Pleasure-based design approaches to the built environment

This paper analyses the thinking captured by Patrick Jordan into pleasure based design approaches in product design. The work explores the suitability of Jordan's interpretation of the emotional design informed by anthropologist Lionel Tiger, applied to areas that involve human-interaction beyond consumer products. The paper proposes strategies on how this can be applied and shows how Jordan's work can be used as a framework in extending these principles of physio, socio, psycho and ideo-pleasures to non product design activities that involve people. The paper uses the design of the built environment as an example and demonstrates how these “pleasures” can be contextualised to ensure a “successful” design outcome.
This refereed full paper is published as part of a special issue on Culture, Creativity and Engineering by the Institution of Civil Engineers in their international journal Municipal Engineer: this is the only journal which examines new approaches to municipal engineering.
This work described in this publication has received attention: it was part of a debate at a Centre for Public Policy Seminar held in 2005 in London on the topic of Sustainable Communities, organized in conjunction with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and attended by many chief executives of UK city councils and town planners; it was also presented in March 2005 at the 4x4 Making Places seminar, organized by Leeds City Council and attended by over 300 city architects and town planners.
The work was conducted jointly by Bardill (RA2) and Karamanoglu, assisted by K Herd (Research Student Tutor).
The paper also informed further research in using pleasure based design principles in designing mass customizable products, the results of which are returned by Bardill.