DESIGN BY ACTIONS: An Affordance-based Modeling System in Spatial Design

Abstract

From the viewpoint of interaction design, Gibson's affordance concept is interpreted as an emergent action possibility of the physical human-environment-system, which consists of three key components: the user, the environment, and the possible actions. It could help user to perform the suitable action within an artificial environment. This study aims to develop a formal description of affordance in spatial design. Using the formal description as groundwork, an affordance-based modeling system is then proposed to facilitate its further implementation in design and elucidate the new role of users and designers in spatial design. A simplified sink area design is used as an example to illustrate how this affordance-based modeling system works. For users of different conditions, different spatial arrangements in design will affect the performance and users’ behavior as well. This study demonstrates how design by action can be achieved, and then simulates the action sequence of different design solutions to evaluate the system performance.