Collective Experience: How Architecture Can Promote Community

Many current social issues have been attributed to people attaining their social interactions through television, social media and other online services. This thesis investigates how architecture can be utilized to engage people in a way that encourages interaction between individuals. Buildings are often designed for functional purposes, with a focus on how users will engage the building. Not enough thought is given to how the building and site can be designed to facilitate interpersonal interaction between people within the project. This thesis design primarily involves study into human psychology, the nature of human interaction, what draws people to places, and how technology influences human behavior. This research, and its implementation in this project, shows the complexity of human behavior and how technology can be a powerful tool to both help and hurt people. Ultimately, architecture needs to be as engaging to people as is technology. Spaces that engage people in interesting and meaningful ways, can encourage individuals to interact with one another, thus dissuading people from attaining social interaction through technology alone