It’s a bit of a cliché… the artist’s loft with soaring ceilings as the ideal environment to unleash a masterpiece. But does that type of space really have anything to do with creativity?
Spaces with tall ceilings certainly seem more inspirational, right? That’s why it’s the second thing your real estate agent points out (right after “Look how big it is!”), and why you might feel a sense of elevated spirituality in a cathedral.
Turns out there may be something to this.
A study (PDF) seems to have confirmed that higher ceilings can, in fact, help with creative thinking. Essentially, expansive spaces prompt higher levels of big-picture abstract thinking, while confined areas lead to more granular, detail-oriented thinking.
Here’s what Rui Zhu, co-author of the study, has to say:
When a person is in a high-ceiling environment, they are able to process information in a more abstract, creative fashion. Those inside a room with relatively lower ceilings will process in a much more concrete, detail-oriented fashion.
So according to these findings, you want a bit more “head room” for creative thinking. But when it comes to action (and those devilish details), a confined space might help you focus.
What do you think? In your experience, do high ceilings prompt creative thinking?
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« Previous 1 2when am stuck during writing assignments i stare outside the window..i have made sure right from the beginning that i got a place next to the big window..looking out..watching the traffic flow..or even just simply gazing out helps me when i get stuck during work..come to think of it..even when i go out to eat..i prefer a place which allows me to gaze outside the window..hmmm..interesting..never consciously thought about this before reading this blog post..
In a sense I agree, in as much as my bedroom ceilings are so high, that when my lightbulb blew recently, and it became apparent that we had no ladder, I was forced to 'create' an inpromptu ladder involving various bits of household furniture.
I have done a good amount of work with people and their work spaces over the years, usually in cities where physical boundaries tend to be tighter. In my experience it is not the size of the space as much as the space folks leave themselves mentally and physically within it.
I have lived with tall ceilings and in English basements and find that, after a period of adjusting my expectations of the space itself, one is as good as the other for the theory building/creative work that goes on in my home office. (Full disclosure--it is my preferred form of headwork from the start)
It's like that whole house/home distinction. What makes it work is deeply personal, the result of life experiences, and expectations have a lot to do with income level.
If I want to spark my creativity, it sometimes helps to edit the objects taking up space in my office--or get away from my desk. Raising the ceiling is just so much work...
Jo
http://www.ChaosToClarity.com/
Success in a Digital World
In my current city condo I have a funky room on the third floor that has a sloped ceiling. I've placed a sofa and some good books on the side of the space with the highest ceiling, and a cozy workstation opposite in the more confined low side. In between I have a narrow table that's perfect for spreading work out. The working footprint of this room is tiny (8x9, plus a niche where the workstation is), but because of the high ceiling and the fact that the space encompasses the stairwell used to reach it, there's "enough room to think." I doubt the developer had the study referenced here in mind, but for me it does bear out the notion.
In my opinion, some people are just born with a "high-ceiling" mind than others. Others can't get past the superficial and are therefore incapable of big-picture/critical thinking. Being in a high-ceiling or low-ceiling room makes for a good metaphor but hardly a factor.