Proxemic zones and the spatial organization of the micro-environment

Spatial organization of the environment has a tremendous impact on people. The organization, or structure, governs interactions between man and object and between individuals within groups, and is important in establishing and maintaining relationships (Hall, 1966). Spatial organization is related to a person's culture. Unfortunately, people usually live in environments designed by individuals whose expectations and perceptions of how to structure the environment differ from theirs. As a result, the space's design often does not meet the user's needs. The purpose of this research was to discover some of the cultural constraints in the organization of space. A user-articulated scale model environment (1”=1’) was used to investigate the affect on spatial organization of reducing an environment's size. Findings indicate the relationships of the 4' and 7' boundaries of the personal and social proxemic zones identified by Edward T. Hall are important in spatial organization to determine preferred, acceptable and intolerable distances between areas and establish minimum width of a room. This information is crucial in designing environments that support and enhance individuals' relationships and ways of life.