Why do we expect to see waiting rooms in hospitals but not in shopping malls? How come lawyers work in private offices but software engineers, who require just as much focus and concentration, hang out in open offices with ping-pong tables?
The design of the many different kinds of space in which we live, work and play has a profound effect on how people interact. Sometimes the effect is quite subtle, and sometimes it more obvious, but in all cases, space shapes the context for what we do and how we do it, even though its effect is frequently taken for granted.