It begins with us and ends with who?
"The discovery of the users' needs is not only the prerequisite of the process but also a matter of focusing basic choices". Do we as architects have a responsibility to design for the masses or do we ultimately get the choice in what we focus our design ideals and decisions on?
A divide begins to occur because most of the buildings we will design in the future will have no effect on us as individuals. That said building will probably be in a different town, probably used by a different user group than yourself and most likely will not effect your daily life, or life at all. Out of site, out of mind? It is our ethical duty to design and build to suit the greater good, but who is the greatest good? We have the duty, obligation, and wonderful task to effect the daily lives of others, I believe the user must be considered in design, we have an opportunity to better effect people simply by the choices we make.
Would anything begin to shift in design if we designed for users, and put ourselves in the users position? People are selfish by nature, if we use this to our advantage and architects begin to put design ego aside and input themselves into the role of the user, I wonder if a shift in design would happen that would both satisfy the architect, the client and the daily user. We need to absolve the divide between building and using and when these two entities begin to work together, maybe architecture will begin to work for everyone.
A divide begins to occur because most of the buildings we will design in the future will have no effect on us as individuals. That said building will probably be in a different town, probably used by a different user group than yourself and most likely will not effect your daily life, or life at all. Out of site, out of mind? It is our ethical duty to design and build to suit the greater good, but who is the greatest good? We have the duty, obligation, and wonderful task to effect the daily lives of others, I believe the user must be considered in design, we have an opportunity to better effect people simply by the choices we make.
Would anything begin to shift in design if we designed for users, and put ourselves in the users position? People are selfish by nature, if we use this to our advantage and architects begin to put design ego aside and input themselves into the role of the user, I wonder if a shift in design would happen that would both satisfy the architect, the client and the daily user. We need to absolve the divide between building and using and when these two entities begin to work together, maybe architecture will begin to work for everyone.
I love that picture! There ought to be some renegade builders who, under the cover of darkness, descend upon cities and build new sidewalks where they will be used, not just where code requires.
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