Methodological Approach of Environmental Experience Design to Enhancing Occupants’ Well-Being, Bangladesh

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear authors, many thanks for submitting your research to the journal. The theme is very interesting and original and in my opinion well argued with a valid scientific approach. I would suggest just a few slight implementations:

- first I would ask you to put the photographs of figure 3 in color in order to have a better understanding of the interior spaces, especially when you mention color as an important factor for human perception.

- still in section 4 I would ask you if you could give some dimensional feedback (even rough) on the openings/windows. In this regard, I would invite you to put a graphic scale factor on the plans in figure 1.

- still for the premises of the study section 4, I would suggest giving a clearer picture of the observation in the field. We have no numerical data either on the questionnaires, or on the quantity of observations conducted and on the building and user types detected.

Thanks for your work

Author Response

Reviewer 1

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors, many thanks for submitting your research to the journal. The theme is very interesting and original and, in my opinion, well argued with a valid scientific approach. I would suggest just a few slight implementations:

Comments: Thank you so much for your constructive comments.

- first, I would ask you to put the photographs of figure 3 in color in order to have a better understanding of the interior spaces, especially when you mention color as an important factor for human perception.

Comments: Thank you so much for your kind suggestions. Changed the photographs of fig. 3 according to your valuable suggestion.

- still in section 4 I would ask you if you could give some dimensional feedback (even rough) on the openings/windows. In this regard, I would invite you to put a graphic scale factor on the plans in figure 1.

Comments: Thank you so much for your recommendations. These illustrations are based on conceptual format (from field observation) just to inform the zoning so may be better not to provide graphic scale. According to your suggestions we provided (more accurately) dimensional feedback in these illustrations and also changed the color for more readable. Also provide some information about dimensions in the write up.

- still for the premises of the study section 4, I would suggest giving a clearer picture of the observation in the field. We have no numerical data either on the questionnaires, or on the quantity of observations conducted and, on the building, and user types detected.

Comments: Thank you so much for your recommendations. Added a table (Table 1. Information of field data collection) about all the information as per suggestions. Thank you so much.

Thanks for your work.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript entitled “Methodological Approach of Environmental Experience Design to Enhancing Occupants' Well-being, Bangladesh” proposes the development of an Environmental Experience Design. The paper presents an interesting theme. However, I believe that the paper structure did not help to value the research. Therefore, there are some topics that I believe could be improved.

 MAJOR COMMENTS:

 

 1) ABSTRACT: The Abstract must be a faithful summary of the paper. It should address all the main aspects of the study, that is, contextualization, objective, methodology, and main results. Although the text is a bit long, the first two items were well covered, but the others were not. Therefore, I suggest the improvement of the text.

 

 2) STRUCTURE: I suggest that authors change the paper structure, following the journal's rules. There is a well-defined structure for original research articles, i.e. Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, and Final Considerations. The current presentation confuses the reader regarding the research objective, as well as it does not make the understanding of the theme fluid from the literature review.

 

 3) INTRODUCTION: Considering Section 1- “Income Group Projection for SDGs” as an Introduction Section, I suggest that it is completely rewritten. This section should provide a brief introduction to the topic, delimit the research gap, the objective, highlight the novelty of the research, and provide a brief explanation of the methodology to be used. In the current version of the manuscript, virtually none of these topics were addressed.

 

 4) LITERATURE REVIEW: The literature review is divided into several sections (Sections 2, 4, 6,...).The aim of the literature review is to indicate the state of the art on the subject. In other words, indicate which results the most recent studies have produced on the subject. As well as substantiating the most important concepts for understanding the research. In this context, it is necessary to considerably increase the number of references used. It is not possible to guarantee a solid theoretical background using so few updated references. In addition, the literature review should be positioned before the Materials and Methods section. Therefore, I suggest restructuring the paper.

 

5) METHODOLOGY: Considering Section 3 – “Study Context and Location” as a Materials and Methods Section, I suggest that the section be greatly improved. The authors made an effort to characterize the location where the research was carried out, however, it is still necessary to improve the exposition of the methodology to be applied in the study. The section division does not facilitate the understanding of the developed model. There is a lot of information that has no prior explanation of its order and relevance (Field observation; Theoretical perception; Domestic Environmental Experiences; Towards the Solution; and, finally, the EXD).  It is necessary that each of these items, their purpose, their relevance, and the proposed order be previously explained in the methodology section. A methodological framework figure would be interesting.

6) RESULTS / DISCUSSION: The results section (which I presume is the last section of the paper) need to be improved. The implications of the developed model should be better discussed. In my opinion, the relevance of the proposed model was not well explained. In fact, I believe that it would be difficult to apply the method based only on what has been exposed. I suggest that the authors better address this question.

7) CONCLUSIONS: The Conclusions section must indicate the study’s limitations, as well as clearly describe the next research steps, as the model certainly needs to continue to evolve.

8) REFERENCES: The used references should be expanded and updated. As the paper proposes the development of a method, it must be theoretically well-grounded, which is not possible with the use of a limited number of technical bibliographies. Furthermore, most of the references are old. Considering the 48 references, only 9 are scientific papers or books published in the last 5 years.

MINOR COMMENTS:

9) FIGURE 3: Section 4 often describes how colors and textures affect users' perceptions, but Figure 3 is included in black and white. Why didn't the authors opt for the colored figure to allow the reader to observe these environmental characteristics?

10) LINES 30-31: “By 2030, the number of people living in middle-income families will be close to 50%”. What is the reference for this statement?

11) LINE 38: “Its economy will rank as the 24th largest in the world by 2030”. What is the reference for this statement?

12) LINES 38-40: “In Bangladesh, young communities are those under 35 years old and about 29% of the total population”. What is the reference for this statement?

13) LINE 42: “The community's average monthly income ranges from US$160 to $1,220”. What is the reference for this statement?

14) LINES 53-55: “The government survey report indicates that 53 in Bangladesh, 16.8% of the young population experiences different mental well-being 54 issues (i.e., depression and stress)”. What government report? What is the reference for this statement?

15) LINE 55-56: “More than 6 million people in Bangladesh are de-55 pressed and nearly 7 million are anxious”. What is the reference for this statement?

16) LINES 547-549: “According to research and surveys, more than half of the people who live in Dhaka are mentally unstable”. What researches? What surveys?

Author Response

Reviewer 2

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript entitled “Methodological Approach of Environmental Experience Design to Enhancing Occupants' Well-being, Bangladesh” proposes the development of an Environmental Experience Design. The paper presents an interesting theme. However, I believe that the paper structure did not help to value the research. Therefore, there are some topics that I believe could be improved.

Comments: Thank you so much for your constructive comments and feedback.

 MAJOR COMMENTS:

 1) ABSTRACT: The Abstract must be a faithful summary of the paper. It should address all the main aspects of the study, that is, contextualization, objective, methodology, and main results. Although the text is a bit long, the first two items were well covered, but the others were not. Therefore, I suggest the improvement of the text.

Comments: We revised thoroughly and modified information in this section “Abstract” as per suggestion:

Abstract: Bangladesh is an emerging nation that is urbanizing the fastest. Generally, middle-income families (as main economic contributor) reside in high-density urban housing due to their socioeconomic disparities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where physical design aspects focus on current housing sectors. The congested living situation worsens indoor environmental quality and has a negative impact on occupants' mental well-being in their dwellings, resulting in a direct or indirect adverse effect on their productivity. Occupants’ living conditions can be improved by adjusting individual perceptions and experiences in their domestic environments. This study has developed an 'Environmental Experience Design (EXD)' methodological approach that reflects a user-centered design theoretical framework. A field study on dwelling units (±1000 sqft) conducted throughout the selected housings in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was carried out to examine occupants' domestic experiences using semi-structured and structured interviews. After binary and thematic coding with significance, "Association Rules and Cluster Analysis" were used to ascertain relationship between three aspects (spatial, environmental, and user context) to explore customize outcomes. This EXD methodological approach can be utilized to create an environmental (architectural) design solution that will enhance mental wellness by considering occupants' needs and demands in household settings locally and worldwide.

 2) STRUCTURE: I suggest that authors change the paper structure, following the journal's rules. There is a well-defined structure for original research articles, i.e. Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, and Final Considerations. The current presentation confuses the reader regarding the research objective, as well as it does not make the understanding of the theme fluid from the literature review.

Comments: Thank you for your valuable suggestions and feedback. We changed the title for Section 11: EXD Methodological Approach and Conceptual Outcomes.

It should be noted that this study takes Dhaka, Bangladesh as its primary data set and focuses primarily on the methodological approach of EXD. Sections 2, 3, and 4 of this paper were mostly organized by first examining the justification for this (which was gleaned from both the literature and field research). Finding limitations through field observation was the next question presented. Because the design of an experience cannot be understood without understanding its limitations. Knowing the constraints, we attempted to build an EXD model (Sections 9 and 10) based on the literature's prior theories (Sections 6-8). Following the part on the hypothetical EXD construct, sections 11 and 12 examined the methodology used, the conceptual outcomes, and how it operates before concluding. I hope this makes the structure clearer. Again, many thanks.

 3) INTRODUCTION: Considering Section 1- “Income Group Projection for SDGs” as an Introduction Section, I suggest that it is completely rewritten. This section should provide a brief introduction to the topic, delimit the research gap, the objective, highlight the novelty of the research, and provide a brief explanation of the methodology to be used. In the current version of the manuscript, virtually none of these topics were addressed.

Comments: We revised thoroughly and modified information in this section “Introduction” as per suggestion:

1. Introduction

Since 2000, middle-income households have gradually increased in urban areas worldwide. According to UN world population projection and Brookings 2021, by 2030, the number of people living in middle-income families will be close to 50% [1]. Most of the world's socioeconomic development depends on middle-income families [1]. They are acknowledged as the primary force behind socioeconomic development on a global scale. Asia's growth rate for middle-income families is higher than that of other parts of the world [2] [3]. The consensus is that middle-income families are the primary engine behind the nation's sustainable development. Bangladesh, the second-largest economy in South Asia, is one of the emerging nations that is urbanizing the fastest, with a population of roughly 168 million. This nation's youth is the main economic and socioeconomic driver [4]. Its economy will rank as the 24th largest in the world by 2030 [2] [3] [4]. In Bangladesh, young communities are those under 35 years old and about 29% of the total population [3]. Bangladesh's government is implementing several strategies to advance the younger generation. Middle-income families are this generation's primary grouping in Bangladesh. The community's average monthly income ranges from US$160 to $1,220 [2] [3] [4]. The portion of the population with the highest qualifications now belongs to this income bracket. Members of this community mostly reside in high-density urban housing environments. They struggle with well-being issues like mental illnesses, anxiety, depression, and frustration that are, to some extent, linked to their living environments and surroundings [3] [4]. These circumstances may also have a direct or indirect adverse effect on their productivity. Without improved housing options for those who face socioeconomic limitations, achieving SDG goals (such as good health and well-being and sustainable cities and communities) for a country like Bangladesh may not be possible.

By changing individual views in their household contexts, middle-income occupants' domestic living situations can be enhanced. Without a comprehensive understanding of the occupants' living situations, it may be difficult to define environmental design solutions in architecture that improve occupant well-being. This study aims to investigate a user-centered design theoretical framework-based methodological approach of Environmental Experience Design (EXD) to increase inhabitants' well-being in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Three crucial aspects—namely, spatial, environmental, and user contextual factors—have been taken into consideration in this study from a hypothetical perspective to explore the idea of the EXD methodological approach.

 4) LITERATURE REVIEW: The literature review is divided into several sections (Sections 2, 4, 6,...).The aim of the literature review is to indicate the state of the art on the subject. In other words, indicate which results the most recent studies have produced on the subject. As well as substantiating the most important concepts for understanding the research. In this context, it is necessary to considerably increase the number of references used. It is not possible to guarantee a solid theoretical background using so few updated references. In addition, the literature review should be positioned before the Materials and Methods section. Therefore, I suggest restructuring the paper.

Comments: Refer the comments for Q: 2

5) METHODOLOGY: Considering Section 3 – “Study Context and Location” as a Materials and Methods Section, I suggest that the section be greatly improved. The authors made an effort to characterize the location where the research was carried out, however, it is still necessary to improve the exposition of the methodology to be applied in the study. The section division does not facilitate the understanding of the developed model. There is a lot of information that has no prior explanation of its order and relevance (Field observation; Theoretical perception; Domestic Environmental Experiences; Towards the Solution; and, finally, the EXD).  It is necessary that each of these items, their purpose, their relevance, and the proposed order be previously explained in the methodology section. A methodological framework figure would be interesting.

Comments: We revised thoroughly and added information in this section:

Section 3: “The psychological needs and demands of occupants are taken into account in the user-centered design process as they correspond to occupants' living situation, resulting in an impact on both local and global users' well-being. Since user context varied depending on locations (e.g., socio-cultural factors and restrictions), it is essential to comprehend the particular study setting in order to construct the EXD methodological framework. The EXD framework can be used in diverse users' contexts globally depending on various environmental components, even though the study's primary focus was on the urban domestic living situations of middle-income families in Dhaka, Bangladesh.”

Section 4: “To explore occupants' domestic living experiences through semi-structured and structured interviews, a field study (May–Dec 2021) was conducted (by 1st author) on approximately ± 90 dwelling units (area ± 1000 sqft) spread across the selected housings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The locations of the dwellings were varied, considering orientations such as North, South, East and West, as well as floor levels such as Lower, Middle and Upper (Table 1 and Fig. 1).”

Table 1. Information of field data collection

Figure 1. Example of compact domestic living scenarios, Dhaka, Bangladesh (color changed)

Added dimensions as required.

Figure 3. Occupants' living scenario of high-density urban Housing, Dhaka, Bangladesh (color changed)

“Finally, from this field survey and observation, twelve environmental design factors (e.g., daylighting, artificial lighting, natural ventilation, air quality, acoustic quality, smells/odors, texture and color, materials, outdoor connectivity, indoor natural elements, indoor temperature and microbe and mold control) and ten spatial factors (e.g., privacy, functional identity, safety and security, space order and usability, changeability and variety, aesthetics quality, flexibility of choice, interaction and sociability, indoor climate control and cleanliness) have been identified and prioritized for data demonstration and interpretation (in section 12) for this study (Table 2). These factors may differ according to different socio-cultural and regional aspects of occupants.”

 

Table 2. Identification of different factors from field observation

 

Changed the title for Figure 8. EXD methodological approach to customizing outcomes

6) RESULTS / DISCUSSION: The results section (which I presume is the last section of the paper) need to be improved. The implications of the developed model should be better discussed. In my opinion, the relevance of the proposed model was not well explained. In fact, I believe that it would be difficult to apply the method based only on what has been exposed. I suggest that the authors better address this question.

Comments: We revised thoroughly and added a summary in this section:

“To evaluate the EXD methodological approach in this analysis, only one specific space (space=X) of a home setting has been considered using quantitative and qualitative field data from Dhaka, Bangladesh. By utilizing this EXD methodological approach and taking into account occupants' multiple needs and demands in other domestic spaces (such as the master bedroom, child bedroom, attached toilet, common toilet, living space, dining space, kitchen, balcony and corridor), an environmental (architectural) design solution can be accomplished. Environmental design defines physical environmental influences on human behavior, still, the approach of environmental experience design demonstrates occupants' (as user) psychological preferences (needs and demands as taking priority) in architectural design solutions that may impact their well-being, where association rules and design cluster analysis provide the opportunities to correlate occupants' socio-cultural aspect in their living environment. To meet the Sustainable Development Goals, this interpretation will offer new architectural and environmental design combinations or directions (as a tool).”

7) CONCLUSIONS: The Conclusions section must indicate the study’s limitations, as well as clearly describe the next research steps, as the model certainly needs to continue to evolve.

Comments: In conclusion, added this statement:

“This study mainly focused on exploring the EXD approach in three main areas: spatial, environmental and user-contextual factors based on middle-income families in Dhaka. Pragmatic studies of occupant (as users) experiences are required to investigate the "Environmental Experiences Design (EXD)" framework for not only high-density urban housing in Bangladesh (as locally) but globally to explore other research domains in the built environmental issues.”

Thank you so much for your constructive feedback.

8) REFERENCES: The used references should be expanded and updated. As the paper proposes the development of a method, it must be theoretically well-grounded, which is not possible with the use of a limited number of technical bibliographies. Furthermore, most of the references are old. Considering the 48 references, only 9 are scientific papers or books published in the last 5 years.

Comments: Thank you for your kind suggestions. It will be helpful to mention that we are previously published 3 Journal articles (mdpi) based on this concept. We mentioned those as refferences (rationale) in this article.

[3] Chowdhury, S.; Noguchi, M.; Doloi, H. Domestic Environmental Experience Design. Encyclopedia 2021, 1, 505-518. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia1020042 (Ref. used 64)

[14] Chowdhury, S.; Noguchi, M.; Doloi, H. Conceptual Parametric Relationship for Occupants’ Domestic Environmental Experience. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2982. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052982  (Ref. used 87)

[40] Chowdhury, S.; Noguchi, M.; Doloi, H. Defining Domestic Environmental Experience for Occupants’ Mental Health and Wellbeing. Designs 2020, 4, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs4030026 (Ref. used 89)

Besides,

Added the following reference from where this design concept came 40. Norman, Don. The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic books, 2013. It may be noted here that, Norman, D.A. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things; Basic Civitas Books: New York, NY, USA, 2004 (mentioned previously) also discuss about users’ psychological issues based on product-technology. We also mentioned Maslow’s theory in our previous publications (sustainability, designs, and encyclopedia: topical collections) Ref. 3 & 14. Thank you again.

MINOR COMMENTS:

9) FIGURE 3: Section 4 often describes how colors and textures affect users' perceptions, but Figure 3 is included in black and white. Why didn't the authors opt for the colored figure to allow the reader to observe these environmental characteristics?

Comments: Thank you so much for your kind suggestions. Changed the photographs of fig. 1 and 3 according to your valuable suggestion.

10) LINES 30-31: “By 2030, the number of people living in middle-income families will be close to 50%”. What is the reference for this statement?

Comments: Added reference.

11) LINE 38: “Its economy will rank as the 24th largest in the world by 2030”. What is the reference for this statement?

Comments: Added references.

12) LINES 38-40: “In Bangladesh, young communities are those under 35 years old and about 29% of the total population”. What is the reference for this statement?

Comments: Added reference.

13) LINE 42: “The community's average monthly income ranges from US$160 to $1,220”. What is the reference for this statement?

Comments: Added reference.

14) LINES 53-55: “The government survey report indicates that 53 in Bangladesh, 16.8% of the young population experiences different mental well-being 54 issues (i.e., depression and stress)”. What government report? What is the reference for this statement?

Comments: Added reference and modified.

15) LINE 55-56: “More than 6 million people in Bangladesh are de-55 pressed and nearly 7 million are anxious”. What is the reference for this statement?

Comments: Added reference and modified.

16) LINES 547-549: “According to research and surveys, more than half of the people who live in Dhaka are mentally unstable”. What researches? What surveys?

Comments: Added reference and modified.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

- why are SDG 3, 10, and 11 the most crucial for this study? what are other relevant criteria? 

- line 51: what are the user segments of the overall occupants? what are their typical personas? Idoughi, D., Seffah, A., & Kolski, C. (2012). Adding user experience into the interactive service design loop: a persona-based approach. Behaviour & Information Technology, 31(3), 287-303.

- line 116: what would be different/new if other researchers conduct such studies in other countries and contexts? 

- suggest combining figures 1 and 2, as figure 1 shows fewer interactions and circulations.

- is it possible to show the field observation results in a table, i.e., a clearer way? 

- who are the observed users/occupants? what are the procedures/steps? 

- line 434: what do the authors mean by mentioning 'understand human psychology'?

- line 560: what are the specific solutions/envisions? 

- line 565: what is the origin of EXD? what are the similarities and differences between EXD, UXD, UCSD, and HCD? suggest adding and discussing: 1) Desmet, P., & Fokkinga, S. (2020). Beyond Maslow’s pyramid: introducing a typology of thirteen fundamental needs for human-centered design. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 4(3), 38., 2) Liu, W., Lee, K. P., Gray, C. M., Toombs, A. L., Chen, K. H., & Leifer, L. (2021). Transdisciplinary teaching and learning in UX design: A program review and AR case studies. Applied Sciences, 11(22), 10648., 3) Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic books.

- make sure the numbers in figures 10 and 12 are correct.

- how can we extend the EXD framework to other research domains, e.g., autonomous driving and gaming?

Author Response

Reviewer 3

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

- why are SDG 3, 10, and 11 the most crucial for this study? what are other relevant criteria? 

Comments: Thank you so much for your constructive comments. We removed SDGs 10. SDGs 3 and 11 are closely connected to environmental design (Residents' quality of life is influenced by their living environment, which affects their well-being, feelings, emotions, moods, and productivity.) so that it may have impact for sustainable development.

- line 51: what are the user segments of the overall occupants? what are their typical personas? Idoughi, D., Seffah, A., & Kolski, C. (2012). Adding user experience into the interactive service design loop: a persona-based approach. Behaviour & Information Technology, 31(3), 287-303.

Comments: Thank you so much for your kind feedback.

Changed the Section 2 Title as per suggestions: Occupants' (as Middle-income) Well-being in Bangladesh

As the new notion of “Environmental Experience Design” based on user experiences and perceptions (needs and demands) in that case it differs from the concept of typical personas. So that in this article personas were not considered in the methods. Hope this will clarify. Thank you.

- line 116: what would be different/new if other researchers conduct such studies in other countries and contexts? 

Comments: Thank you so much for this constructive and very remarkable feedback. We added new lines as per feedback.

“The psychological needs and demands of occupants are taken into account in the user-centered design process as they correspond to occupants’ living situation, resulting in an impact on both local and global users' well-being. Since user context varied depending on locations (e.g., socio-cultural factors and restrictions), it is essential to comprehend the particular study setting in order to construct the EXD methodological framework. The EXD framework can be used in diverse users' contexts globally depending on various environmental components, even though the study's primary focus was on the urban domestic living situations of middle-income families in Dhaka, Bangladesh.”

- suggest combining figures 1 and 2, as figure 1 shows fewer interactions and circulations.

Comments: I appreciate the suggestion. Here, it would be preferable to keep Figs. 1 and 2 apart. In contrast to Figure 2, which depicts the overall circulation pattern of middle-class domestic living situations in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Figure 1 examines some examples of compact domestic living scenarios. I sincerely hope you'll take this into consideration. We modified the color of Figure 1 to make it easier to read.

 - is it possible to show the field observation results in a table, i.e., a clearer way? 

Comments: We added Table 2 from field observations. Thank you. Table 2. Identification of different factors from field observation

- who are the observed users/occupants? what are the procedures/steps? 

Comments: Clarified in section 4:

“To explore occupants' domestic living experiences through semi-structured and structured interviews, a field study (May–Dec 2021) was conducted (by 1^st author) on approximately ± 90 dwelling units (area ± 1000 sqft) spread across the selected housings in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The locations of the dwellings were varied, considering orientations such as North, South, East and West, as well as floor levels such as Lower, Middle and Upper (Table 1 and Fig. 1).”

Added a table (Table 1. Information of field data collection) about all the information as per suggestions. Thank you so much.

- line 434: what do the authors mean by mentioning 'understand human psychology'?

Comments: Modified for clarification:

“In that situation, adjustability, portability and multifunctionality are significant to understand human psychology (needs and demands) in their living environments.”

- line 560: what are the specific solutions/envisions? 

Comments: Modified for clarification:

“The new architectural design concept known as "Environmental Experience Design (EXD)" may improve occupants (i.e., middle-income families and all communities who have socio-cultural restrictions/limitations) perceptions in their domestic living environments and positively impact their mental well-being to enhance productivity. Through EXD as a design tool or framework, the connection between user's feelings, moods and emotions and how design components are set up in a built environment can be improved.”

 

- line 565: what is the origin of EXD? what are the similarities and differences between EXD, UXD, UCSD, and HCD? suggest adding and discussing: 1) Desmet, P., & Fokkinga, S. (2020). Beyond Maslow’s pyramid: introducing a typology of thirteen fundamental needs for human-centered design. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 4(3), 38., 2) Liu, W., Lee, K. P., Gray, C. M., Toombs, A. L., Chen, K. H., & Leifer, L. (2021). Transdisciplinary teaching and learning in UX design: A program review and AR case studies. Applied Sciences, 11(22), 10648., 3) Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic books.

Comments: Thank you for this valuable suggestion. Added the following reference from where this design concept came 40. Norman, Don. The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic books, 2013. It may be noted here that, Norman, D.A. Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things; Basic Civitas Books: New York, NY, USA, 2004 (mentioned previously) also discuss about users’ psychological issues based on product-technology. We also mentioned Maslow’s theory in our previous publications (sustainability, designs, and encyclopedia: topical collections) Ref. 3 & 14. Thank you again.

- make sure the numbers in figures 10 and 12 are correct.

Comments: Re-checked

- how can we extend the EXD framework to other research domains, e.g., autonomous driving and gaming?

Comments: In conclusion, added this statement:

“Pragmatic studies of occupant (as users) experiences are required to investigate the "Environmental Experiences Design (EXD)" framework for not only high-density urban housing in Bangladesh (as locally) but globally to explore other research domains in the built environmental issues.”

Thank you so much for your constructive feedback.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Congratulations to the authors who worked to incorporate my suggestions into the paper.

However, I insist that the references of this study must be updated.

"8) REFERENCES: The used references should be expanded and updated. As the paper proposes the development of a method, it must be theoretically well-grounded, which is not possible with the use of a limited number of technical bibliographies. Furthermore, most of the references are old. Considering the 48 references, only 9 are scientific papers or books published in the last 5 years."

Although the authors have previously published other studies on the subject, my role as a reviewer concerns this paper, and not the others. 

The articles must be self-sufficient, so that the reader can perfectly understand the study, without the need to resort to other sources, even if they have been referenced.

In this context, the bibliography used to theoretically support this research is outdated and needs to be updated and expanded.

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your constructive feedback and suggestions. As mentioned previously, the notion of Environmental Experience Design (EXD) in Architecture is new and we found very little research based on this strategy. We are trying to develop a new methodological approach based on Human Centric Design that we mentioned in our article. We also added some new references (43-45; 51-55; 58-65=16 in between the last 5 years that are correlated to our analysis) according to your guidelines. Hope, you will consider this initiative. Thank you again for your valuable feedback on developing our article. 

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2. Wright P, McCarthy J. Experience-centered design: designers, users, and communities in dialogue. Springer Nature; 2022 May 31.
3. Krueger AE. Two methods for Experience Design based on the Needs Empathy Map: Persona with Needs and Needs Persona. Mensch und Computer 2022-Workshopband. 2022.
4. Noguchi M, Lan L, Chowdhury S, Yang W. Environmental experience design research spectrum for energy and human well-being. InHandbook of Energy and Environmental Security 2022 Jan 1 (pp. 207-229). Academic Press.
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8. Smith AW. User experience design for older adults: Experience architecture and methodology for users aged 60+. InProceedings of the 37th ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication 2019 Oct 4 (pp. 1-9).
9. Noguchi M, Hernàndez-Velasco CR. A ‘mass custom design approach to upgrading conventional housing development in Mexico. Habitat International. 2005 Jun 1;29(2):325-36.
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf