Designing for the Community

 

I found this week's lecture to be really interesting and helpful to bring to our attention as we are entering our professional careers. I remember in one of my previous courses we were all asked what sector we ideally wanted to work in, and a lot of the answers had to do with community design. The professor had noted how interesting and promising that was, because when he was in school that was not a popular opinion, and people essentially wanted to be the next starchitect. 

I think our generation, whether it be from the advancements in technology or shifts in ideology, generally one of our top priorities is to see our communities be a desirable place for all. The way we think about design is more centered around the feelings and interactions created by the spaces we generate, and less about becoming masters in our craft.

In order to be successful in the community design that many of us are interested in, it is essential to understand and implement the ideas of people like Giancarlo de Carlo and Walter Segal. There needs to be a balance between using the technical knowledge we have been taught to keep the built environment safe to inhabit, while being selfless and aware enough to know the difference to when our design opinions are coming from ourselves or the user.