A Change in the Common : Common Uses Still Need Good Design
N. John Habraken's article writing "Questions That Will Not Go Away," and the DE DRAGER film echo in my mind of the multidisciplinary design approach that are used in Integrated Project Delivery system that we learned about in Professional Practice I course with Kate Schwennsen, but also the required multi-faceted stakeholder design charette for the LEED rating systems. There were also thoughts in my mind about early writings by Vitruvius regarding the vast but wide special knowledge of architects not as experts of everything, but having some knowledge in many different areas of design and practice.
This article was written in 2006 based off a transcript given at European Schools of Architecture meeting in Greece in 2003, and there have been a lot of changes over twenty years with the professional world accepting some of these ideas. I think in some ways we are grasping Habraken's ideas and adopting them.
Habraken talks about architects drifting away from the master builder or guild age time period post Renaissance where the architect became more of a professional occupation, and how architects are responsible for much more than special buildings - we are also designing the common spaces, the in-between. This makes a lot of sense to me, and I agree with it. He talks about the adaptability of buildings over time and how a building could change or adapt, but the streets that we design and urban spaces will be there for a longer time. I lived in Florence, Italy, for a few months for a semester abroad and it was a life changing time for me living in those streets that were pedestrian friendly and a dense urban network. This was very different from the small, rural town in eastern Kentucky where I was raised.
In 2007, the AIA (American Institute of Architects) published whitepapers on a new delivery system where there were multiple stakeholders and everyone was working together for the good of the project (and the Owner). This was a pretty radical delivery system that included bringing in not only the construction side early on but estimators, niche consultants, subcontractors, and sometimes even suppliers. Architects are not seen as the oppressive egotistical Frank Lloyd Wrights who knew and dominated everything but more as managers, leaders of collaborators, facilitators of discussion.
This article was written in 2006 based off a transcript given at European Schools of Architecture meeting in Greece in 2003, and there have been a lot of changes over twenty years with the professional world accepting some of these ideas. I think in some ways we are grasping Habraken's ideas and adopting them.
Habraken talks about architects drifting away from the master builder or guild age time period post Renaissance where the architect became more of a professional occupation, and how architects are responsible for much more than special buildings - we are also designing the common spaces, the in-between. This makes a lot of sense to me, and I agree with it. He talks about the adaptability of buildings over time and how a building could change or adapt, but the streets that we design and urban spaces will be there for a longer time. I lived in Florence, Italy, for a few months for a semester abroad and it was a life changing time for me living in those streets that were pedestrian friendly and a dense urban network. This was very different from the small, rural town in eastern Kentucky where I was raised.
Sketch: A urban street diagram from Florence between plazas
Santa Maria del Fiore to Santa Santissima Annunziata
In 2007, the AIA (American Institute of Architects) published whitepapers on a new delivery system where there were multiple stakeholders and everyone was working together for the good of the project (and the Owner). This was a pretty radical delivery system that included bringing in not only the construction side early on but estimators, niche consultants, subcontractors, and sometimes even suppliers. Architects are not seen as the oppressive egotistical Frank Lloyd Wrights who knew and dominated everything but more as managers, leaders of collaborators, facilitators of discussion.
IDP delivery method diagram, (Source)
This delivery system can take more time, but I think it shows promise of building a better design environment for our future - and I look forward to learning more about it in my career.
I thought Habraken's writing was interesting from the standpoint of collaborative design and we definitely do that in studio and on the job. There is something beautiful in uniformity, like Haussmann's Paris streets, but also something beautiful in varied, diverse urban environments that are the result of collaboration, not only on one project but on the entire city. I think your point about buildings changing but the urban environment continuing is something we as architects need to remember.
ReplyDeleteYes, but what about the orangutan?
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