Residential

Map activities that share a room

Start with what people are doing rather than assigning one purpose to the whole room. Someone may be reading while another person uses the table for paperwork. Another person may simply pass through. Record the occupied positions and the objects each activity involves; do not assume that everyone wants the same change at the same moment.

Keep household preferences distinct from the physical information supplied for the project. A preferred table position, a usual reading spot and an existing opening are different kinds of input. Mark what can change, what is fixed and what has not yet been confirmed.

Follow the handover between uses

• Preparation to shared meal: what activity ends when people sit at the table, and what preparation or movement may continue nearby?
• Shared meal to paperwork: does the table change purpose while someone remains in the reading chair? Note the continuing activity before describing a different intention for the table.
• Reading to leaving the room: what remains in use after the reader leaves? Ask what the next person would expect to find when returning, without assuming an automatic response.

A handover is a discussion about use, not a prescribed setting. Ask who would initiate a change, what they would need to understand and which other occupied area should be considered.

Work through an overlapping evening

Imagine the shared meal has ended. One person starts paperwork at the table while another keeps reading in the chair. In one alternative, the paperwork moves to the other end of the table. Record the new viewing direction, the objects still on the table and what the reader can see from the chair. The activity stays the same, but its relationship to the rest of the room has changed.

In another alternative, both people keep their original positions. Describe the intention for each occupied area separately and ask which proposed change would affect the other person's view. Identify who would request the change and what return intention they would agree for later use. Neither alternative proves that one lighting arrangement can support both activities; it identifies the comparison the project team still needs to make.

Keep an activity and transition record

Current activity

Name the use that is about to change and the objects it involves.

Continuing activity

Record what another person is still doing in the same room.

Occupied positions

Locate each person and the views that need to be compared.

Change trigger

Describe the event or request that starts the handover.

Return intention

State what people would expect for the next use, without assuming automation.

Open question

Identify one unresolved overlap or preference for discussion.

Separate household choices from product questions

The Professionals specification review separates requirements from supported statements. Use Technical Support for a specific product question and Custom Solutions for a requested difference, rather than treating a household preference as an available product feature.

The Architectural application concept explores spatial hierarchy from different viewpoints. When an enquiry is useful, bring the activity comparison and its open question to Contact TaoGroup.