Understanding Human Behaviour

Conventional economic theories often present people as being logical when making decisions. However, studies in behavioural economics and psychology show that people are not always logical and are heavily impacted by their environment, habits, and cognitive limitations. This reminds me of a saying in isiXhosa; “isqhelo siyayoyisa inqondo,” which roughly translates that our instincts take precedence over reason and reasoning. Sometimes knowing better does not automatically translate into doing better. Instead, one must change one’s habitual behaviour to conform to a new understanding or way of thinking.

When making decisions, cognitive biases like social norms and avoiding loss are extremely important. For example, we often make decisions based only on the information that is readily available to us – this is called ‘bounded rationality’. Or we’ll make a decision based on avoiding losses rather than obtaining equivalent gains – this is ‘loss aversion’. Peer pressure and social norms have a significant influence on behaviour as well, which impacts patterns of consumption, among other things.

Design Principles for Changing Habits

Having a better understanding of how people behave and make decisions helps us to incorporate these factors into design thinking. To create environments that encourage positive behaviour, environments need to present new options that are less risky and easier to achieve than existing habits, while also having a lower loss factor.

Here are some ways to achieve this:

Simplify Tasks into Smaller Steps

Simplifying tasks can lessen cognitive strain and facilitate people’s adoption of new behaviours. A good example is the way that pavements are designed to encourage pedestrian movement by incorporating user-friendly curbs, bus stops and street furniture.

Make Things Visible

People are more likely to use something if they can see it. For instance, encouraging more people to recycle can be achieved by clearly labelling recycling bins and placing them in conspicuous places.

Use Smart Defaults

Setting smart defaults can nudge people towards more sustainable choices. For example, setting double-sided printing as the default option in printers can significantly reduce paper consumption. Similarly, designing thermostats to default to energy-saving settings can lead to substantial energy savings. When implementing default settings, it’s a good idea to set up efficient communication between design and building management teams, to share the reasons for these settings and make sure they are not overridden.

Leverage Social Influence and Incentive Programs

Social influence can change how people act. This can be used in design to encourage people to do things that create good habits. For example, apps that show how much energy people are using compared to their neighbours can make them want to use less energy. Also, giving rewards to people who walk, bike or take the bus to work instead of driving can help reduce pollution.

Conclusion

Design can change habits by creating surroundings that encourage sustainable, healthy behaviour and discourage wasteful or unhealthy behaviour. Understanding the psychological and social aspects that influence behaviour helps designers create effective and long-lasting solutions.

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A steel frame structure is being used for the new section of the offices, with primarily glazed infill to allow for natural light and ventilation. For these perimeter walls, a high-performance double glazing has been specified that has gas between the two sheets of glass to significantly reduce heat loss in winter. External shading will be installed to protect the building from direct sunlight as no mechanical HVAC system will be used.

In the interests of using as few materials on the refurbishment as possible, the new office space will not have a ceiling. Instead, the new timber roof will provide the final internal finish. The trusses from the old roof have been removed and stored, and a process is underway to find somewhere to donate them. Bearing in mind the need for futureproofing, an additional mezzanine can be accommodated below the new roof structure should expansion of the space be required.

The project saves energy by providing energy efficient office lighting that is not over designed, and there will be sufficient natural lighting to ensure that artificial lighting is not required for the vast majority of the time that the building is occupied. Chilufya Lombe, director, adds that the building is aiming to be Net Positive as far as legally possible. A solar PV system on the roof will help to achieve this goal by meeting the project’s energy needs and thus reducing carbon emissions.

With the move to online and remote working, the space planning allows for maximum flexibility in terms of how power is supplied with a floor grid that allows for churn. Because of the change in working practices that have come about during 2020, it is anticipated that the space may be used quite informally, and desking will also be incorporated to allow for hot desk rentals. The old ablutions will be transformed into phone booths to meet the need for meeting call booths due to the increase in video conferencing; and the new bathrooms will be located in the multi-purpose building at the back of the garden. Again with resource efficiency in mind, 100% of the furniture and equipment from the old offices will be re-used.

“We are incredibly proud that we achieved 6-star Green Star Interior and LEED Commercial Interior Platinum certifications for our offices in Rosebank,” comments Lombe.

We plan on going one step further with our new home in Parkhurst and will be actively pursuing the Living Building Challenge (LBC) Core certification , which puts the connection to nature, equity and the need for a building to be loved on even footing with water, energy and materials concerns.

Watch this space as we prepare for our move to our new home!

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