Tuesday afternoon, we all watched the film
Concert of The Wills: Making of Getty Center. In that film we saw the Starchitect, Richard Meier, push all of his ideas for the project in a way that completely overlooked the users. The part that really made me think of the topic for this week, was when Meier walked into the finished dining hall and was taken aback by the chairs being ‘messy.’ Meier told the crew behind him that he could send someone the plan for how the chairs needed to be arranged and they could fix them.
Camera pans to tables and chairs neatly arranged around the room. Or, when Meier learned that the staff members were arranging small miscellaneous items and family pictures in their office spaces and Meier took complete offense to his beautifully designed spaces being made trashy.
This all points back to the question of how architects need to design. Do we impose our own values and design criteria? Or do we consider the needs of the people that will be using the spaces first? And then there’s the point made by DeCarlo in
Architecture’s Public; that architects need to plan ‘with’ the users instead of ‘for’ the users. I think what becomes tricky is when we adopt this line of thinking and lose authority over projects. Ultimately, yes, we need to consider the user's needs and wants, but can we work with the user’s as equals for a project? I don’t think we can, or I don't think we can without the risk of losing all authority in the field.
After watching that movie during our class this week i think it truly showed some of the worst sides of architecture. Having this belief that if something you designed is not being used how you intended it to be used makes it ugly is a very dangerous way of thinking and harmful to our profession. In Italy we were asked to read :Toward a Minor Architecture" which discussed how we can make designs that allowed the users to change and use the spaces how they needed and dependent on how their needs evolve. I think the idea of minor architecture and letting the user use the space how they need is an important to consider when designing.
ReplyDeleteI think it is admirable to design so intently i.e Frank Lloyd Wright designing the spoons to go with the entire design of a building and what not, nevertheless, when so strictly offended when the user ignores this design, makes architects look extremely tyrranical.
ReplyDeleteYou always bring up such good points! I feel like as designers our initial approach is to use our values and design criteria because we think we know best and in some cases we do. However, I think it's important to consider the needs of the users before imposing our own ideas because, at the end of the day, the project is built for them and with them in mind. You asked if we work with the users as equals for a project without losing all authority and I want to say it can be done as long as there is a strong relationship built with the user. Knowing the user and the fine line between giving them what they want and still staying true to your values as an architect.
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