User Participation - Methods or Politics

At the same time with the Paris students protest on streets in the May of 1968, Chinese teenagers and students are also given the "freedom" to fight with their professors and schools (authority in knowledge) by the political leader, Mao. Many scholars are put into prison for doing nothing, and many historical antiquities are destroyed. These teenagers, believed that they are defending their country and saving their future, with much ignorance of what they were really doing, feasting on the unrestricted freedom that they were paid for.

Is a world that based on Anarchism really what we would desire? Answer is definitely NO. Or, at least, we are not ready.  If everyone can decide what is right for one country, then why would we have politicians, and why would someone spend their whole life study Politics?  If everyone start to design their own houses, why do we (architects) even exist? Let's all quit, and be a politician? Not possible.

I am not saying that participation of public is not good. It is, actually, very good. Good for them to learn more about architecture, and improve their tastes. More importantly, good for BUSINESS.

From CIAM to TEAM X, the consideration of the public has been proposed as their flags for civil rights.  Nowadays, including user expectations and doing surveys before concepts are proposed became already the GOLDEN rule for architects.  It is really golden because it bring architects business. After almost ONE CENTURY since Modernism, we have so many precedents to look at for different program types. After 7 years of professional training and years of practice, I think these architects in the fields really know or could last least predicts what the users are looking for.

Most surveys and user participation in the design process is merely a political gesture. It is to make the client / user feel like they have been part of the design process, and as if they have designed the building in the end. It is a smart move to sell ideas and prevent argument.