title: There or not there? A multidisciplinary review and research agenda on the impact of transparent barriers on human perception, action, and social behavior.
abstract: Through advances in production and treatment technologies, transparent glass has become an increasingly versatile material and a global hallmark of modern architecture. In the shape of invisible barriers, it defines spaces while simultaneously shaping their lighting, noise, and climate conditions. Despite these unique architectural qualities, little is known regarding the human experience with glass barriers. Is a material that has been described as being simultaneously there and not there from an architectural perspective, actually there and/or not there from perceptual, behavioral, and social points of view? In this article, we review systematic observations and experimental studies that explore the impact of transparent barriers on human cognition and action. In doing so, the importance of empirical and multidisciplinary approaches to inform the use of glass in contemporary architecture is highlighted and key questions for future inquiry are identified.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Architecture, TU Dresden Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Gesine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marquardt
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Bangor University Bangor, UK ; Department of Social and Cultural Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Emily S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, School of Society, Enterprise, and Environment, Bath Spa University Somerset, UK.
authors.forename: Alexandra A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.affiliation: College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Arizona Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Edelstein
authors.affiliation: ImpAct Team, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, University Claude Bernard Lyon I Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farnè
authors.affiliation: Department of Epileptology, University Bonn Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leszczynski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis MO, USA.
authors.forename: Miles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol Bristol, UK ; Division of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi UAE.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quadflieg
keywords: evidence-based design; extra-personal space; multisensory integration; translucency; transparency