了解人体：为人体尺度而设计
Understanding The Human Body: Designing For People of All Shapes and Sizes

由专筑网李韧，曹逸希编译

好的设计基于使用者的真实需求，这是被大家所公认的。那么作为建筑师，我们是否能够给出正确的答案来回答每个项目所独有的问题呢？

Herman Miller就是很好的例子。这家美国公司由Dirk Jan De Pree成立于1905年，主要为办公空间与住宅生产设备和家具，另外还有一些针对人体尺度和日常空间使用方式的高水准研究。这些调查以可用性测试与多学科作品为支持体系，构成了大量的家具作品和空间设计，而这些作品为世界各地的人群所用。

我们有幸参观了该公司的密歇根州总部，从而了解几十年来该公司的各项研究成果。

It's common sense: a good design is based on people and what they really need. As architects, are we deepening enough to give the correct answers to the requirements we face in each project?
Herman Miller is a great example of this understanding. Founded in 1905 by Dirk Jan De Pree, the American company produces equipment and furnishings for offices and housing, including a high level of research to understand the human body and the way we inhabit our daily spaces. These investigations, supported by usability testing and multidisciplinary work, results in a large number of furniture pieces and spatial designs that are now used by people around the world.
We had the opportunity to visit their headquarters in Zeeland, Michigan to understand how these studies have been carried out for several decades.



研究、测试、多学科工作

Herman Miller每20秒就能生产一张椅子。那么该公司如何满足数以千计的不同使用者们的不同需求呢？这种快速的制造方式似乎只是以人为本的深度研究与探索之路的一个小节点而已。

Gary Smith是Herman Miller公司产品设计与开发部门的副总裁，该公司的历史沿革可以追溯到上世纪60年代，当时Herman Miller研究机构刚刚成立，由Bob Propst领导。从一开始，该研究机构就在全球范围内大力提升了探索现实的目标，“在家具工业之外的区域来寻求问题解决方式”。 [1]

Research, testing, and multidisciplinary work
Herman Miller produces a chair every 20 seconds. How does the company manage to deliver effective answers to each of its thousands of different users? This fast manufacturing process only seems to be the efficient endpoint of a long road of deep studies and explorations with a human-centered approach.  
According to Gary Smith, Herman Miller's Vice President of Product Design and Exploration, the company has a long history of research dating back to the 1960s, when the Herman Miller Research Institute was established, initially led by Bob Propst. From its first years, the institute promoted the objective of exploring reality in a global way, expanding the look to "find problems outside of the furniture industry, and to conceive solutions for them." [1]





然而，这些定量的一般性研究通常可以通过来自不同领域的使用者与专家的可用性测试来定义，这些人们都能够补充定量数据。例如，有的测试能够明确一个人在坐着的时候的舒适程度，而另一个测试则能够明确人的代谢变量，其中包括心率、呼吸频率、二氧化碳输出率等等，另外还能够对比不同使用者在健康状态下不同椅子之间的性能。这些过程的成果研究者们能够明确设计的要点，并且提升产品的质量。

Smith说：“我们与人体工程学家共同合作，这些专业人员穷其一生都在研究人体尺度、人体运动方式之间的差异，他们研究其结构、骨骼、肌肉、身体感知，以及身体的舒适度。另外，我们还与色彩学家和材料学家合作，从中寻找时尚趋势，从而更好地应对不断变化的潮流。我们从世界各地引进人才，加入项目组。”

However, these quantitative general studies are then refined through usability tests with varied users and the input from experts in different areas that complement them with more qualitative data. For example, some tests measure the comfort level a person feels when sitting, while others measure even metabolic variables –such as the Heart Rate (HR), the Respiratory Rate (RR), and the CO2 Output, among others, comparing the performance between different chairs in relation to the user's health. The result of all these processes allows them to define the design brief and to improve the qualities of the products.
'We work with Ergonomists; people who spend their lives studying not only the dimensions of the human body and its differences but also the ways in which bodies move. They study its structure, bones, muscles, and how the body should move to feel comfortable. We also work with Colorists and material experts, who give us a fashion sense and allow us to respond to different and changing tastes. We look for the best creatives and talents from around the world to join us in each particular project,' says Smith.



超越舒适，渴望健康

在当今社会，人的大部分时间都是坐着，无论是工作还是休息，身体的活动时间大大缩短，而Herman Miller认为这是一个契机，并不是一个问题。

人们愈发依赖计算机，同时愈发趋向于坐姿，那么这就促进了有利于心脏的座椅的开发，因为这能够降低心血管疾病的发病率，最终改善人们的健康。[2]

Beyond comfort, seeking wellness
Nowadays, humans spend a lot of time sitting. Whether in our work or rest moments, times of physical inactivity predominate our lives, and Herman Miller has understood this as an opportunity, rather than a problem.
For people increasingly seduced by computer technology—and the sedentary positions it encourages—seating solutions that benefit the heart might help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and ultimately improve people’s health. [2]



那么，这就不仅仅是舒适性问题了，市面上的好看椅子那么多，只是设计师们并没有考虑到人们长时间坐着的影响与后果。经过调查，有的椅子能够更好地适应人体的活动，尤其有利于脊柱的生理曲度，让使用者能够更加自如地改变坐姿，而不会让脊柱受到挤压。这样就能够避免由于长时间的坐姿而造成的健康问题。

Smith补充说：“有趣的是，几千年来，人们的身体变化不明显。而某些设计参数的更新却非常快，例如颜色等等，而另一些参数的变化则微乎其微，例如建筑亦或是住宅的特质。然而，还有一些参数几乎没有变化，那么就是人们的个体性质。”

So, this is not just a comfort problem. There are plenty of beautiful and comfortable chairs to choose from, but they don't consider the effects they will have on a person who spends several hours a day sitting on it. The investigations carried out allow their chairs to adapt instinctively to the body and its movements, specifically to the spine, enabling the person to move freely in all directions, without obstacles or excessive efforts. In this way, problems related to static postures during a long workday are avoided, and can even help improve the physiological function of people in sedentary positions.
'The interesting thing is that in thousands of years, our bodies have not changed much. Some of the design parameters change very quickly, such as the preference for certain colors, while others change in a medium clock-speed, like the nature of our homes or the architecture and our built environments. However, there are some parameters that change almost not at all, such as the nature of the human body,' add Smith.



人体测量学：研究个体的数据

人体测量学是该公司研发的重要目标，因为全球各地有着许多不同的个体尺度。近年来，由于三维扫描等技术的存在，这些研究的准确性也大大提高。

不同尺度与形态的人群都能够适应一般的日常事务，桌面的高度、汽车放置腿部的空间、飞机座椅的宽度、楼梯的深度、扶手的高度等等，所有这些都是按照平均的人体尺度来设计。那么，当产品设计满足平均数值时，这些一般性设计便是成果。[3]

Anthropometry: studying measurements of the human body
Anthropometry is one of the essential studies promoted and developed by the company, with special emphasis on the diversity of physical sizes that exist around the world. Over the years, the accuracy of these studies has increased, for example, using three-dimensional scans.
People of all sizes and shapes adjust to the generalities of everyday objects. The height of countertops, the legroom in cars, the width of airplane seats, the depth of stairs or heights of handrails—all too often these are designed to the average size of the population. Yet when a product is designed to meet the “average,” then average design is often the result. [3]



通过这些研究，设计师们能够通过尺度与尺寸需求来明确特定人群的百分率。用这种方式，他们就能够有效的了解到潜在客户的数值，这种方式能够满足95%的需求，并且以高度灵活性与适应性为基础，直观地根据使用者而设计。

即使设计方案只能满足大部分的使用者，但这三个元素也必须考虑在内。举例来说，一个个体的重量部分会使得这位使用者对于传统的舒适度感知程度完全不同于他人，对于一个人感觉舒适的椅子，对另一个人来说未必如此。

Through these studies, designers can identify certain percentages that group the population according to their dimensions and size requirements. In this way, they will effectively respond to the highest possible percentage of potential users (meeting 95 percent in some cases, from a 5th percentile female to a 95th percentile male), based on high adaptability and flexibility, and allowing intuitive user control.
These three factors are essential to consider, even when the design is effective for a high percentage of the population. The specific distribution of weight in a person, for example, will make his or her perception of the comfort of certain traditionally used positions totally different. What for one person feels good, may not be comfortable for another.





人体与空间的关系：以办公空间为例

Herman Miller不仅提升了个体的研究水准，还能够制造独立的家具，并且还应用一系列的集成系统来配备诸如办公室与住宅等空间。Bob Propst于1968年出版了一本著作，名为《办公空间：以变化为前提的设施体系》，其中就提出了对于办公空间的规划策略，其中的方法在今天仍然适用。

办公空间的规划需要拓展空间。除非能够基于主要变量、团队目标、个体性能的支持、设施规划的功能、使用艺术而产生适应性体系，那么其他的工作就是徒劳。[1]

The human body and its relation to space: the case of the office
Herman Miller has not only promoted the study of the human being to manufacture independent pieces of furniture but also as a fundamental part of a series of integrated systems to configure habitable spaces, specifically offices. In his book 'The Office: A Facility Based on Change', originally published in 1968, Bob Propst presents strategies to effectively plan and define these workspaces, through an analysis of human behavior which still applies today.
Planning for the office requires an expanded set of skills. Planning is an exercise in futility unless it produces a knowledgeable structure built on an understanding of the key variables: the purpose of the organization; the support of individual performance; the role of facility planning, and the art of pre-gaming. [1]



这4个关键点与人们日常使用的工作空间息息相关。举例来说，使用艺术适用于不同的使用空间配置，从而测试其未来的使用形式。Propst在书中建议同时使用计算机软件与尺度模型，从而对空间进行一般性分析，然后在特定区域进行下一步研究。

These 4 keys are in direct relation with the people that will inhabit the workspace daily. Pre-gaming, for example, is used to simulate and model different spatial configurations to test its effective future use, thus avoiding speculation. Propst suggested the joint use of computer software and scale models, allowing a general analysis of space and the possibility of zooming in specific areas for closer study.



近几年进行的分析是在心理学家、数学家、人类学家以及其他相关专业人员的多学科团队的支持下得以进行，其中也包括诸如封闭与开敞、隐私与安全、交通与社会气候等各个方面，而这些也都是基于用户的真实体验。研究成果是第一版本与第二版本的“行动办公系统”，这与“生活办公系统”成为有力的互补。

The analysis carried out during first years –with the support of a multidisciplinary team made up of psychologists, mathematicians, anthropologists, and other relevant specialists– included aspects like the enclosure and access, the privacy and security, the traffic and the social climate, based entirely on the real user experience. The result was the Action Office System (in its I and II versions), which has now been complemented with the new possibilities offered by its 'brother'; the successful Living Office.





有着强大“脊柱”支持的适应性、灵活性、用户控制

Bob Propst对20世纪的传统办公空间提出了批评，他认为这不应该为“每个人都提供相同的使用方式” [4]，他建议应该采用具有充分适应性、灵活性、可控性的空间与家具设计，从而满足不同的尺度与使用需求。

Adaptability, flexibility, and user control... but with a powerful "backbone"
Instead of "providing a formula kind of sameness for everyone" [4] –one of the biggest criticisms that Bob Propst made to the traditional offices of the 20th century–, the furniture and spatial designs that are widely adaptable, flexible, and controllable, can deliver specific and adequate responses to a huge variety of people, bodies, and uses.




© Bill Porter

专业人员的研究、测试对实现这些目标非常重要。但是从广义来讲，这些产品都应当拥有强大的“脊柱”，让它们同样的适用，同时满足不同使用者的使用方式，这是它们的核心需求。

深入研究受到的设计委托是个必要过程，对于设计师的工作非常重要。那么，设计师们必须回归起点，那便是以人为本。

图片：Courtesy of Herman Miller

The exhaustive research, testing, and input of relevant professionals is essential to achieve these objectives. But in all of them, there is a strong "backbone" which makes them consistent and powerful, maintaining their core qualities even though it can be used in different ways by different users.
Going deep into the received commission is absolutely necessary and facilitates our work as designers. And for that, it's essential to return to the beginning: to take the individual as the starting point.  





[1] “The Office: A Facility Based on Change”Propst, Robert. 由Herman Miller, Inc. 于1968年出版.
[2] 坐姿有益于循环系统。椅子如何降低心率. <https://www.hermanmiller.com/research/categories/white-papers/sitting-can-be-good-for-the-circulatory-system/> (访问时间：2018年12月).
[3] “人体测量与使用者控制的革新”。基于Mirra 2 椅子的科学与研究. <https://www.hermanmiller.com/research/categories/white-papers/the-evolution-of-anthropometrics-and-user-control/> (访问时间：2018年12月).
[4] 小空间的意外到达方式.
<https://medium.com/robin-powered/the-accidental-arrival-of-the-cubicle-ebc04da7552/> (访问时间：2018年12月).

[1] "The Office: A Facility Based on Change." Propst, Robert. Published by Herman Miller, Inc. 1968
[2] Sitting Can Be Good for the Circulatory System. How the Embody Chair Lowers Heart Rate. <https://www.hermanmiller.com/research/categories/white-papers/sitting-can-be-good-for-the-circulatory-system/> (accessed December 2018).
[3] "The Evolution of Anthropometrics and User Control". The Science and Research Behind the Mirra 2 Chair. <https://www.hermanmiller.com/research/categories/white-papers/the-evolution-of-anthropometrics-and-user-control/> (accessed December 2018).
[4] The Accidental Arrival of the Cubicle. <https://medium.com/robin-powered/the-accidental-arrival-of-the-cubicle-ebc04da7552/> (accessed December 2018).