Layouts Not for the Faint-Hearted: Top 5 Apartments That Have a Negative Impact on the Psyche

Specialists in the certification of new buildings Urban Grade analyzed 138 Russian new buildings. Together with designers, architects and psychologists, a top list of "red flags" was compiled, which should definitely be avoided when planning residential complexes.

According to the World Health Organization, the average city dweller spends up to 80% of their time in non-production premises. It is our lifestyle that determines our health by more than 50%, ahead of such factors as medical care, ecology and heredity.

From the point of view of psychological comfort of the home, the basic things are space and light. Even Leonardo da Vinci, after the Italian plague epidemic, concluded that housing should be maximally illuminated and provided with fresh air in order to minimize the risks of various diseases.

In the era of mass construction in the 20th century, sufficient levels of insolation and the ability to ventilate houses became an important aid in the fight against terrible diseases - tuberculosis, typhus, rickets. Deficiency of daylight has a number of unpleasant consequences for the human body: neurological and mental disorders, hormonal imbalances, sleep problems, weakened immunity, depression, etc.

However, in new buildings, lighting scenarios with natural lighting are not always thought out, although formally the GOST on insolation is, of course, observed. And the problem is not even that the developer made small windows in insufficient quantities, but that he did not think through the ergonomics of the apartment.

Trees and nearby buildings can partially block the light. And in an elongated room, the sun's rays do not reach at all.

Such apartments should be avoided. Their owner will have to correct the shortcomings with the help of design techniques, although they will not be eliminated completely. An abundance of artificial light will not solve the problem, because for our body it is not a substitute for the sun.

The second important factor that has a noticeable impact on a person's condition is the height of the ceilings. This parameter affects, in particular, the hygiene of vision, ensuring the correct or not very remoteness of lighting devices from a person's eyes.

On a psychological level, spacious rooms with high ceilings give us a feeling of freedom, whereas in cramped spaces many people suffer from claustrophobia, feeling constrained, limited and helpless.

According to an experiment, the results of which were published in the academic American journal Consumer Research, people in rooms with ceilings 3.05 meters high thought more creatively and freely than those who were in rooms with ceilings 2.44 meters high.

In any case, according to the Urban Grade classification of new buildings, the ceiling height should be no less than 2.8 meters, and in the elite segment – ​​no less than 3.2 meters. However, reality does not always coincide with the requirements for the quality of projects.

In the capital's mass segment, the ceiling height is on average 2.76 meters. The minimum figure was recorded in the Troitsky District - 2.68 meters, the maximum in the Central District - 3.18 meters.

The third thing worth paying attention to is the corridor. Surprisingly, this is a relatively recent invention of mankind, which did not exist in homes until the 19th century. Previously, rooms simply flowed into one another. We owe this innovation to the reconstruction of Windsor Palace a couple of centuries ago, when corridors and galleries were made to create private spaces, connecting different rooms.

In Russian practice, taking into account climatic conditions, corridors have become a place where you can leave your outerwear and shoes before entering the guest or living areas. The "red flags" in planning solutions include narrow, long, curved corridors, which can accommodate at most two people. Crampedness, a gloomy impression at first glance deprives the apartment of coziness and comfort.

Psychologists note that narrow passages in apartments contribute to the formation of tunnel thinking in people, when a person thinks only within the framework of his own limited attitudes.

Some people even suffer from stenophobia – a pathological fear of narrow and long spaces. It is no coincidence that many cult horror films take place in narrow, dark passages – for example, in the gothic corridor with spikes from the film Crimson Peak.

Another extremely unfortunate planning solution from the point of view of human psychology and physiology is considered to be elongated rooms. They can often be found in Soviet-built houses. But developers still do not disdain to “cut” square meters for the sake of economy and make inconvenient for future residents cutting in new buildings, especially studios.

Designers have a rule: the length of a living room should not exceed its width more than twice. The best shape of the rooms is considered to be square.

"Penal cases" impose many restrictions on interior design. They are difficult to furnish, they leave non-functional square meters, they are poorly lit. In general, they create an unpleasant feeling of a compartment carriage or a dormitory.

Scientists have proven that people suffering from cramped living space complain of psychosomatic illnesses, are more likely to suffer from apathy and depression, respiratory and infectious diseases due to the lack of cross-ventilation, and are even more susceptible to obesity risks. From a psychological point of view, elongated rooms, like similar corridors, cause nervousness, depression, and even low self-esteem.

Another not so obvious, but very noticeable drawback of planning solutions in modern residential complexes is the violation of the boundaries of zones: private (bedroom, children's room) and guest (kitchen, living room). Experts include the absence of a guest bathroom or its distance from the entrance to the house, the placement of the kitchen and living room in different parts of the apartments, the presence of a walk-through living room, when you can get to the bedroom or children's room only through it.

It would seem that in Soviet-built houses there was no need to think about such details, because people were resettled into their own apartments from much less comfortable living conditions - barracks and communal apartments. However, now the requirements for living space are completely different.

Why is it so important for us to have a private, strictly personal space in our home, while still having the opportunity to be hospitable?

English neurologist Peter Kidwell explains in his book "Psychology of the City. How to be Happy in the Metropolis": people are programmed to perceive their homes as a refuge and at the same time a safe place for unity with loved ones. The bedroom, in his opinion, should be like a secluded cave, where no strangers can have access. Kidwell emphasizes: if the interior space of our home is incorrectly organized, without taking into account individual and natural needs, a person will experience anxiety, irritability, dissatisfaction, without understanding their causes.