Objectives
This course involves a collaborative project between architects and ergonomists and has three objectives :
– to introduce students to the links between architecture and ergonomics in relation to the various organisational, social and spatial challenges involved in workplace design ;
– to understand how an ergonomic analysis of work activities contributes to architectural planning and design ;
– to understand the role and skills of the architect in projects aimed at transforming working environments.

Students are encouraged to engage in a space for reflection on the links between the disciplines of architecture and ergonomics within the context of workplace planning and design.

Target audience
This course brings together students from the Master’s in Ergonomics at the University of Paris 1 and students from ENSA Paris-La Villette to work on case studies and theoretical contributions.

Procedure
The practical exercise involves engaging participants in a co-design process for a crisis management room at a European institution. The aim is to develop a proposal for the layout of the space, taking into account the work activities of the users (security and safety personnel) across various crisis management scenarios. The creation and manipulation of a scale model are used to simulate the room’s uses in different situations, in order to assess the suitability of the proposed spatial configurations and to identify evaluation criteria for the architectural proposals.

This experience, combined with the presentation of case studies on workplace design, engages students in a dialogue on the complementarities and differences in knowledge and skills between the two disciplines, within interventions aimed at transforming work situations. The course also includes an introduction to architectural programming and lectures on the interactions between clients and project managers.

Teaching team
Michael Fenker
Jodelle Zetlaoui-Léger
Teaching is provided by staff from both institutions and by practitioners, including architects, ergonomists and programme planners.