Fiona de Vos
Studio dVO is an environmental psychology consulting and research firm specializing in the interaction between the built environment and people. dVO’s mission is to create environments where people and organizations thrive.
CONSULT AND RESEARCH
During the design, construction and furnishing phase, we support and advise organizations, designers and (interior) architects.
Studio dVO is specialized in:
With its expertise and experience, Studio dVO can advise and assist in all stages of the design process.
Studio dVO uses:
VISION
ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
How do we experience our environment? How does the environment affect our behavior? Where do we feel safe and at home, and where do we not? How can an environment encourage or discourage desirable behavior? How the end user perceives and experiences an environment and how that affects our behavior is the work of an environmental psychologist.
Link between design and users
Environmental psychologists are an essential part of design teams. They bridge the gap between (interior) architects and end users. At crucial moments in the design process, they provide the client, architect, and users with the necessary information to substantiate, support, or refute visions, assumptions, and starting points about behavior and use of the environment. By putting themselves in the shoes of the end user – be they toddlers, students, teachers, residents, train passengers, doctors, patients or visitors – an environment can be designed that truly meets the needs of the users.
Avoid costly modifications
Using a program of requirements, drawings, or an existing environment, environmental psychologists can make predictions about people’s behavior, how an environment will be used and experienced, and the possible consequences of design decisions. As a result, a design can be optimally tailored to the users, and mistakes and costly adjustments to the design can be avoided.
FIONA DE VOS
Fiona de Vos is a pioneer in the field of environmental psychology and healing environments in the Netherlands. She is the owner and founder of Studio dVO (1996). Her passion is to create environments where people are at their best. Working closely with organizations, architects and interior designers, she optimizes environments by adding important psychological principles to the design.
She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Environmental Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2006. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and the Utrecht School of the Arts. She has written three books and speaks regularly at conferences in Europe and the United States.
HEALING INVIRONMENT
In most healthcare facilities, we do not come for pleasure, even if we are just visiting. A healing environment is one in which unnecessary stress is avoided by minimizing the “mismatch” between the user and the environment and increasing the sense of well-being.
Think of unnecessary stress as things like:
In order to reduce unnecessary stress for all users, both the immediate environment of the building and the building itself must not only exude warmth, hospitality, attention and professionalism, but also actually fit its users.
This can only be achieved by having a team of professionals (architect, interior designer, landscape architect, environmental psychologist, various consultants, etc.) working together from the beginning of the design process and by carefully identifying and balancing the interests of the various users.
The attention, time and dedication invested in this process will pay off many times over with a truly healing environment.
Many healthcare facilities claim to create a healing environment, but rarely do they fully address what that really means. Often they are content to beautify the buildings and gardens, but rarely do they get under the skin of the users.
Would this view make you feel good?
GENERATIVE SPACE
Generative Space is the continuation of Healing Environment and goes one step further. While Healing Environment is primarily about increasing well-being within a building, Generative Space is about systematically and sustainably improving the well-being and health of an organization, all of its stakeholders, and the community. With an international group of healthcare leaders led by Dr. Wayne Ruga, founder of both Healing Environment and Generative Space, we are deepening this concept and enriching organizations.
Buildings or healthcare facilities are often inward-looking. Fortunately, more and more attention is being paid to the neighborhood. Facilities such as restaurants, hair salons, and spas are increasingly being opened to the neighborhood. Involving and caring for the community is a win-win situation. This is the essence of Generative Space.
Making a healthcare facility’s restaurant attractive to local residents