Using architecture to create a frame for everyday life is a great way to approach the design process. I feel that this is important with most typologies but especially housing. After the Crawford reading I started to assess if I was able to create an place of living during Cote 10 that would let the tactics of everyday life enhance it. I am sad to report we were much more focused on developing a architectural statement than something that was truly for the people. I think the project had its moments, but each space wasn't truly considered for the impact of daily life. I feel that this approach can greatly improve the spaces we will design in the future. Thinking about all the weird ways I've used the spaces I've lived in: Treadmills as clothes racks, dining room tables as woodshops, couches as blanket fort post, electrical spools as coffee tables and folding tables as...well you know. The point is, if you can allow room for someone else's creative use of space, I believe this will only improve the designs we create for the public.
I think it is so interesting that you reflected back the Cote 10 project here. It got me thinking whether or not I designed spaces to enhance everyday life. And I would have to say, I fell into the same trap as you - designing with the goal of creating a statement piece rather than truly taking into account the impact of everyday life on the occupants. It's tough to find a happy medium between the two. Of course, we want our creative vision to be apparent in the design, but we also need to consider ways that the end users can manipulate and evolve this vision in ways that enhance it rather than detract from it.
ReplyDeleteKev, I agree with you on "creating an inclusive approach" to design and making. Not just participation, but inclusion. One thing that I felt like was missing in architecture, is that as makers, artists, and again problem solvers, we forget to create spaces that can adapt to human needs, which is hard, but we as architects have learned that our services are needed to help society keep its course. We aren't the ones who can make anyone's life perfect, but we are the ones who can create a dialogue between the users needs and life's complex and gradual evolution. I agree with you on that end, and creating spaces that are inclusive, adaptable, and more flexible should help move this discipline a little closer to what it stands for, "serve the public, always."
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