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Zaid Awamleh

Postgraduate researcher

Leeds School of Arts | Architecture Research Group

Zaid Awamleh is a Humanitarian Architect, lecturer, and PhD candidate at Leeds Beckett University, specializing in the psychology of space and refugees.

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About

Zaid Awamleh is a Humanitarian Architect, lecturer, and PhD candidate at Leeds Beckett University, specializing in the psychology of space and refugees. He is a former lead architect and project manager with the United Nations (UN) and the co-founder and vice chairman of SAIB, a humanitarian NGO. He served under the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs as Jordan's response person for the Migration Governance and Asylum Crisis Program (MAGYC).

Zaid is a member of the Architectural Humanities Research Association (AHRA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA). His work focuses on developing behavioural change methodologies relating to sense and placemaking, resilience, and gender roles with vulnerable communities and refugees.

Ask Me About

Architecture Urban Art

Project Description

Behavior Setting Transformation Methodology: Humanizing Architectural Design for Adaptable Spaces

The project presents a transformative six-year empirical research journey within a humanitarian context, utilizing Behaviour Settings Theory to reshape architectural design processes for more adaptable and user-centric spaces. The study introduces the development of the Behaviour Setting Transformation Methodology (BSTM) as a complementary tool for the deficiencies of conventional architectural design processes.

The research project demonstrates the evolution from a mere conventional design and build approach to an actionable methodology shaping behaviours through spaces. The proposed Behaviour Setting Transformation Methodology (BSTM) emerges as a complementary tool, emphasizing immersive environment-behaviour analysis, architectural intervention assessment, and iterative design processes. This methodology aims to humanize architecture by sympathizing its process and personalizing its results.

The effectiveness of BSTM is exemplified through its practical applications in fieldwork in the "undoing and remaking" of houses in a refugee camp, showcasing its potential in diverse contexts, from healing trauma to altering gender norms and creating new spatial memories.

While BSTM primarily targets reconstruction and rehabilitation, it has the potential to extend to urban development, disaster recovery, healthcare facilities, and cultural preservation. It serves the dual purpose of accumulating knowledge about spaces and occupants while enabling behaviour change to align spaces with user needs and preferences.

This research encourages a paradigm shift towards user-centred design methodologies. In essence, it offers a transformative perspective, urging to move beyond conventional architectural design methodologies and embrace a holistic, context-aware approach to architecture that truly resonates with and serves its users. It challenges practitioners and researchers in the fields of architecture and the psychology of space to consider the impact of behaviour settings on human experiences and actions, advocating for innovative approaches to create meaningful and relevant spaces that foster connection and belonging.