Conceptualization of client ‘needs’ in architectural theory and practice
Abstract
The article aims to discuss the ambiguity of the need concept in architecture, and reasons for the existence of several strategies for dealing with need as an ontological and epistemological basis for architectural design. The paper systematizes the conceptualizations of need in architecture, provides a comparative analysis of its various interpretations and explains the differences between ideological, philosophical and theoretical viewpoints. A variety of meanings are analyzed using the author’s concept of “paradigms of socio-architectural knowledge”. Five platforms of social knowledge can be distinguished in architectural theory, each of which relies on its own understanding of human beings and sees the content of human existence in its own way. Considered through the prism of the paradigms, different visions of the concept of need find their logical and methodological explanation. Each paradigm gives its own answer to who or what is the bearer and exponent of the need, and procedures for identifying needs in design. The paper presents “stairs of needs” as a metaphor, ordering the range of possible actions of the architect in relation to the needs of the client – from obstruction and conscious deformation to satisfaction and phenomenological embodiment.
References
Alfirević, Đ., Simonović Alfirević, S. (2020). Achieving use value of a living space, Spatium, No. 44, pp. 22-28. https://doi.org/10.2298/SPAT2044022A
American Institute of Architects (AIA) (2020). 2020 Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Washington, DC: AIA [online]. https://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/2020_Code_of_Ethics.pdf [Accessed: 5 May 2022]
Architects Registration Board (2010). Prescription of Qualifications: ARB Criteria at Parts 1, 2 and 3. ARB [online]. https://arb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ARB_Criteria_123.pdf [Accessed: 5 May 2022]
Arnstein, S. A. (1969). A Ladder of Citizen Participation, Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 216-224.
Beheiry, D. A., Gabr, H. S. (2022). The child as an active participant: enhancing the child's attachment to kindergartens through architectural design, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 46-68. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-02-2021-0047
Bofill, R. (1993). Prostranstva dliya zhizni, Perevod s Frantsuzskogo (in Russian). In M. V. Predtechenskiy, A. N. Shukurova (Eds.), Prostranstva dliya zhizni. Moscow: Stroyizdat.
Boyer, E., Mitgang, L. (1996). Building Community: a new future for architectural education and practice: a special report. Princeton: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
BREEAM (2017). BREAM Communities Technical Manual. Bregroup [online]. https://www.breeam.com/communitiesmanual/ [Accessed: 5 May 2022].
Brolin, B., Zeisel, J. (1972). Mass Housing: Social Research and Design. In G. Bell, J. Tyrwhitt (Eds.), Human Identity in the Urban Environment. London: Penguin Books Ltd, pp. 366-375.
Cherry, E. (1999). Programming for Design: from theory to practice. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Cho, M. (2020). Residential satisfaction among low-income single-mother households: the case of residential welfare facilities in South Korea, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 359-378. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-09-2019-0218
Cooper-Marcus, C. (1995). House as a mirror of self: exploring the deeper meaning of home. Berkeley, CA: Conari Press.
Erskine, R. (1984). Designing Between Clients and Users. In C. R. Hatch (Ed.), The Scope of Social Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 188-192.
Frampton, K. (1992). Modern Architecture. A critical history (3rd ed.). London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.
Glazychev, V. L. (1986). Evolutsiya tvorchestva v arhitekture (In Russian). Moscow: Stroyizdat.
Groat, L. N. (2000). A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Designer’s Role: Technician, Artist or Cultivator? In P. Knox, P. Ozolins (Eds.), Design Professionals and the Built Environment: an introduction. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 41-54.
Habraken, N. J. (1972). Supports: an alternative to mass housing. London: The Architectural Press.
Hertzberger, H. (1984). The Interaction of Form and Users. In C. R. Hatch (Ed.), The Scope of Social Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 13-19.
Hertzberger, H. (1992). Lessons for students in architecture. Rotterdam: Uitgeverij OTO Publishers.
Ikonnikov, A. V. (1990). Esteticheskie tsennosti predmetno-prostranstvennoy sredy (In Russian). Moscow: Stroyizdat.
Khan-Magomedov, S. O. (2001). Arhitektura sovetskogo avangarda. Kniga 2. Sotsial’nye problemi (In Russian). Moscow: Stroyizdat.
Kiyanenko, C. (1991). Mythology of Man and Environment in Social and Professional Consciousness. In T. Niit, M. Raudsepp, K. Liik (Eds.), Environment and Social Development - Proceedings of the East-West Colloquium in Environmental Psychology. Tallinn: Tallinn Pedagogical Institute, pp. 38-46.
Kiyanenko, K. V. (2003). Arhitektura, obrazovanie i kontseptsiya potrebnosti. In Razvitie arhitekturno-hudozhestvennogo obrazovaniya v kontekste mirovoy kul’turnoy integratsii - Mezhdunarodnaya nauchno-metodicheskaya konferentsiya (In Russian). Kazan: ZAO Novoe znanie, pp. 25-29.
Kiyanenko, K. V. (2005). Arhitektura i sotsial’noe modelirovanie zhilishcha (In Russian). (Doctoral dissertation, Moscow Architectural Institute, Moscow, Russia).
Kiyanenko, K. V. (2018). Paradigms of Social Knowledge and Validation in Architecture, Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniya, No. 9, pp. 30-39. https://doi.org/10.31857/S013216250001956-4
Kroll, L. (1984). Anarchitecture. In C. R. Hatch (Ed.), The Scope of Social Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 167-181.
Le Corbusier (1927). Towards a New Architecture. Paris: Architectural Press.
Lerup, L. (1977). Building the Unfinished: Architecture and Human Action. Beverly Hills, London: Sage Publications.
Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Harvard: MIT Press.
Morris, E. W., Winter, M. (1978). Housing, Family and Society. New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons.
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) (2020). Architectural Experience Program Guidelines. [online]. https://www.ncarb.org/sites/default/files/AXP-Guidelines.pdf [Accessed: 5 May 2022].
Nikitin, V. A. (1990). Sredovye intentsii I dvizhenie arhitekturnyh paradigm (In Russian). In A. A. Vysokovskiy, G. Z. Kaganov (Eds.), Gorodskaya sreda: problemy sushchestvovaniya. Moscow: VNIITAG, pp. 140-156.
Norberg-Schulz, C. (1996). The Phenomenon of Place. In K. Nesbitt (Ed.), Theorizing a New Agenda For Architecture: An Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 414-428.
Pallasmaa, J. (1993). From Metaphorical to Ecological Functionalism, The Architectural Review, No. 1156, pp. 74-79.
Pallasmaa, J. (1996). The Geometry of Feelings. A Look at the Phenomenology of Architecture. In K. Nesbitt (Ed.), Theorizing a New Agenda For Architecture: An Anthology of Architectural Theory 1965-1995. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 448-453.
Patel, T., Dorff, J., Baker, A. (2022). Development of special needs classroom prototypes to respond to the sensory needs of students with exceptionalities, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 339-358. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-07-2021-0196
Piedmont-Palladino, S. (2000). The Design Professional in Service to the Community. In P. Knox, P. Ozolins (Eds.), The Design Profession and the Built Environment: an introduction. London and Sydney: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., pp. 211-220.
Plunz, R. and Chermaeff, S. (1982). Design and Public Good: Selected Writings 1930-1980. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
Prescription (2010). Prescription of Qualifications: ARB Criteria at Parts 1, 2 and 3. London: Architects Registration Board.
RIBA (2021). RIBA Code of Professional Conduct. RIBA [online]. https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/code-of-professional-conduct [Accessed: 5 May2022]
Rubanenko, B. R., Kartashova, K. K. (1981). Perspektivy razvitiya zhilishcha v SSSR (Vtoroe izdsnie) (In Russian). Moscow: Stroyizdat.
Salaheldin, M. H., Hassanain, M. A., Ibrahim, A. M. (2021). A systematic conduct of POE for polyclinic facilities in Saudi Arabia, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 344-363. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-08-2020-0156
Salama, A. M. (2019). Methodological research in architecture and allied disciplines: Philosophical positions, frames of reference, and spheres of inquiry, Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 8-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-01-2019-0012
Sheykhmaleki, P., Yazdanfar, S. A. A., Litkouhi, S., Nazarian, M. Price, A. D. F. (2021). Prioritising public spaces architectural strategies for autistic users, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 555-570. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-07-2020-0142
Shinohara, K. A (1968). Theory of Residential Architecture, Japan Architect, No. 234, pp. 39-45.
Sirowy, B. (2010). Phenomenological concepts in architecture: towards a user-oriented practice. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327690202_Phenomenological_Concepts_in_Architecture_Towards_a_User-Oriented_Practice_A_PhD_Thesis [Accessed: 5 May 2022]
Stepanov, A. V., Nechaev, N. N., Ivanova, G. I. (1993). Arhitektura i psihologiya - Uchebnik dliya vuzov (In Russian). Moscow: Stroyizdat.
UIA (2017). UIA Accord on Recommended International Standards of Professionalism in Architectural Practice. Washington, DC: AIA.
UNESCO (2017). UNESCO – UIA Charter for Architectural Education (2017 edition). Paris: UIA.
Vuković, T., Salama, A. M., Mitrović, B., Devetaković, M. (2021). Assessing public open spaces in Belgrade – A quality of urban life perspective, Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 505-523. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-04-2020-0064
Wates, N., Knevitt, C. (1987). Community Architecture: How People are Creating Their Own Environment. London: Penguin Books.
Wright, F. L. (1970). The Natural House. New York: Meridian.
Zeisel, J. (2006). Inquiry by Design: Environment/Behavior/Neuroscience in Architecture, Interiors, Landscape, and Planning. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Zinchenko, A. P. (1981). Potrebnost’ kak osnovanie processa proektirovaniya predmetno-prostranstvennoy sredy (In Russian). In T. Niit, M. Heidmets and J. Kruusvall (Eds.), Man and the environment: psychological problems - Abstracts of a conference. Tallinn: Estonian Branch of Psychologists’ Society of the USSR, pp. 60-63.
