Orchestrated Chaos
I love this term of orchestrated chaos when it comes to bringing the community into the design and planning process. It’s like this added challenge for the architect to create order out of individualist expression. This individual satisfaction can become a difficult thing to accomplish when trying to give more power to the users in an attempt to individualize the design expectations of each occupant. It places the architect in a rather difficult position of working to please each individual, as well as to produce a final product that fits within the greater context of the site, not only aesthetically, but also socially and economically.
We discussed,
what I thought, were some strong examples of this “orchestrated chaos” in class
this week, but it seems to beg the question: to what extend should the end
users be allowed to participate in the design process? Is the architect’s primary job to ensure that
each end user is completely satisfied with the final product, or that the final
product fits well within the greater context?
Maybe these two questions are one in the same – in order to ensure the
satisfaction of each specific end user, the architect must work to design a final
product that fits well within the greater context: one that responds socially, economically,
and environmentally to the people and site that it will be serving. It seems we are taught to always design for
the needs and expectations of the client, whether or not they will ultimately
be the end user. It is not often that
those end users have a direct say in the outcome of the spaces they will be
occupying. Precedents, case studies, and
past user satisfaction surveys are all taken into account during the design
process to satisfy the vast majority in a sort of “one-size-fits-all” attempt. I believe we can design spaces that occupants
will be overall happier in if we allow them a more significant role to plan in
in the process.
The
architect must find ways to “orchestrate this chaos” in design: to be able to
take so many different visions and expectations and combine them all into one
living, and constantly adapting, building.
lol you don't like the default font on this website? I feel like if each user of this site chooses a different font we will have some version of orchestrated chaos. I feel that user adaptation is awesome in some contexts but others may require some more rigidity in the final outcome. A dormitory complex that changes over time is a fascinating idea, but a medical complex may not need to be manipulated by its user. I think this is okay! Understanding exactly how manipulative a building needs to be for the user is our job. As long as we consider who needs what then we can serve the user best while still satisfying the contextual location as well!
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up how context needs to reflected socially, economically and environmentally. When we think more broadly about how are design will work within its environment we can be more sensitive to slew of other issues beyond aesthetics, such as gentrification, sustainability, inclusivity, etc. My old boss used to have us pretend that the end user had a seat at the table even when they were not physically part of the design process. We need to think beyond our client’s objectives (especially if they are a developer in it for short term profit).
ReplyDeleteReally like the idea of orchestrated chaos. I feel like its our job to lay down the foundation, and then people can interpret the spaces how they desire. We lay down the laws, and the users create the chaos.
ReplyDelete