A fresh glance at environmental ergonomics: a systematic review of human-environment interaction concepts and approaches

Abstract

The WHO's European Charter on Environment and Health emphasizes the importance of a clean and harmonious environment for good health and wellbeing, considering various factors such as physical, psychological, social, and aesthetic elements. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the role of physical space in relation to people's wellbeing and tasks, highlighting the impact of the environment on psychophysical health and human-system interactions. It focuses on the concept of environmental ergonomics, which analyzes how environmental features can support or hinder human activities and the wellbeing of its inhabitants. The paper also discusses the shift in the understanding of how spatial and environmental qualities influence wellbeing over time, emphasizing the need for clarity on various factors such as satisfaction, aesthetics, ergonomics, and performance. Furthermore, it outlines a twofold approach to assessing and designing people-centered physical spaces, considering both technical variables and spatial experience. The paper provides a systematic review of key concepts to build a sort of tool kit for the environmental ergonomist, ranging from affordance and usability, mental models and wayfinding, urban landscape, topophilia and placemaking, Post Occupancy Evaluation, multisensory, biophilia, neuroarchitecture. Finally, practical examples of environmental ergonomics application are presented, such as: healing environments, buildings for people with specific needs, environments to reduce human error, buildings to move in, emergency evacuation, smart buildings and smart cities, environments for healthy living, environments for learning and creativity.

Keywords: Human-Environment Interaction, Environmental Ergonomics, Human Centred Architecture

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005278