Controlling the user and transforming the building

(Excerpts from Habraken's the structure of ordinary)

"Built environment like all complex phenomena, artificial and natural, endures by transforming its parts"

"To use built form is to exercise some control, and to control is to transform. There is thus no absolute distinction between those who create and those who use"

"To perceive how buildings intrinsic capacity to adapt and transform represents the key to their survival"

For me, design+build is the exercise of control. We design it, we build it, thus creating it from start to finish to control every detail. As Habraken mentions; "to control is to transform", I absolutely agree. There should be no distinction between the creators and users if the creators are controlling the environment for the users. At the design+build level, to transform, is to control the user in their own environment. Does this cross psychological boundaries of manipulating the user to experience what the architect portrays? As we discussed in class, should we take a step back and let the user have some control or participation to claim ownership?


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