Designing future hybrid creative space: a framework for integrating pattern language and creative affordance

This thesis investigates the design of the future hybrid creative spaces (FHCS) that integrate physical and digital dimensions to foster creativity in educational and workplace environments.

Motivated by the evolving needs of contemporary work and learning environments, this research re‐examines traditional theories of spatial design, creativity, and technology integration. It is guided by the primary research question: How can future hybrid working and learning environments be designed to support creativity?

The literature review establishes that while early studies focused on physical attributes—such as spatial configuration, materiality, and lighting—to enhance creative behaviour, recent work has increasingly emphasised the interplay between digital tools and spatial affordances. Three distinct yet interrelated strands of literature form the foundation of the study: creative space, affordance theory, and pattern language. Prior research has outlined various physical creative space types and documented how design elements such as ambience, furniture, and layout can facilitate creative processes. However, these studies typically do not take into consideration of the hybrid nature of modern environments, where digital technologies blur the boundaries of conventional spaces.

The thesis identifies several critical research gaps in existing frameworks. First, there is an absence of a comprehensive typology that captures both the physical and digital aspects of creative environments. Second, while technology is acknowledged as crucial for facilitating creative processes—enhancing knowledge work, collaboration, and human–machine cocreation—the common technological characteristics that align with affordances have not been systematically identified. Third, the theoretical basis for the mechanism in the causal relationship between environments and creativity is vague; although terms such as mediator, creative press, and signifier are used to describe the intermediary roles influencing creative outcomes, they lack sufficient grounding in established theories. Finally, design principles for organising spatial elements in hybrid environments are insufficient, with current frameworks predominantly addressing physical space design while often overlooking the digital and virtual components.

To address these gaps, the author adopts a constructivist ontological stance and an interpretive, pragmatist epistemology. This dual philosophical position recognises that the nature of creative space is socially constructed through human–space interactions. The methodological framework is built upon Christopher Alexander’s pattern language approach, which is employed to capture and organise tacit knowledge from a variety of disciplines. A mixed-methods strategy underpins the study, combining qualitative techniques (such as expert interviews, participatory workshop, and multi-case study) with quantitative methods to ensure both contextual richness and empirical validation. This comprehensive methodological approach allows for the triangulation of data and provides a robust foundation for developing a pattern language for FHCS that are both theoretically sound and practically applicable.

This research makes four primary contributions by integrating the key components of the FHCS framework, thereby significantly impacting creative behaviour. First, it introduces a new typology of FHCS that combines and extends existing typological frameworks to provide a holistic contextual understanding of both creative space types and hybrid design attributes. Second, the study identifies critical technology enablers—including smart artefacts, sensor technologies, augmented and virtual reality, and multi-channel communication platforms—that support the flexible and adaptive infrastructure needed in dynamic creative environments. Third, it develops a taxonomy of creative affordances by grounding affordance theory in the spatial design context, defining 16 specific affordances that explain how physical and digital elements mediate user creativity, and offering a robust theoretical foundation for linking design patterns with creative outcomes. Finally, the research compiles an inventory of 208 protopatterns - sourced from established pattern languages and newly developed hybrid patterns—thereby creating a unified collection of interdisciplinary design knowledge that informs both theory and practice in the design of hybrid creative spaces.

The theoretical implications of this research lie in the introduction of the concept of creative affordance, which bridges ecological psychology and design creativity by explaining how the inherent properties of hybrid creative spaces interact with users’ perceived action opportunities. By integrating this concept with pattern language, the study not only advances a foundational theory of design creativity but also fosters interdisciplinary dialogues among fields such as architecture, environmental psychology, education, and HCI. Practically, the developed A Pattern Language for FHCS framework offers a structured approach that enables designers to systematically select and apply proto-patterns tailored to the specific needs of hybrid environments. This framework, complemented by innovative tools like the Enhanced TACIT Model, the Creative Affordance Checklist and the Hybrid Space Model, facilitates collaboration across disciplines and provides scalable, adaptable design solutions.

Looking ahead, the thesis outlines future research that should build on the established PL-FHCS framework by empirically validating and refining the proto-patterns, while also expanding the taxonomy of creative affordances to better capture dynamics in both physical and virtual environments. Additionally, further theoretical integration between pattern language and affordance theory is needed, along with explorations into human-building interaction to guide the design of increasingly responsive hybrid creative spaces.