcomes some of those limitations, allowing the study of habitation through the observation of effects of behaviors rather than the behavior itself. A taxonomy of socio-environmental indicators is introduced, showing how five categories can be construed (i.e., traces, alterations, adaptations, signs, and routines) for the analysis of habitation of designed spaces at various level of scales, from the proxemic space around the body to the larger designed environment. Certain specific examples are discussed, showing how indicators can be analyzed, generating insights and the formulation of hypotheses that may be further investigated triangulating with other research techniques. After discussing the limitations of this technique, the paper reflects on how its application contributes to a dialogical appreciation of design.