SOCIETY AND DESIGN

ROLE OF DESIGNER IN THE SOCIETY

 The role of a designer depends on the
 context
 culture
 environment
 human needs
 behavioral aspects etc.
 The society from the very early times had a lot of expectations from a
designer

 E.g. the needs or Egyptian society was to get and imbibe the ancestral
spirit. So they wanted their tombs (pyramids) to be stronger. Hence
their designers used stone (stronger material ) for constructing
pyramids. On the other hand residences were built of brick.

 Another example is Thailand where each culture had particular animal

and the designers were supposed to create spaces for that society in
such a way that would be comfortable for that particular animal.
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 Vitruvian society believed that the design has to be beautiful, durable and
convenient.

 But the above statement was contradicted by Albert Bush Brown

(architectural historian) saying that it doesn't consider the functional aspects
-commodity, firmness & delight in which ‘commodity’ fulfils the functional
aspect.

 Later John Ruskin (art critic) gave a different definition to the role of
designer in a society. He said that a designer should produce designs

 that will act the way it should be like.

 The building should speak what is happening inside.
 The building should look good.
The lack of this character is reason for the failure of de constructivism.
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 In the later 19th century social science redefines modern society by saying
that building is an organization , so the designer should design it in such a
way that
 it will fulfill the social needs of the society
 it will prove its technical competence.
 It will fulfill the psychological needs of the society
 It will respond to the context
 It will be flexible enough
 It will absorb the dynamic features of the society.

 The traditional role of the architect has been to design buildings that
reflect the interests of the client and the public . But today a designer has
to fulfill the following functions.

1. To identify the problems ie, programming

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2. To identify methods of achieving solutions ie, generating alternative
building design

3. To implement those solution ie, implementing plans.

4. Functions of the psyche.

- sensations- includes perception of the external world by means of

sense organs.
- Thinking – is the functions of intellectual cognition & formation of
logical conclusions- logical process.

- Feeling- is a functions of subjective evaluation (personal feelings,

opinions etc.)
- Intuition- is a perception by way of unconscious or perception of
some unconscious context.
A designer should be capable to thinking in the following ways so that his
acts would lead to the betterment of his society.
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- Rational thinking – about the nature of the site available resources etc.

- Intuitive or creative thinking – about what the results of rational

thinking imply for the building form.

- Value judgment- as to relative importance of various factors, they can be

sometimes conflicting ones like land value.

- Spatial ability- should be able to design on any size or shape of plot

- Communicative skills- in order to make the design intentions known to

other people/clients.
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN

Architecture and human behavior…..

Broadly architecture satisfies functional as well as aesthetic of a space,

where humans inhabits.

• Functional aspects are related to the behavior and needs of the

inhabitant

• Aesthetic aspects are related to the preferences, experiences and

perception of the world.
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN

Reference – Chapter 3 from , environment behavior studies , Gary T Moore, Introduction to Architecture
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
 Environment and Behavior (EAB) examines relationships between human
behavior and the natural and built environment.

 Relationship between individual behavior , social rules, cultural

values, and physical environment.
Environment design studies in design process

 Attitude and values of professionals are very different from those of the
citizens and users they purport to serve.

 More pronounced with unfamiliar users groups and unfamiliar building

types

 Our society has become more professionally specialized, more socially

differentiated into ethnic, age based, and special interest groups
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
 Understand different user groups, and their different perceptions about the
world

 Example for major architectural behavioral problem – pruitt – igoe housing

complex in st.louis.

 In 1950’s A low income public housing project of 33 buildings in 11

stories tall, 11000 inhabitants.

 Demolished by 1972

 Because not considering the life style of the urban poor for whom
they designed the buildings for.
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
The scope of environment behavior information
 Environmental behavior phenomena
 User groups
 settings
Environment behavior phenomena
Human behavior in relation to everyday life.
Examples : proxemics and privacy, meaning and symbolism
Proxemics:
Different distances between people that are comfortable for social
interaction.
Privacy:
Interpersonal control mechanism that paces and regulates and interactions
with others.
Proxemics and privacy – related to individual behavior patterns, Community
and neighborhood as social patterns and rules
Symbolism – cultural
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN

Setting

Scales of settings- From the room scale to the nation scale,

Buildings to city scale

Application realm includes- Behavioral aspects for different

building type

Example – Residential design for kids

Housing for elderly
Residential areas for different socio ethnic groups etc
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
The place of environmental behavioral information in the deign process:
Defensible Space the concept
All Defensible Space programs have a common purpose: They restructure the physical layout of communities to allow
residents to control the areas around their homes. The programs help people preserve those areas in which they can
realize their commonly held values and lifestyles.
Defensible Space relies on self-help rather than on government intervention, and so it is not vulnerable to
government’s withdrawal of support. It depends on resident involvement to reduce crime and remove the presence of
criminals. It has the ability to bring people of different incomes and race together in a mutually beneficial union. For
low-income people, Defensible Space can provide an introduction to the benefits of main-stream life and an
opportunity to see how their own actions can better the world around them and lead to upward mobility.

Defensible Space, Reducing Crime and Creating Community.

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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
Defensible Space - evolution of the concept
Project concept - , PRUITT-IGOE
project : 2,740-unit public housing high-rise
development, pruitt-igoe, go to ruin.
architect :minoru yamasaki,
It followed the planning principles of Le
Corbusier and the International Congress of
Modern Architects.
The idea was to keep the grounds and the first
floor free for community activity. “A river of
trees” was to flow under the buildings. Each
building was given communal corridors on
every third floor to house laundry, a communal
room, and a garbage room that contained a
garbage constructed in St. Louis in chute.

Density - (50 units to the acre)

Building ht – 11 storey building

The Pruitt-Igoe housing project in 1956. ‘Residents

recall their utter joy when they moved in, not only at View of the service floor proposed
the plumbing but the warmth of community. In the apartment
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN

Pruitt-Igoe in the process of being torn down, at a loss of 300 million dollars‘ with in 20 years of construction
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
Issues with the project??

Large number of un occupied apartments.

 The identical built character lead to lesser
legibility of the place thus it become difficult for
the residents to identify their home.

 No people at ground – created a unsafe feeling

 Designed communal activity spaces and common

facilities become more unsafe
 Expected green river become sewage and waste
The communal floor finally came out as .
dumping area
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
High rise with on
street parking Walk ups creating
creates the public more semi public
space to come with controllable space
in the building
compound.

Pruitt-Igoe ?? Carr square village

Building configuration could decide the control of

space. Degree of public or privateness
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN

Environmental behavior studies

Environment behavior studies in architecture includes a systematic

examination of relationship between the environment and human
behavior and their relationship in the design process.
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BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF DESIGN
Understanding the relationship
between the environment,
human behavior and design
through the basic 3
components and they are:

• User groups
• Behavioral phenomena
• Environment settings

Reference – Chapter 3 from , environment behavior studies