STUDY OF CUSTOMER’S SPATIAL BEHAVIOR ON COMMUNAL TABLE IN BANDUNG BASED CAFES AND ITS PRIVACY AND ACTIVITY COMFORTNESS IMPACT

• Main Author: Achmadi Isdianto, Fadhil
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/51337
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Sharing phenomenon in public places can be labelled as a new culture because it started becoming a habit and changed social dynamic in urban society. Urban people from big cities make café as a useful space, beside for eating and drinking, also for working, meeting, and any other social activities. A communal table in a café is not only a part of alternative and variation furniture for design and interior layout, but it also has a role as a manifestation of sharing phenomenon or space-sharing in doing daily activities, collaboration, and socialization. The aims of this study are to describe customer’s spatial behavior while doing his activities in a café’s communal table, and also its relationship with his spatial needs and efforts to fulfill the desirable privacy. The understanding of customer’s spatial needs and behavior in communal table will show the customer’s tendency and preference of choosing his seating position which will have some distance with the others. This study used qualitative methodology with explanatory purpose by case studies. Data collection method was done by non participant observation and open interview. Based on analysis, spatial behavior related to seating position preference are (1) customers tend to choose the anchored or edge position, which directly adjacent to barrier or vertical border element; (2) customers will avoid direct frontal eye-contact with the others who they do not know, so it often will create co-existing role pattern; and (3) customer will take at least one-chair-space as a barrier or gap to the others who sit side-by-side next to them. Spatial behavior formation related to spatial pattern and role for big group of customers is sociopetal or centered, while the small group is collaborating role (more dominant) and conversing role, depends on activity and communication type. These spatial behaviors are customer’s efforts to increase their individual personal space and achieve the amount of privacy that they want.