A Creative Cycle of Promotion: From Architectural Creativity to the Sense of Place and its Resulting Creativeness

Abstract

Creativity is one of the most prominent humankind properties, which has a particular worth in human communities. Environmental Psychology is a leading scientific area related to this topic that studies the relation between the physical environment and space users' mentality including the creativity process. In this regard, this paper tracks the answer to the inquiry, “What are the environmental factors' impacts on user's creativity and the role of architecture in orientating them?". Therefore, the main purpose of the research is a prototypical determination of characteristics and mechanisms of creativity-inciting places to lead more creativity by designing places creatively. From a methodical point of view, the research is based on an amalgamated methodology to conclude a theoretic framework and validate it statistically in a case study. The case study of research consists of architecture learning environments where postgraduate students are questioned to describe inciting behaviors of their creativity and the physical features of stimulation of such activities. Due to the present survey, some special characteristics, functional spaces, and respective environmental affordances are introduced as the main features affecting the augmentation of creativity. Ultimately, they are classified and graded as some environmental attributes, by a heuristic factor analysis, considerably are seemed to be the main factors increasing the sense of place. It should be noted that the prominent aspect of this study is its systematic problem-solving approach and its findings consequently which are realized in two schemata: Firstly, as an expanded instrument for the evaluation of an environment in the provision and improvement of users' creativity, and secondly, as the theoretical foundation of a structural pattern for designing creativity enhancer environments. Therefore, it might be cited the findings of this research points to a cycle of promotion: From Architectural Creativity to the Sense of Place and its Resulting Creativeness.