Who Knows Best?
Obviously Todd Chrisley.
All jokes aside, I feel like there is always this debate as two who truly knows what's best for us in the terms of the built environment. The never ending debates between developers, architects, urban planners, city boards, and committee members truly show that we as a society do not agree on who "knows best". De Carlo's Architecture's Public presents the idea that each user can be the architect and whatever is conceived can be the architecture, but how do we take all these voices into account and create a cohesive design that everyone approves of. I think the answer is that it's impossible. The human condition often makes us believe that we know best and our idea should triumph. Throw in hundreds of voices and the question of who knows best gets even more muddled. The sad reality is, most of the time, the person who knows best is the person signing the check.
What is promising about this lack of agreement, is at least the players involved care, at least a bit. Some motives may not be as pure as others, granted. It is an interesting comment to think about, that inherently, we all imagine ourselves as right.
ReplyDeleteI say the more voices the better (to an extent)! Even though it makes a decision difficult.
Your last line is actually quite funny. It some of the internships that I've had, I've experience the frustration of my teams when decisions couldn't be made due to the amount of voices that "had" to be heard. All voices in the project matter for sure, and everyone's voice that needs to be heard is someone that contributes significantly to the completion of the work. As far as the last line goes, I laugh at the amount of times the person with the pen is often the person that doesn't know what they want.
ReplyDeleteIn my utopia, I think that person signing the check (in the cases of urban development) should be scrutinized as heavily as the architects are. the deep-pocketed elitist patrons of yesteryear and today have no doubt contributed to the history of architecture, but perhaps in a much harsher light than they intended. Not that elitist architect's have never acted like they know what is "best" either (quite frightening, See Corb's "Plan Voisin" or "Plan Obus"
ReplyDeleteIt's a harsh but frequently accurate reality in the field of architecture and design that the individual who signs the check has an influence. Decision-making can be greatly impacted by financial factors, which occasionally take precedence over more general concerns of what could be best for the community or users.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, the customer's satisfaction is paramount, and their preferences must be prioritized, even when we may disagree. This reminds me of instances during internships when I would present multiple design options, only for the client to dismiss them all. I would then revise the design according to their preferences, only for them to eventually settle on something similar to my original proposal.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, clients may not have a clear idea of what they want and in that case it is our responsibility to explore and decipher their vision.