The Perfect Smile

It is a professional teeth whitening company. I do a short time observation there because it will have customers in 11am.

The entrance is two iron symmetrical doors, as an iron craft, it is filled with Europe characteristics and many Chinese people like this kind of style.

The waiting room has warm color, bright light and interesting decorations on the low table. The area is comfortable and suitable for clients to wait and read magazines.

Coming in to the treatment room, the first thing I could see is the wallpaper drawing black-and-white flower pattern. It makes the professional space looks like a beauty salon not a treatment room. At the same time, this pattern has a big contract, actually too harsh for people. The treatment chair is dark and looks too plastic and cold to relax on it. There are two modern pictures on the wall but they do not work to improve the good feeling of this space.

The most unbelievable object is in the bath room. The color of toilet is orange not normally white. This color is beautiful but not suitable for a toilet because it gives user a dirty impression rather than a interesting thing. Most people prefer white, at least in the color of toilet.

To be frank, I like this space even it has a lot of shortcomings.

Observation in Ryehill Health Centre

After the tutorial with Hazel, I come to Ryehill Health Centre to do my field observation. It is a community health centre in Perth Road, not far away from our college.

From the outside appearance, it is a medium size as a medical institution. Brown wall, blank tiles and dark red wooden entrance make this health centre inviting and welcoming.

This centre divides into two parts, one is G. P. Clinic and the other is Community Services.

In the reception of G. P. Clinic, the color of wall is yellow-green, making the space very strange. Some chairs’ cushions are broken and look like lack of budget.

In the waiting room, the circumstance is a little bit better, but it still not too comfortable for patients to wait there. There are too many leaflets on the desk of reception and looks very messy. The carpet is dark gray and brown, looks dirty and hard to clean.

One doctor’s office is open so I have a look at that space. It looks like a home not a doctor’s office. Too messy and too clutter. But from the other side of view, the wall’s color is very soft and raises harmony for visitors.

Turn to the other side of the health centre - Community Services. The interior environment is better than the former. The space looks clean, tidy, bright and warm. A TV set in the corner is broadcasting the TV series. The negative one is the color of chairs’ cushions is harsh.

All in all, it is a qualified and welcoming health centre.

Begin to do observations

In order to continue my project – sensory design for dental practice – I need to do field work in dental surgery and other similar interior space.

Today I observe a Chinese therapist, which locates in Overgate Shopping Center and is named “Herb & Acupuncture”. What a traditional & modern blend space it is!

From the reception, it seen obviously that there is a large red wooden counter and two shelves which are filled with big jars of Chinese herbs. In my opinion, the only one disadvantage of the reception is too many posters in front of the counter. It makes such a traditional counter’s face definitely ugly!

In the corridor, the atmosphere of quiet filled this space. The light and warm color advances this situation.

Having come into the treatment, you will find the space is well insulated against sound. Furthermore, because there is nothing on the wall in dim treatment rooms, customers will concentrate their attentions to nothing except enjoy relaxation. From the staff's introduction, the light in treatment rooms could be regulated from light to dark. This is an easy and effective idea to control the indoor light intensity to be a suitable degree in both treatment time and sweeping time.

In doctor’s office, I felt one thing – empty. Except one table and three chairs, there is nothing in it. What a sad design it is! In my view, in this kind of space, the map of channels and collaterals is necessary. It is another way to introduce different culture to British who do not know this kind of knowledge.

In conclusion, it is a quiet space filled with Chinese traditional culture and can be distinguished clearly from other shops.

Literature review 1 -- Healing environment

Healing environment
- Your guide to indoor well-being (Written by Carol Venolia)

When I decided to research the project about healing interior environment by sensory experiences I borrowed this book from our faculty library.

After read this book, I found that the author Carol Venolia is an architect with a longstanding interest in the relationship between life and buildings. Through her architectural practice on the Mendocino/ Sonoma coast, she designs buildings, consults, writes, lectures, and gives workshops nationally.

This book divided into three parts: Background, Aspects of Healing Environments, and Synthesis. Background was composed by five chapters: Welcome; Health and Place; Indoors, Outdoors; Awareness and Empowerment; Self-Knowledge, Home, and the Health. The second part, Aspects of healing environments, it was made up of seven chapters: Symbols and Environmental Messages; Light; Color; The Thermal Environment; Sound and Noise; Indoor Air Quality; Plants and Gardens. Synthesis was formed by five chapters; they are Applications; Design Elements; Healing Centers; Taking Action; Conclusion and Beginning.

This book takes the reader on a journey of self-exploration to increase awareness of how the buildings we inhabit influence our mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. Author outlines the factor involved in creating an integrated environment that nurtures not only the body and the mind, but the spirit as well – factors that can be applied to remodeling home or workplaces as well as new construction.

It goes way beyond the concept of “safe” – and often sterile – nontoxic housing. Carol Venolia’s premise is that beating our bodies and minds involves drawing on vital, positive forces within our homes and workplaces, and outside them in nature including weather, light, sound, plants, wildlife, and annual cycles. Her holistic building wisdom, focusing on human diversity and individuality, has not been matched or approached, by any other author.