An architecture of concentration can exist from the intentional design of ultra focused spaces.
Not only architects have the power to shape the built environment and influence how people interact with space. All individuals are able to design interaction and exploration through appropriation and related cognitive systems.
In today’s world, where distractions abound, the design of spaces that promote focus and concentration has become increasingly important.
The scarcity of these spaces is not material as they exist in large numbers due to the urban exponential growth and massification of modern religions (theological, capitalistic and humanistic). A church, a monument or a niche, a store, a theatre or a hospital in an urban setting are the nominal representations of typological spaces dedicated to individual or collective concentration and mindfulness from the cult of the individual. The notion of the collective is fading from the way spaces are designed to have (i.e.) individual chairs, eating lounges and discriminatory separations of gender, economic status and educational degree. This materiality is a political compensation for our natural tendency to the group – an anonymity that does not resonate well with the society of control and obedience.
Immaterial spaces are harder to recognise and interact with. They bridge the notion of space with the notion of non-space and use the inherited tangible philosophical acknowledgement of their existence to become relevant.
What type of spaces can we build, construct, erect from this notion? Is immateriality a sustainable form of construction? Are we aware of the predicaments of physicality? Do we know how to open that new system of human habitat? Is light the only immateriality of architecture?
Nature does not distinguish or categorise space. It flourishes from both the material and immaterial physicality because we are conscious about it.
In cities the environment can be related to a possible framework that enacts the natural equilibrium and fosters the heal of the concentration rampant problem by constituting a new set of analista from these unseen representations of concentration in design. In the periferic parts of the city and in the dynamic threshold of secondary cities and settlements these phenomenal spaces of ultra focus are more present. They are open to bridge the grammar of spaces from the lexicon of human interaction and endeavour into new designs for systems of production.
To talk about the impact of space in focus is to acknowledge the importance of focus in space.
To discuss the psychological and physiological effects of different spatial qualities on attention and productivity is more than the exploration of the concept of “quiet zones” and “focus rooms” in workplaces and educational institutions. We can go beyond the role of natural light, acoustics, and air quality in creating conducive learning and working environments and effectively design for a period of transition in which we enact a digital detox (without avoidance of the use but to better sustain our health).
Unavoidably this activity on our human activity begins with a discussion around the challenges posed by technology in creating focused spaces. Exploring strategies for integrating technology seamlessly while minimizing distractions, such as smart lighting systems and noise-canceling technologies is not enough and the consideration of the importance of spaces for digital detox, where people can disconnect and recharge is a repetitive task where improvement is not a visible gain.
Which spaces? New typologies or evolutions from the existing ones? Are we able to create original spaces or is everything already innovation (to create new again)?
From some examples of architectural projects that prioritize focus and concentration, such as libraries, meditation spaces, and minimalist offices we can start to analyse the design elements and spatial strategies employed in these projects or disrupt the methodological system and start from nothing…
Speculation, fiction and design are the best entities to address the need for focused spaces and discuss the potential of emerging technologies like virtual and augmented reality in creating immersive environments. What about livable material and physical spaces that rely on bodies, appropriations and interactions?
This is in fact a discussion about the material future of architecture, the one in which focus represents the notion of society from the urban habitat – the absenteeism pandemic and the lack of participation are cautionary tales for us to act upon.
Designing spaces that promote focus and concentration, can play a crucial role in shaping a more productive and mindful society by understanding the psychological and physiological factors that influence attention. From this statement it is mandatory that we propose environments that empower individuals to achieve a collective engagement and distribute new ideas that thrive beyond the crisis of modernity.