Architects’ Attitudes Towards Users: A Spectrum of Advocating and Envisioning Future Use(rs) in Design

Abstract

NOTES1. One of the interviews (at ArchiSpectrum) was conducted in the context of an earlier exploratory study (see Van der Linden, Dong, Heylighen, 2016b). Because of its relevant and complementary content (offering an additional perspective), it was included in the data set. ABSTRACTSAs designers of people's living environments, architects are committed to deliver 'good' designs, but whose appreciation is considered here may differ. Perspectives range from architects themselves or their professional community over a particular client to society at large. Due to the increasing complexity of design processes, however, architects may not have direct access to users' perspectives. This article explores what underpins architects' constructions of the people they design for, drawing on an ethnographic study in three Belgian architecture firms. Interviews with architects shed light on their motivations and reasoning regarding responsibilities towards users. Additionally, observations of design meetings illustrate the visions in play when architects reflect-in-action about future use(rs). Results show a spectrum of attitudes, affecting how the presence of 'the user' is shaped in design. The insights are useful for developing strategies to support architects in accommodating, negotiating and acting more consciously on user experience in design.

Family photos and architectural representation: Using photo-collage sketchbook to understand behaviour patterns in family apartment buildings

“…In the last decades, architects have become more familiar with ethnography than in the past and ethnographic methods are used in architectural research (Schön, 1987;Cuff, 1992;Jacobs & Page| 301 Merriman, 2011). The use of ethnographic tools in architectural research has increased as a result of the studies exploring design-making processes in architecture (Yaneva, 2009a(Yaneva, & 2009bLoukisass, 2012;Cayer, 2018;Gottschling, 2018;Malinin, 2018;Mommersteeg, 2018;Sharif, 2018;Smitheram & Kidd, 2018;Stender, 2018;Van der Linden, Dong & Heylighen, 2018) and architectural drawings (Ferracina, 2018). To understand and investigate the emergence and design of domestic spaces, not only architects but also researchers from a variety of fields, including anthropology and sociology, explore ways to understand the relationship between spaces and daily life practices of people (Rapoport, 1969;Rapoport, 1980;Rapoport, 1988;Lawrence, 1987;Rakoff, 1979).…”

Aspects of Designing Inclusively from Practitioner Perspectives

“…This broadens the scope to include both the positive impacts of including marginalized groups and the negative impacts of excluding them. Yet, while architects may advocate for user participation to assess the inclusive value of prototypes, many do not reflect on or consider the value of involvement early on: "Architects were generally aware that the end-user perspective was often missing, but the absence of users and their voice was not really questioned" [15] (p. 204). In this way, others have advocated for the early and active participation of as many people on different scales of the built environment under a social model of disability: disability can emerge from the sensory experiences of a building (the sounds, lights, smells, and textures of a space), from our first impressions of the site (the ease to navigate and understand how to access areas), and from the degree of access beyond the borders of a building (such as public and personal transport links) [5].…”