Anthropometrics
November 26, 2018, marks the one-year anniversary of the death of my wonderful great-grandmother, Mary. Thanksgiving in my family is normally a time of catching up, talking about politics, and laughing about ridiculous things. This year, Thanksgiving is going to be our time of remembering Mary. Anyone who knew Mary knew her for two things: her famous strawberry pie and her little blue house. No one can master Mary's strawberry pie, so I'm going to focus on her little blue house.
Mary's little blue house was quite literally little. Her front door was a unique red door with a red trim and entered into the living room. It is an old home where you have to walk through a room to get to the next room, instead of having a hallway that provides immediate access to each room. These are the directions you have to follow to get to the bathroom from the living room: Walk through the living room to the bedroom. Walk through the bedroom to the kitchen. Walk through the kitchen, up two steps, and you've reached the bathroom. There are extremely low ceilings throughout the tiny house, excluding the kitchen. Mary was taller than the average woman, reaching a stature height of 5'10". When her hair was done up and fancy, it brushed the top of her door frames. My dad, with a stature height of 6'6", has to duck his head to walk around the little blue house. When Mary had the house custom built, there was not much consideration of anthropometrics.
Anthropometrics is measurements of the human body; it consists of body composition, size, and shape. It includes measurements of stature height, vertical reach, sidearm reach, etc. Anthropometry is essential when designing, whether it be a custom home or a commercial building or a hospital. I am 5'6" with a sidearm reach of 2'9"; if my arms were 6 inches longer and I stood in the middle of Mary's bedroom, I could touch the wall. With is being such a small room, Mary could only fit a full-size bed, small nightstand, and small dresser.
Poor consideration of anthropometrics could lead to health issues. A 2009 study by M. Mokdad and M. Al-Ansari provides an example of this by saying, "The ratio between circumferences of waist and hip was found to be associated with elevated risk for heart disease." Sometimes I wonder if Mary had moved out of her little blue house and into a house with more space, would she have lived a little longer? She passed away due to health issues, and I can't help but think living in the little blue house for several decades played a part in Mary's health issues.
Both designers and clients should take anthropometrics into consideration when working on any project. It's not good to live in a house or work in a building where your head can hit the ceiling and others have to duck to get inside and walk around. Serious anthropometry consideration could reduce health issues for many; Mary and her little blue house taught me this.
References:
Anthropometrics for the design of Bahraini school furniture
Too Tall Doorway Gif
*name has been changed for sake of privacy
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| This is a photo of the little blue house upon entering the driveway. Photo by me |
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| This is a sketch of the front door. Yes, that is how small it is and where the knob is placed. Sketch by me. |
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| This is similar to what it looked like when anyone over six feet entered Mary's house. Source |
Anthropometrics is measurements of the human body; it consists of body composition, size, and shape. It includes measurements of stature height, vertical reach, sidearm reach, etc. Anthropometry is essential when designing, whether it be a custom home or a commercial building or a hospital. I am 5'6" with a sidearm reach of 2'9"; if my arms were 6 inches longer and I stood in the middle of Mary's bedroom, I could touch the wall. With is being such a small room, Mary could only fit a full-size bed, small nightstand, and small dresser.
Poor consideration of anthropometrics could lead to health issues. A 2009 study by M. Mokdad and M. Al-Ansari provides an example of this by saying, "The ratio between circumferences of waist and hip was found to be associated with elevated risk for heart disease." Sometimes I wonder if Mary had moved out of her little blue house and into a house with more space, would she have lived a little longer? She passed away due to health issues, and I can't help but think living in the little blue house for several decades played a part in Mary's health issues.
Both designers and clients should take anthropometrics into consideration when working on any project. It's not good to live in a house or work in a building where your head can hit the ceiling and others have to duck to get inside and walk around. Serious anthropometry consideration could reduce health issues for many; Mary and her little blue house taught me this.
References:
Anthropometrics for the design of Bahraini school furniture
Too Tall Doorway Gif
*name has been changed for sake of privacy
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