Desire for Improvement Make it Grow

Habraken concludes "Questions that won't Go Away" with three questions:

1. How values are shared in environmental design
2. How change and performance make the environment live
3. How the distribution of design responsibilities make it bloom

I believe he is leaving out something very important.

4. How the desire for improvement makes it grow.

When you look at two case studies for altering and controlling the built environment: The Tower of David and Kowloon City, I would say the desire for improvement could even replace the distribution of design responsibilities. In both of these examples, unlike the star-chitect examples mentioned by Habraken, the one thing that makes these places change is the occupants desire for improvement for their living conditions and their overall quality of life. The occupants feel encouraged to alter their environments so that their immediate environments match their life quality goals,

But this could even be applied to the trained architect's explorations of the built environment. The modernist suburban home was striving to marry a new middle class quality of life with the car and a commuting lifestyle. Since the architect was likely a member of this class of society, they are basically improving their own environment.





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