Cathy Dalton | UCC - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Cathy Dalton

Housing Adaptation Grants , 2022

Invited contribution to DoHELG policy review on Housing Adaptation Grants. Pleas note that this i... more Invited contribution to DoHELG policy review on Housing Adaptation Grants. Pleas note that this is not a policy document, and represents a personal perspective.

Springer eBooks, Aug 25, 2016

Environments which aim to promote human well-being must address both functional and psychosocial ... more Environments which aim to promote human well-being must address both functional and psychosocial needs. This paper comprises a description of a framework for a smart home environment, which aims to comprehensively address issues of environmental fit, in particular for a person with cognitive impairment associated with dementia, by means of introducing sensing of user affect as a factor in system management of a smart personal life space, and in generation of environmental response, adapting to changing user need. The introduction of affective computing into an intelligent system managing environmental response and adaptation is seen as a critical component in successfully realizing an interactive personal life-space, where a continuous feedback loop operates between user and environment, in real time. The overall intention is to maximize environmental congruence for the user, both functionally and psychosocially, by factoring in adjustment to changing user status. Design thinking, at all scales, is perceived as being essential to achieving a coherent smart environment, where architecture is reframed as interaction design.

Original citation Harrison. J.D. and Dalton, C. (2011) 'Learning to imagine the invisible: us... more Original citation Harrison. J.D. and Dalton, C. (2011) 'Learning to imagine the invisible: using new technologies to enhance user-friendly architecture', in: Voyatzaki, M., Spiridonidis C. (eds.) ENHSA and EAAE international conference: rethinking the human in technology driven architecture, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Crete, 30-31 August, Transactions on architectural education No 55, pp. 671-682. ISBN 9782-930301-53-2

Humans are profoundly affected by the surroundings which they inhabit. Environmental psychologist... more Humans are profoundly affected by the surroundings which they inhabit. Environmental psychologists have produced numerous credible theories describing optimal human environments, based on the concept of congruence or “fit”. 2 Lack of person/environment fit can lead to stress-related illness and lack of psychosocial well-being. Conversely, appropriately designed environments can promote wellness, or “salutogenesis”. Increasingly, research in the area of Evidence-Based Design, largely concentrated in the area of healthcare architecture, has tended to bear out these theories. Patients and long-term care residents, because of injury, illness or physical/ cognitive impairment, are less likely to be able to intervene to modify their immediate environment, unless this is designed specifically to facilitate their particular needs. In the context of care settings, detailed design of personal space therefore takes on enormous significance. MyRoom conceptualises a personalisable room, utilising sensoring and networked computing to enable the environment to respond directly and continuously to the occupant. Bio-signals collected and relayed to the system will actuate application(s) intended to positively influence user well-being. Drawing on the evidence base in relation to therapeutic design interventions, real-time changes in ambient lighting, colour, image, etc. respond continuously to the user’s physiological state, optimising congruence. Based on research evidence, consideration is also given to development of an application which uses natural images. It is envisaged that actuation will require machine-learning based on interpretation of data gathered by sensors; sensoring arrangements may vary depending on context and end-user. Such interventions aim to reduce inappropriate stress/ provide stimulation, supporting both instrumental and cognitive tasks.

Gerontechnology, Apr 1, 2010

The familiar and the strange: the limits of universal design in the European context Author(s) Ha... more The familiar and the strange: the limits of universal design in the European context Author(s) Harrison, Jim D.; Dalton, Cathy Publication date 2013-11 Original citation Harrison, J. and Dalton C. (2013) 'The familiar and the strange: the limits of universal design in the European context. 3rd International Conference on Universal Design in the Built Environment, ICUBE2013, 11-12 November. IIUM Malaysia Type of publication Conference item Link to publisher's version http://kudu2013.blogspot.ie/2013/11/icudbe-2013.html Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. Rights © 2013 The Authors Item downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10468/2642

Housing Ireland, 2017

Ireland has a housing crisis, of which the homelessness crisis is but the cutting edge. Every day... more Ireland has a housing crisis, of which the homelessness crisis is but the cutting edge. Every day brings fresh coverage of the 'homelessness issue' in TV, newspapers and social media, so that public awareness is very high. At the same time, Ireland has close to 200,000 unoccupied housing units, according to latest CSO report. The disjoint is staggering. The crisis would seem, then, to be more one of housing management, which will not be solved by thoughtless incentivisation of new-build construction, nor by pointless reduction in unit size, or emergency housing provision with prefabricated units. Greater Dublin has over 20,000 empty houses and apartments, according to the 2016 census, the vast majority of which are fit for occupation. The housing problem in Dublin and elsewhere may well be solvable through acquisition and adaptation. The solution to one problem may well lie within another. Current social housing policy relies too heavily on provision of social housing via the private rental sector. As so many houses remain empty, amid protest about rent increases, this policy is clearly failing. RAS/HAP schemes do not provide security to tenants, but may be equally unattractive to owners of single properties, because of maintenance costs and administration. At the same time, newspapers report on local authorities turning down offers of housing stock from NAMA, but we are provided with little detail on why were they rejected. If they are substandard, to what degree? If they are in 'bad locations', (generally taken to be rural locations), might they serve the needs of other users, who are not on local authority housing lists? Are local authorities being offered only the least saleable properties? Are they forced by lack of funding to consider current rather than future housing need in their decision-making? Does non-compliance with BER ratings militate against the uptake of older houses on the part of Local Authorities? And most of all, to whom do these properties belong? How can we use them to tackle housing needs? The recent Oireachtas Report on Housing and Homelessness made a concise critical evaluation of the causes leading to the current situation, including a sharp decrease in provision of social housing by Local Authorities since 2008. It also sets about making recommendations for tackling the crisis, the most significant recommendation being the setting up of a new Housing Procurement agency, which should be empowered to make policy decisions across departments, that support housing procurement. One might therefore suggest that its remit should extend beyond the agencies currently envisaged as stakeholders, given the nature and scale of the housing problem, and its current and future social impacts. An inventory of housing stock, as has been mooted on foot of the Report, is the very first step in efficiently matching housing need with existing housing stock on a large scale. It needs to identify location, type condition, and perhaps critically, ownership. The nest step is a comprehensive survey of the 'market' for social housing, not just in the short term, but over the next 10-15 years. Who are they? Where are they? What are their needs? This will need to take account not only people who are currently seeking social housing, but also those who are likely to do so in the future. These include divorced or separated people, especially men, and middle-aged people with jobs and rental properties, but who lost ownership of their homes during the recession. Their housing needs differ substantially from the traditional 3-bed semi-detached house. These are the largely unseen and unreported housing users who now populate TD's clinics. Research can help uncover that unreported need, as a first step in addressing it. Among those whose future needs must be addressed are the ageing population, which are the subject of the ISAX report launched in November last. The ISAX report reveals a surprising lack of differences in the concerns of urban and rural dwellers, with one very significant difference: urban-dwellers did not list transport as a concern, whereas older people in rural areas inevitably did. Anecdotally, it is being reported that retired people are buying properties in rural areas, certainly in the southeast. Instead of incentivising the construction of new homes, why not incentivise adaptation of existing housing stock, together with the provision of regular rural bus services, with a requirement to connect not only to provincial towns, but to existing rail and bus services? If transport is made

Proceedings of VSMM 2016

AMbiART: a generative ambient application for restorative experience Research in environmental p... more AMbiART: a generative ambient application for restorative experience Research in environmental psychology has sought to identify the characteristics of environments which support human wellbeing, including those environmental attributes which help restore fatigued attention, providing relief from cognitive stress. While the experience of natural landscapes is known to be restorative, certain types of imagery have a similar effect on the viewer: these include nature images, including landscape scenes, and fractal patterns. Much natural imagery itself contains fractal patterns: clouds, branching patterns, and waves are all fractal in nature. Fractals are also found in some abstract art, notably in the work of Jackson Pollock. While previous research has demonstrated that such types of image have an immediate and measurable de-stressing effect, there has been no research in relation to extending the experience of the viewer by creating suitably-structured time-based visual content. AMBiARt is a mixed-reality ambient multimedia/intermedia application, designed with the specific intention of providing restorative experiences, in the spatial context of quiet rooms in Special Educational Needs Schools for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Sensory and cognitive overload is common among the children, due to a combination of factors, including acute sensory sensitivity, sensory fluctuation, and difficulties in information processing and task performance, all arising from atypical neurodevelopment. Visual processing and thinking are thought to be preferred by many autistic people, possibly because they represent the least cognitively taxing way of processing information; self-advocacy tends to bolster that view. AMBi-Art is thus structured so as to produce non-repeating natural and fractal imagery and sound, using generative algorithms, which are also typically used in generative music and audio content. The structure and content are based in large part on Kaplan's Attentional Restoration Theory, emulating the restorative characteristics of natural environments, and creating a sense of temporarily 'being away', as an accessible alternative to other means of restoration, which include meditation. The nature of the content is also intended to provide 'soft fascination', engaging and holding the viewer's attention without drawing on already-fatigued attention. Audio content which reinforces the themes of the visual content may also be used in tandem if desired, and use of aroma is also being considered, simultaneously activated through the application. AMbiARt also offers limited interaction, which, in the current iteration, is via a large-scale touchscreen. Interaction is intentionally simplified, not only to improve usability, but to reflect the nature and quality of interaction in a natural environment. As a response to sensory-perceptual sensitivity and fluctuation, controllability of all aspects of the environment is a critical element of the design. Using digital content readily permits nuanced control, and the potential for 'extreme personalisation', adjustable to suit each user's sensory profile, or to accommodate fluctuating sensory perception. Future iterations will explore gestural interaction, and screen interaction using eye-gaze technologies, in order to extend usability to children with profound and multiple disabilities. Through such interaction, AMbiARt incorporates some elements of performativity, where the user becomes involved in the production of his or her own personal experience of the media.

Interaction design in the built environment: Designing for the ‘Universal User’

The great intention of Universal Design is its encompassing nature, to enable a wider cohort of p... more The great intention of Universal Design is its encompassing nature, to enable a wider cohort of people than before to benefit from accessibility, safety and usability without discriminating against anyone. In the design of the built environment there are inevitable limits, however. The Seven Principles of Universal Design formulated in 1985 by Ron Mace, the instigator of Universal Design, state that facilities should be designed to be usable ‘to the greatest possible extent’, rather than ‘by all’, recognising that there are limits to providing this inclusion to everyone in all situations (Preiser 2001). For designers, an understanding of these limitations, especially in respect of legislation, is an important step towards better and more integrated design; furthermore, understanding something about the ways in which we design can actually help us extend our skills and design more creatively.

Universal Design and Inclusive Design have now gained wide acceptance as similar concepts, even where there may be limited evidence of it being put into practice in the built environment. Although building codes require significant elements of construction to be made barrier-free, it is much more difficult to legislate to make a more comprehensive and ‘joined-up’ environment overall. And yet the very real problem for many people is often that some of the important parts of the accessible environment may not connect at the interfaces; this may be because separate elements are provided by different agencies and are governed by different codes. A clinic, for instance, may have different standards to the dwelling place; public buildings may be accessible and usable by people with a range of disabilities, whereas the road system is the responsibility of another authority, with its own standards, and then the bus service operates in a completely different way. Thus the simple narrative of a person going to a clinic will be subject to standards and constraints that vary quite widely. The roads or footpaths that they walk or drive on are relatively permanent, subject to some degree of maintenance, whereas the public transportation system changes all the time; vehicles have different specifications and the personnel who operate them need to be properly trained to sustain a vital degree of user-friendly service.

Can my immediate physical environment affect how I feel? The instinctive answer to this question ... more Can my immediate physical environment affect how I feel? The instinctive answer to this question must be a resounding “yes”. What might seem a throwaway remark is increasingly borne out by research in environmental and behavioural psychology, and in the more recent discipline of Evidence-Based Design. Research outcomes are beginning to converge with findings in neuroscience and neurophysiology, as we discover more about how the human brain and body functions, and reacts to environmental stimuli. What we see, hear, touch, and sense affects each of us psychologically and, by extension, physically, on a continual basis. The physical characteristics of our daily environment thus have the capacity to profoundly affect all aspects of our functioning, from biological systems to cognitive ability. This has long been understood on an intuitive basis, and utilised on a more conscious basis by architects and other designers. Recent research in evidence-based design, coupled with advances in neurophysiology, confirm what have been previously held as commonalities, but also illuminate an almost frightening potential to do enormous good, or alternatively, terrible harm, by virtue of how we make our everyday surroundings. The thesis adopts a design methodology in its approach to exploring the potential use of wireless sensor networks in environments for elderly people. Vitruvian principles of “commodity, firmness and delight” inform the research process and become embedded in the final design proposals and research conclusions. The issue of person-environment fit becomes a key principle in describing a model of continuously-evolving responsive architecture which makes the individual user its focus, with the intention of promoting wellbeing. The key research questions are: What are the key system characteristics of an adaptive therapeutic single-room environment? How can embedded technologies be utilised to maximise the adaptive and therapeutic aspects of the personal life-space of an elderly person with dementia?

"Humans are profoundly affected by the surroundings which they inhabit. Environmental psychologis... more "Humans are profoundly affected by the surroundings which they inhabit. Environmental psychologists have produced numerous credible theories describing optimal human environments, based on the concept of congruence or “fit”. Lack of person/environment fit can lead to stress-related illness and lack of psychosocial well-being. Conversely, appropriately designed environments can promote wellness , or “salutogenesis”. Increasingly, research in the area of Evidence-Based Design, largely concentrated in the area of healthcare architecture, has tended to bear out these theories.

Patients and long-term care residents, because of injury, illness or physical/ cognitive impairment, are less likely to be able to intervene to modify their immediate environment, unless this is designed specifically to facilitate their particular needs. In the context of care settings, detailed design of personal space therefore takes on enormous significance.

MyRoom conceptualises a personalisable room, utilising sensoring and networked computing to enable the environment to respond directly and continuously to the occupant. Bio-signals collected and relayed to the system will actuate application(s) intended to positively influence user well-being. Drawing on the evidence base in relation to therapeutic design interventions, real-time changes in ambient lighting, colour, image, etc. respond continuously to the user’s physiological state, optimising congruence. Based on research evidence, consideration is also given to development of an application which uses natural images. It is envisaged that actuation will require machine-learning based on interpretation of data gathered by sensors; sensoring arrangements may vary depending on context and end-user. Such interventions aim to reduce inappropriate stress/ provide stimulation, supporting both instrumental and cognitive tasks."

Smart Design, 2012

Human functioning in the built environment is affected by the degree of “fit” or congruence betwe... more Human functioning in the built environment is affected by the degree of “fit” or congruence between a user and her/his surroundings [1, 2]. By extension, the culture of care-giving and physical environment of care settings are inextricably linked. This conceptual model, developed in the context of the MyRoom project [3], is based on analysis of prerequisites for psychosocial congruence, drawn from theories of environmental psychology [4, 5], and from the evidence-base [6]. The model examines how these requirements may be addressed through architectural design enhanced by ubiquitous affective computing, integrated into the built environment, to maximise person-environment fit in healthcare settings. Where specific user needs, arising from cognitive and physical impairment associated with ageing and dementia, are not fully met by the built environment, these needs may be addressed through affective computing. This is to be achieved by means of real-time processing of data from an integrated system of Body Sensor Networks and Room Sensor Networks. This paper describes in detail an adaptive salutogenic single-user room in an elderly care setting, as a template of how an environment responsive to a user’s physical and emotional state might be realised, promoting salutogenesis [7] through optimal congruence. Psychosocial congruence, on which this paper focuses, is enhanced through actuation of multisensory applications designed to provide appropriate stimulation. Recent research on affective computing for children with ASD may be translational [8, 9]. A majority of elderly persons in residential care have some form of dementia [10]. This implies that design of residential care and dementia care environments for elderly people is effectively inseparable. Architecture, further enhanced by ambient technologies, has the capacity to act as a major, and timely catalyst for a radical re-thinking of the culture and environment of care.

ENHSA Transactions no. 55: Rethinking the Human in technology-driven architecture, 2012

ENHSA Transactions 2010: Educating Architects Towards Innovative Architecture, Jan 31, 2011

Peer-reviewed paper presented at First International Conference on Adaptive Architecture, London,... more Peer-reviewed paper presented at First International Conference on Adaptive Architecture, London, 2011, Session Theme "Intelligence', session chair Dr. Holger Schnadelbach, University of Nottingham.

Humans are profoundly affected by the surroundings which they inhabit. Environmental psychologists have produced numerous credible theories describing optimal human environments, based on the concept of congruence or “fit”. Lack of person/environment fit can lead to stress-related illness and lack of psychosocial well-being. Conversely, appropriately designed environments can promote wellness, or “salutogenesis”. Increasingly, research in the area of Evidence-Based Design, largely concentrated in the area of healthcare architecture, has tended to bear out these theories.6
Patients and long-term care residents, because of injury, illness or physical/ cognitive impairment, are less likely to be able to intervene to modify their immediate environment, unless this is designed specifically to facilitate their particular needs. In the context of care settings, detailed design of personal space therefore takes on enormous significance.
MyRoom conceptualises a personalisable room, utilising sensoring and networked computing to enable the environment to respond directly and continuously to the occupant. Bio-signals collected and relayed to the system will actuate application(s) intended to positively influence user well-being. Drawing on the evidence base in relation to therapeutic design interventions,7 real-time changes in ambient lighting, colour, image, etc. respond continuously to the user’s physiological state, optimising congruence. Based on research evidence, consideration is also given to development of an application which uses natural images. It is envisaged that actuation will require machine-learning based on interpretation of data gathered by sensors; sensing arrangements may vary depending on context and end-user. Such interventions aim to reduce inappropriate stress/ provide stimulation, supporting both instrumental and cognitive tasks.

Poster presentation at ISG2010 Vancouver, Doctoral Masterclass. Presenter: Dalton, C., B Arch, M... more Poster presentation at ISG2010 Vancouver, Doctoral Masterclass.

Presenter: Dalton, C., B Arch, MRIAI Supervisors: Harrison, J.D., B Arch, D Litt, McCartney, Prof. K. Cork Centre for Architectural Education, College of Engineering & Food Science, UCC, Cork, Ireland. +353 (0)21 429 8401 cathydalton2306@gmail.com Keywords: responsive environments, aging, colour, light, salutogenic

Gerontechnology, Jan 1, 2010

Housing Adaptation Grants , 2022

Springer eBooks, Aug 25, 2016

Gerontechnology, Apr 1, 2010

Housing Ireland, 2017

Proceedings of VSMM 2016

Interaction design in the built environment: Designing for the ‘Universal User’

Smart Design, 2012

ENHSA Transactions no. 55: Rethinking the Human in technology-driven architecture, 2012

ENHSA Transactions 2010: Educating Architects Towards Innovative Architecture, Jan 31, 2011

Poster presentation at ISG2010 Vancouver, Doctoral Masterclass. Presenter: Dalton, C., B Arch, M... more Poster presentation at ISG2010 Vancouver, Doctoral Masterclass.

Gerontechnology, Jan 1, 2010

Prototypical residential care units for clients with moderate to severe learning difficulties and... more Prototypical residential care units for clients with moderate to severe learning difficulties and physical disability, who had previously lived in an institutional setting. The building consists of three houses, with separate entrances off a secure internal 'street', together with communal facilities, which are grouped to the outer 'public' side of the street. The street terminates in the principal shared space. Individual houses are identified through a combination of colour and shape motifs.

Complete refurbishment of existing premises, including an Edwardian building fronting onto Clyde ... more Complete refurbishment of existing premises, including an Edwardian building fronting onto Clyde Road, a 1980s office building to the rear, and the construction of a connecting multifunctional garden pavilion.

Community Hospital providing step-down care for elderly patients. Built on a constrained site, a... more Community Hospital providing step-down care for elderly patients. Built on a constrained site, and linked to an existing historic hospital building the building is designed around a series of landscaped courtyards, with views of and access to external areas from all parts of the building. The dining and living rooms open onto a sheltered patio overlooking one of the courtyards.

Online interview with @NeilMilliken (Neil Milliken, Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion, AT... more Online interview with @NeilMilliken (Neil Milliken, Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion, ATOS) and @debraruh (Debra Ruh, CEO Ruh Global Communications) March 2015.