J.A. Jacko (Ed.): Human-Computer Interaction, Part IV, HCII 2011, LNCS 6764, pp. 328–335, 2011. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011 Spatial Design, Designers and Users: Exploring the Meaning of Multi-party Service Cognition Tom Hope 1 , Mizuki Oka 2 , Yasuhiro Hashimoto 2 , and Myeong-Hee Lee 3 1 Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-E3-3 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan 2 University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 3 Design Team Matt, Tokyo, Japan tomhope@ipo.titech.ac.jp, lee@mattoct.jp, mizuki@cks.u-tokyo.ac.jp, hy@sys.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp Abstract. This paper examines service cognition from the perspective of the design of public or semi-public spaces. Results are presented from a workshop with students using an approach and system we developed to engage users with the design of their communal space. The paper ends with a brief discussion of these results, which suggest that multi-party service cognition has features that must be addressed in the design of systems, particularly in the context of spatial design. Keywords: service cognition, design, architecture, workshops, universities. 1 Introduction Many changes happened in engineering and industry during the end of the 20 th century, with the greatest of these continuing globally to the present day. Broadly speaking, industrialized nations moved from heavy manufacturing as a base to knowledge economies [1], coinciding with, and supported by, ever-increasing computing power. While developing economies took up the role of being producers of basic goods in their main industries, the ‘post-industrial’ economies focused on developing their service sectors [2]. With the rise of ‘manufactured risk’ [3] comes an urgent need to understand and improve the management and control of highly sophisticated technical systems [4]. In concert with this area of research, studies of the cognition of those involved in service in other areas, and of cognition in organizations more generally have continued. “Service cognition” as a research field is potentially very broad and can therefore denote the cognition of individuals providing services in many varied fields. In this paper we emphasize the other part of service systems—the users of services—and particularly focus on the interrelated nature of providers and consumers/users. Additionally, while research has been done on various systems and settings, there is still a need to more fully understand service cognition in the realm of architecture and design. This paper consequently aims to partly fulfill this need. The paper is organized as follows. In the rest of this section we briefly explore the