Opportunities and Needs of Everyday Life
From my perspective, everyday moments happen either based on needs or opportunities. The necessities can be very basic like movement, food, recreation. Since these needs are part of our life and routine, they become our everyday. These spaces where we move from one place to another or where we eat or where we get together with others will define how our day by day will go. All those spaces are the result of design, someone had to design the subway station, someone designed the cafeteria where you go to eat every day, someone designed how people would move on the city. As designers even when we are part of the strategic part, I believe we have a saying in how people will experience space and what other things could have an opportunity to happen. It is up to the designer (no matter who) to how the every day will happen.
I like that your photos show the movement of people through cities. I think walking/public transit gives people a lot more opportunity for everyday moments to happen spontaneously than if they were all separated in cars. I wish more cities had public transit and were designed for allow for it!
ReplyDeleteThis is why it is so critical for us to be open to the possibility of change. While our original intentions of use might be one way, the community may decide to use a place in a slightly different way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Virginia above that along your everyday path from home to work - especially in transit - provides a great opportunity for a small scale intervention, a pause in the path - an opportunity for everyday architecture. Even if bus stops, train stop - places of transportation had fun places to sit and rest while waiting on your transportation, this would be an improvement from standing and waiting.
ReplyDeleteI think as designers we need to provide the opportunity but the everyday users are the ones who actually make the decisions on how they will use the space provided. I agree with Lauren Ovca's comment the the idea that something is not set in stone and allowing change, growth, and adaptation to occur in buildings and cities is vital.
ReplyDelete