Design responsibilty left to the experts
As our understanding of the built environment becomes richer, specialist emerge. Habraken’s discussion on the distribution of design responsibility hit home for me, as I am in a specific design program; Architecture + Health. And though I believe in a universally-shared knowledge, I also value specialized knowledge. Any large firm is capable of building almost any type of project. They are able to pull together resources and consultants. However, more and more there are firms that specialize in very specific areas, engineering, facades, stadiums, hospitals, etc. These specialized firms are able to foster an environment of research, evidence-based knowledge, important networks, and highly skilled professionals with a plethora of experience. If I were going to spend millions of dollars or more on a new hospital, I would turn to the experts- and then incorporate non-healthcare consultants. We have much to learn from each other, however, sometimes we ought to stick to what we know best-and know when to ask for help.
An interesting and useful website that offers literature, research, and tools for better design with purpose: https://www.healthdesign.org
The Evidence-Based Design Process:
Beware of the experts... Evidence based design is a discussion worthy question. I am not so fond of it (I distrust both the need for certainty and the proliferation of sub-disciplines around architecture), but we should definitely find some time to talk about it in class.
ReplyDeleteI think this specialized knowledge that you talk about is even larger than just the experts or a specialized type of architecture, but is something that we're challenged with in the profession of architecture as a whole. We've obviously been through rigorous training and pride ourselves in this specialized knowledge that we've obtained over the built environment. The problem is that although you discussed valuing others specialized knowledge I find commonly that in this developer driven market we find ourselves in, there's many people out there that don't value it. Instead developers or owners/users themselves think they know best when they may not always be the case. How do we balance this authority we have with this specialized knowledge and take initiative in the design process without taking away all the control from the user (or other groups/agents)?
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