The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 2 (188), 460—464
UDK 72.012.8:725.54:159.9
- Received: 02.03.2026
- Accepted: 12.03.2026
- Published: ??.??.2026
INTERIORS OF SHELTERS AS A NEW TYPE OF PUBLIC SPACE: LIGHT, COLOR, AND PSYCHO-EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE
BORODCHENKO Nataliia
- ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8798-1117
- Senior Lecturer (Department of Architecture and Design),
- Chernihiv Polytechnic National University,
- 95, Shevchenko Street, 14027, Chernihiv, Ukraine
- Contacts: e-mail: n.borodchenko@gmail.com
Abstract. This article explores the artistic and spatial aspects of shelter interiors as a new type of public space This article examines the artistic and spatial aspects of shelter interiors as a new type of public space that has emerged in Ukraine under martial law. Shelters and bomb shelters, previously considered exclusively as engineering facilities of civil protection, have in contemporary realities acquired the function of regular environments of human presence. The purpose of the study is to identify the artistic, spatial, and aesthetic characteristics of shelter interiors that influence the psycho-emotional state of users.
The aesthetic, compositional, and functional characteristics of underground interiors are analyzed, in particular the role of lighting scenarios, color solutions, and orientation systems in the formation of a safe environment. Special attention is paid to the interaction between the spatial organization of shelters and the psychological mechanisms of perception, to the principles of humanizing a technical environment, and to the transformation of engineering space into a public interior with a social function. In this context, the shelter is considered as a new environmental typology combining utilitarian character, an extreme context, and the need for users’ emotional support. The subject of the study is the artistic, spatial, and aesthetic characteristics of shelter interiors that affect the psycho-emotional state of users. The object of the study is the interiors of shelters and bomb shelters as a new type of public space. The methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach combining art historical analysis, the theory of architectural space, environmental psychology, interior semiotics, and the principles of human-centered design.
Shelter interiors should be regarded not only as technical spaces of protection but also as socially significant public interiors in which light, color, and navigation become important means of psycho-emotional support and resilience.
Keywords: shelter interiors, public space, human-centered design, lighting, color, navigation, psycho-emotional resilience, wartime architecture.
REFERENCES
- Evans, G.W. (2003). The built environment and mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 4 (Vol. 80, pp. 536—555). DOI: 10.1093/jurban/jtg063.
- Stokols, D. (1972). On the distinction between density and crowding: Some implications for future research. Psychological Review, 3 (Vol. 79, pp. 275—277). DOI: 10.1037/h0032706.
- Arthur, P., & Passini, R. (1992). Wayfinding: People, Signs, and Architecture. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Ulrich, R.S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 4647 (Vol. 224, pp. 420—421). DOI: 10.1126/science.6143402.
- Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Lucas, R.J., Peirson, S.N., & Berson, D.M. (2014). Measuring and using light in the melanopsin age. Trends in Neurosciences, 1 (Vol. 37, pp, 1—9). DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2013.10.004.
- (2018). Commission Internationale de l’Йclairage (CIE). CIE S 026/E:2018: CIE System for Metrology of Optical Radiation for ipRGC-Influenced Responses to Light. Vienna: CIE. DOI: 10.25039/S026.2018.
- WELL Building Standard v2. Feature: Circadian Lighting Design (Light). International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), online resource.
- Boyce, P.R. (2014). Human Factors in Lighting. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
- Cox, T., & D’Antonio, P. (2016). Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers: Theory, Design and Application. 3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
- Sundstrom, E. (1975). An experimental study of crowding: Effects of room size, intrusion, and goal blocking on nonverbal behavior, self-disclosure, and self-reported stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 32, pp. 645—654).
- Bell, P.A., Greene, T.C., & Fisher, J.D. (2005). Environmental Psychology. 5th ed. New York: Psychology Press (Routledge).
- Steg, L., van den Berg, A.E., & de Groot, J.I. M. (2012). Environmental Psychology: An Introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
- Elliot, A.J., & Maier, M.A. (2014). Color psychology: Effects of perceiving color on psychological functioning in humans. Annual Review of Psychology (Vol. 65, pp. 95—120).
- Bellizzi, J.A., & Hite, R.E. (1992). Environmental color, consumer feelings, and purchase likelihood. Psychology & Marketing, 5 (Vol. 9, pp. 347—363). DOI: 10.1002/mar.4220090502.
- Passini, R. (1992). Wayfinding in Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
- Browning, W.D., Ryan, C.O., & Clancy, J.O. (2014). 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment. New York: Terrapin Bright Green, 2014.
- International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). WELL v2 Light Concept (overview and requirements). Online resource.
