Works
On Personal Space
Sommer makes the distinction between personal space and territory: "The concepts of 'personal space' can be distinguished from that of 'territory' in several ways. The most important difference is that personal space is carried around while territory is relatively stationary. The animal or man will usually mark the boundaries of his territory so that they are visible to others, but the boundaries of personal space are invisible. Personal space has the body as its center, while territory does not. Often the center of territory is the home of the animal or man. Animals will usually fight to maintain dominion over their territory but will withdraw if others intrude into their personal space."
In his best known book Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design, first published in 1969, Sommer argues that buildings should be built first for function (their usefulness to the user), not form (how they look). The book is divided into two sections: the first section is theoretical, and the second section concerns methods and their applications. In addition to this book, Sommer has written many articles on personal space as well.
On Learning And The Classroom
Another theme in Sommer's research is the structure of the classroom and how it affects learning. As a high school student, Sommer himself experienced the difficulty of learning in a classroom where he was unable to see the blackboard due to the poor design of the room. He writes that he struggled in the class until, later in the semester, it moved to a new room where he got a front row seat. There, he could see the blackboard and his "grades improved markedly". Sommer devotes a chapter to the effect of classroom structure on learning in his book Personal Space, and has also written many journal articles on the topic as well.
Though the 1960s and 70s were a time of innovation in educational curricula, teaching methods, and classrooms, there was not much thought given to the physical environment of the classroom and how it might affect learning. Sommer introduced two important terms in his book Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It. First, the "open classroom", which he describes as being a "more informally arranged and less rigidly structured space", and "open education", a loosening of the current social hierarchy in education where teachers are strictly the sources of knowledge and students only learners. Sommer states that though the addition of "open classrooms" cannot increase student participation without there also being an environment of "open education", no shift in hierarchy is likely without a change in the construction or arrangement of the classrooom.
The Soft Classroom is an article written by Sommer and Olsen describing a study they conducted on the impact of classroom design on learning. It describes the difference in student participation observed in two differently arranged classrooms.
Street Art
Sommer's book Street Art (1975) discusses "the urban community mural in the U.S.A." The community mural is created by artists in collaboration with the local community so the art reflects the local culture. "Some of the chapter topics are: The New Mural Movement; definitions of 'street art' forms; the politics of 'street art'; the Emeryville, California, mudflats, a site for group sculpture; a guide for Locating and Photographing Street Art; and a final chapter concerned with less common 'street art' locations and the future of this type of art."
In Street Art Sommer states "the important question is whether painters, writers and poets are obliged to go beyond reflection to interpretation and prescription" and, in comparing street artists to those who display their work in a gallery, even goes so far as to say: "one can tell very little about the issues affecting public consciousness by examining the work of studio artists..." and "she cannot afford the haughty contempt that the studio painter may feel for purchasers and patrons ...".
Sommer's work has been called "valuable for drawing attention to the proliferation of a noncommercial, popular art form in the U.S.A.", however there are also some criticisms of the book. Wayne Enstice, in his review of Street Art noted "A serious deficiency of his book is the abrasive way he chooses to treat the question"..."Do Social imperatives demand redefinition of the role of artists?" He complains that "Readers are asked to measure the accomplishments of community motivated artists against an antagonistic and oversimplified estimation of studio artists...". Enstice also dislikes Sommer's division between text and art, saying that it is "inappropriate".
Read more about this topic: Robert Sommer
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