Allowance for Variation

"Him I consider the architect, who by sure and wonderful reason knows both how to devise through his own mind and energy, and to realize by construction, whatever can be most beautifully fitted out for the noble needs of man." -Alberti

It seems that John Habraken recognizes this quote as an individualistic approach to architecture from Alberti's perspective, one that sets its sights on the monumental architecture and not what we see every day.  However, I'm not sure if I've read a more beautiful quote for our goal as Architects before this one.

John Habraken very carefully and intelligently approached the issues and benefits that come along with residential housing.  His approach of designing a shell and then consulting with owners on what they want in a design is a creative way to give people the opportunity of hiring an architect and building a home in a more affordable manner.  As with any professional service an architect provides the expertise of experience and training specific to their craft.  There is no doubt that it is ideal to give everyone what they want but architecture as a discipline and profession is respected because it is a difficult endeavor to tackle without experience and training.  

It seems that those of us with an insight into the profession of architecture often think it has historically been an egotistically driven field, but the general public seems to have a lot of respect for architects with the exception of contractors who often think we lack the tactile on-site knowledge necessary to the construction process.  

Just as we design a building within an existing context working with a finite budget and existing infrastructure, we include the people we design for in the best way possible, sometimes this is only one person who makes decisions for many and sometimes it is possible to take the individual needs of everyone into consideration.  As with design there is not always a right or wrong answer but there is a series of decision that are made with the resources and knowledge available at the time.