X-Nico

2 unusual facts about Robert Sommer


Airport Seating

Robert Sommer studied the design of airport seating and concluded that the arrangement of chairs in rigid lines bolted to the floor was deliberately sociofugal — discouraging social interaction such as conversation and encouraging the sitters to go to commercial locations such as shops and cafes.

Humphry Osmond

Osmond began a line of research into what he called "socio-architecture" to improve patient settings, coining the terms "sociofugal" and "sociopetal", starting Robert Sommer's career, and contributing to environmental psychology.



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