The process of engaging with other professional agents such as engineers and consultants is commonplace within design practice, both for legal and technical reasons. The drawings produced throughout Semester II can be described as the fundamental canvas needed for others to drape their own expertise onto the project. However, it is not deemed as vital for the future client/occupier of the space to be included in conversation relating to the initial design/technical specification regarding the building. Successful participatory design depends on effective communication between all parties; although, this can be challenging when dialogues exist between unequal or incompatible groups. Architectural Theorists, Nassar and Duggan explain to us how the concept of ‘village talk’ already exists in communities. It describes the patterns of everyday life in a colloquial manner, where people’s information, creative ideas and design solutions are communicated through more natural means, rather than a formal meeting. If the architect can access these vernacular conversations that take place throughout a community, he/she will gain a better understanding of the hierarchy of needs of the people, thus creating the specification drawing to suit. For example, during my second M. Arch semester, my intention was to create a space within the Plattenbau to house democratic conversation and debate. During the course of my research, I found that this environment should not be that of an empty room, used only from the hours of 7pm to 8 pm where the occupants congregate to discuss administrative issues. The space used for such encounters should exist organically throughout the co-housing scheme. Communal rooms such as the laundry or workshop should be designed to house not only wash machines and band saws but also provide a comfortable environment to hold conversation between all. These clues and rich advice needed for the architect’s drawings are unlikely to appear at an AGM or formal gathering. They are easier obtained in a more natural setting, where an architect becomes a participant in ongoing community conversation. As these people would eventually create a home from the co-housing structure, it must be important for their opinions to be taken into account and for their own agency to be represented within the contract drawings. I began to question where this layer of drawing would come from, and how I would acquire it. A catalyst used to allow for such indigenous communication between designers and occupants to flow can be seen in the process of group sketching. Richard Alomar, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University, New Jersey describes the benefits of including occupant opinion within design drawings in the form of sketching together. This method of drawing by association takes advantage of multiple modes of communication to document a group’s attitudes and perceptions about an environment they share/will share. Sketching along with annotations provide the future occupants of the space with an avenue to express their own thoughts in ways that could be difficult to do through words alone. In addition, these sketchbooks obtain valuable information regarding day-to-day actions, ideas and records involving how the inhabitants use the space, which can directly inform the architects and the final drawing. Richard Alomar provides us with an instruction manual or specification on how to carry out such research. |
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Once the participant’s sketch books are collected, it is vital that they do not remain idle on an office shelf. It now becomes the role of the architect to recreate these suggestions as a technical contract document. The architect may receive several suggestive depictions on what to implement into the drawing; however, his/her agency lies in the choosing of which ones can be transferred into the final specification, which they shall sign off. These decisions will be based on budget, suitability, and the project manifesto. Further discussions of these technical drawings are to follow alongside the participants before the documentation is passed to the construction stage. By implementing the ideas of group drawing within the design process, both the occupier and the architect share the agency involved. However, the agency shown by the people of the community should not end during the design phase. I believe it is crucial for the inhabitants to feel included in the creation of these contract drawings, and that their knowledge is applied to the legal documents of the contract as well. At this point, the community has the opportunity to sketch upon the architect’s work and ask questions about the design. “Can the window seat hold storage? Why is it so high? Can we hide the metal hinges?” The architect can then respond to the questions using his/her drawings and explain to his/her clients where exactly their own sketches and ideas lie in the technical detail. If I could add one remaining instruction to Alomar’s specification above, this would include: