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Volume 36, Issue 3 (2026)
IJAUP 2026, 36(3) |
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Mohajer E, Azemati H, Movahed K. Wellbeing Through Participatory Cycles: Insights from a Causal Model of Housing Complex Design for Self-Actualization. IJAUP 2026; 36 (3)
URL: http://ijaup.iust.ac.ir/article-1-991-en.html
URL: http://ijaup.iust.ac.ir/article-1-991-en.html
1- Department of Architecture, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran , ellie.mohajer@gmail.com
2- Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran
3- Department of Architecture and Urban Sustainability, University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC, USA
2- Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran
3- Department of Architecture and Urban Sustainability, University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC, USA
Abstract:
This paper aims to identify the design cycles through which housing complex environments may support residents’ self-actualization and well-being. A mixed-methods design was employed across three sequential phases: Delphi analysis, user surveying, and correlation-based modeling. In the first phase, a literature review and expert interviews were analyzed using Grounded Theory in conjunction with the Delphi method to extract key dimensions of residential design associated with self-actualization. In the second phase, expert and user survey data were analyzed using factor analysis to identify the structural components of the proposed design model. In the final phase, structural relationships among these components were examined using causal modeling to develop an integrated framework of housing design components associated with self-actualization. The analysis identified four participatory cycles: Creative Participation in Space, Interactive Spatial Events, Environmentally Participatory Events, and Collaborative and Discoverable Space. These cycles demonstrate how spatial, social, and perceptual characteristics of housing environments interact to structure opportunities for both individual and collective engagement. The findings suggest that self-actualization in housing environments can be understood as an emergent, spatially mediated process shaped by recursive interactions between design components, social participation, and environmental experience. By integrating architectural configuration with patterns of interaction and perception, the study offers a causal framework for understanding how participatory and adaptive spatial systems may contribute to residents’ well-being and self-actualization.
Keywords: Self-actualization, Housing complexes, Participatory design cycles, Well-being, Housing design, Causal modeling.
Type of Study: Research Paper |
Subject:
Architecture
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