Users' Satisfaction With Functionality Of Space In Selected Sport Complex

ABSTRACT

The quality of public space has been one of the focal points of recent design research, with the efforts to create such a public space that could satisfy citizens in different terms has been proposed as one of the main strategies for the urban design projects. As one of the factors affecting the quality of public spaces and environments, liveliness plays an important role in such settings. On the other hand, the environmental designers are always faced with different aspects of designing public spaces and the important fact is that, among the various factors influencing the well being, which one has the most important role. In this regard, this study intends to focus on the designing of sports complex in Adamawa State in order to enhance the well being of the users. In terms of research kind, the research is a descriptive-analytical one, in terms of methodology, it uses a survey method and it is functional based on objective. According to the data, it is a quantitative research and it is a field study in terms of implementation. In this regard, among the human-based and environmental variables related to the well being that were extracted from the documentary and desk research, five cases were selected as the basis of the research according to the prioritization of environmental psychology developed by the experts from the faculty of members. Additionally, the research tools were developed based on this prioritization. The statistical community of the present study involved two cases of the sports complexes. Therefore, with the determination of the community, sample size and research tools, the selected variables were tested to accept or reject the hypotheses. After analyzing the data by SPSS software, visual beauty, security, sociability, readability and user interaction and 24 hour activity were prioritized respectively. As a result, the analytical model of the research, which in fact includes the main factors affecting sports spaces, has been formulated as a public space in Adamawa State. Finally, the most effective spatial strategies have been presented to promote vitality and to achieve the research goals.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM OF THE STUDY
• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
• LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• RESEARCH QUESTION
• DEFINITION OF TERMS
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• REVIEW OF THE STUDY
• SPORTS COMPLEX FLEXIBILITY DESIGN
• FLEXIBLE APPROACH VS TYPICAL DESIGN
• REVIEW OF FLEXIBILITY IN STADIUM DESIGN
• SPORTS COMPLEX DESIGN CONSIDERATION
• REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES
• THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH
• THE CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF VARIABLES

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• STUDY AREA
• RESEARCH DESIGN
• SAMPLE AND SAMPLE SIZE
• METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0      RESULT ANALYSIS

• RESEARCH FINDINGS

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                               INTRODUCTION

1.1                                                  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

If we consider city as a living organism, it needs comfort and happiness for survival [Khasto, 2010]. One of the most important psychological needs of the human being is having joy, satisfaction and happiness. Like all the other creatures on the earth, the human being has its own social life. Hence, his need for happiness is imperative and is demonstrated through his need for life and conducting activity in the lively environment [Ahmadi Marand, 2016]; since the mission of art and architecture is to develop the human’s biological condition by improving the quality of space; and this is realized when it is not only responsible for the functional and aesthetic aspects, but also for the psychological needs and everyday dreams of individuals, the comfort can be considered as an integral part of a desirable architecture, which seeks to convey the sense of glory to the audience of space [Hashempour, 2016]. Therefore, comfort and liveliness are the main components of a qualified city space. The space has been conceptualized as one of the fundamental concepts in architecture. Architects and world thinkers of architecture have presented a variety of conceptions about it. Some of these definitions refer to the role of humans in the perception of surrounding space, while the other ones rely on the impact the quality of space designing has on the human beings’ perceptions of their the surrounding environment. What is more pertinent among scholars is the definition provided about the space, which includes both human elements and its surroundings. One of the definitions is originated from the interaction between man and his/her surroundings or the interaction between subjectivity and objectivity. According to this definition, the human’s perception of space is of great importance, which has led many prominent scholars to suggest patterns for improving the quality of architectural design in this contemporary period [Sohangir, 2015].

Public spaces are one of the main urban spheres in which civil life flows and the transcendental dimension of human relations is manifested. These spaces – with varying scales across Nigeria, during the Sunny period, paved the way for social solidarity, but with the transformation of the city’s spatial organization in the modern era, these spaces were devastated by their social burden and nowadays no collective life could be imagined in these cities. Also, the civil life is not considered as a part of the use of a typical city anymore [Heidari, 2013]. According to the viewpoints of Western scholars, such components as social interference, flexibility of spaces, meaningfulness of place, well-being, comfort, peace, convenience and recreation are vitally important in urban spaces [Khak Zand, 2015]. According to the mentioned definitions of qualities of collective spaces, the comfort – as one of the characteristics of environmental quality- is one of those criteria influencing on the quality of urban and public spaces.

1.2                                                STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

To create an architectural environment of sport and its relation with the society which promote sport among residents to lead a healthy lifestyle and it will also on landscape, use of spaces, users sanctification of space more recreational space and better traffic circulation and parking facilities in Adamawa state.

1.3                                                                        AIM OF STUDY

To access level of user’s satisfaction in existing sport complex.

1.4                                                            OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

To achieve the aim, the study will seek to:

1. Identify the functional spaces in a sport complex.
2. Evaluate functional spaces in selected sport complex.
3. Evaluate user’s satisfactions with the selected spaces.
4. Propose a functional and user friendly.

1.5                                                 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following are questions aided to guide this research:

1. What are the functional spaces?
2. What is the functional requirement for the functional space?
3. What are the size (measurement), materials?
4. How satisfied are end users with the current conditions of terminals in the study area?

1.6                                       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

A sports complex is a group of sports facilities. For example, there are track and field stadiums, football stadiums, baseball stadiums, swimming pools, and Indoor arenas. This area is a sports complex, for fitness. The need to have quality space for user’s comfort is the scope of this work, since the mission of art and architecture is to develop the human’s biological condition by improving the quality of space; and this is realized when it is not only responsible for the functional and aesthetic aspects, but also for the psychological needs and everyday dreams of individuals, the vitality can be considered as an integral part of a desirable architecture, which seeks to convey the sense of glory to the audience of space [Pourmohammadi, 2015]. Therefore, vitality and liveliness are the main components of a qualified city space. Psychological anxiety and stress are serious problems which human being experience in the era of technology, both of which led to a decrease in the sense of happiness for them. Also vitality and liveliness deficiency is clearly visible in our country’s urban spaces, which, in consequence, can increase the violence, depression and the tendency towards unhealthy amusements by citizens [Pourmohammadi, 2015]. What gives life to the architecture of the sports spaces is the activity done within them. The stadiums, while enjoying the international and national standards provided by the relevant organizations, should enjoy an appropriate quality and quantity to make the users satisfied. On the other hand, due to the expansion of cities and the increasing population growth, our need for sports spaces has increased, but as it seems, in some cases, even by considering the large amount of capital to build such complexes, they seem to be inefficient and the existing sport complexes do not have the proper utility quantitatively and qualitatively. It appears that with applying the proper functional-physical quality components, the sports complex can play its role in promoting the components of vitality. Therefore, while possessing desirable environmental qualities, the sports complexes are better to have the vitality as one of the important components of spatial qualities and provide an appropriate place for promoting it as much as possible. The vitality includes a number of components that can be helpful for finding effective strategies if the roles of the physical components (independent) on the human-based components (dependent), most importantly- in proportion to the type of user that is in the current research called the sports complex- being prioritized and evaluated by targeting. Therefore, the main hypothesis of the research includes sub-hypotheses in order to determine the role of the most important factors regarded in depth within the theoretical framework.

1.7                                          SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Safety and quality in sport environments are is very important thing to consider when building a sports complex. This study provide an integrated approach to assess environmental air and space quality in sport facilities can impact on wellness and promote physical activity and healthy life styles in different recreational settings.

This research work will throw more light on the need for having quality space in a sports complex which can go along way promoting the health and well being of spectators.

1.8                                                  LIMITATION OF STUDY

As we all know that no human effort to achieve a set of goals goes without difficulties, certain constraints were encountered in the course of carrying out this project and they are as follows:-

1. Difficulty in information collection: I found it too difficult in laying hands of useful information regarding this work and this course me to visit different libraries and internet for solution.
2. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

• Time Constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9                                                        DEFINITION OF TERMS

Public Space

Public spaces are shared by different social individuals and groups; these spaces are the places for exchanging ideas. Indeed, they serve as a space for the formation of social networks. Such spaces are an experience rather than just a space. Urgent presence in the city’s public environment and what is considered in urban design as the liveliness of space, due to the mere physical presence of individuals (without emphasizing the purpose of their presence or familiarity with each other), is repeatedly referred to as value; In Islamic References, this goal is not acceptable. In general, creating a successful public space that can accommodate different individuals and groups requires attention to their operational and environmental characteristics. Functional specifications of the public spaces can influence on the quality and quantity of attracting people in order to reach an agreement and interaction in such spaces(Rezaei, N, 2017).

Sport Spaces

Leisure activities cover a wide range of activities such as artistic, cultural, sporting, pilgrimage, auditory , visual, recreational and entertainment, social relationships, relationships with nature, studying and computer activities, each of which needs its own platform. Recreational activities that take place outside the home are of a more collaborative nature, requiring special space and facilities. In this regard, public spaces play a major role in providing a platform for the formation and coherence of such activities [Alizadeh, 2013]. Any sporting ground created for physical activity, recreation or exercise is a social and vital place that contributes to the health and well-being of the community. In order to maximize the use of these facilities, their availability is essential for all parts of the society [Zohreh Vendian, 2013]. Undoubtedly, there are several factors in the field of sport that individually challenge the behavior of an athlete or coach. One of the most important factors that can undoubtedly be considered as the most important factor of the athlete’s inner part is the motivation and the motivators. Several factors are effective in motivating athletes. One of the important motivators is the desirable environmental conditions [Abasgholipour, 2015]. Due to the fact that the places and sports spaces are the basis for the implementation of sports activities and programs, and their quantity and quality are influential on the implementation of exercises, competitions and sports competitions and the development of sports among different classes of society, sports science experts are concerned about the predictors, type of design, the construction of places and sports spaces required by the young population of the country [Ramezani, 2014].

Quality of Environment

Environmental quality is the assessment of the environment in relation to the requirements of one or more aspects, or for the needs or demands of each human being. The environmental quality of a complex is a subject involves different perceptions, attitudes and mental values as between groups and individuals [Dadashpour, 2014]. The quality of the environment is a subset of the quality of life. The quality of life affects the quantitative and qualitative aspects and does not make sense without the quality of the environment in which we live. Therefore, it can be said that the quality of the environment is a part of the quality of life, and includes all factors which partly makes the human beings satisfied [Taghvaiie, 2004].

Alan Jacobs and Donald Appleyard (1987) published an article in the Journal of the American Association of Urban engineers entitled “Going Towards a Urban Designation Manifesto”. They sought to promote a set of qualities that can be enlisted with the following order: 1- Vitality; 2) identity and control; 3) access to opportunities; imagination and happiness; 4) authenticity and meaning; 5) social and universal life; 6) urban self-reliance; and 7) an environment for all [Golkar, K, 1995]. Therefore, given the fact that the public spaces are for the presence of the individuals and their participation in the life of their community, the social life needs to be existed in such spaces; in consequence, as one of the environmental qualities that influences public spaces, including sports complexes, the vitality has a significant role in these spaces.

1.10                                     PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.