Social Architecture
What is social architecture and why is important?
Last updated
What is social architecture and why is important?
Last updated
Social architecture is an approach to architecture that focuses on the social aspects of design and the role that architecture can play in shaping and improving communities.
Here are five key points summarizing what social architecture is:
People-centered: Social architecture places a strong emphasis on the needs and desires of the people who will use the space, rather than simply focusing on aesthetics or functionality.
Community building: Social architecture aims to promote social interaction and community building through the design of public spaces, shared spaces, and community facilities.
Inclusion: Social architecture strives to create inclusive spaces that are accessible to all members of the community, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds.
Empowerment: Social architecture aims to empower communities by involving them in the design process and giving them a sense of ownership over their built environment. This is also called co-creation.
Sustainability: Social architecture often incorporates sustainable design principles, such as green spaces and energy-efficient building systems, to create healthy and livable communities.
People should be at the heart of any architectural design project.
By understanding how people think, say and act, Architects can design for better, more holistic solutions in the buildings.
Ultimately, spaces should take into account the interconnectivity between people, place and activity, through Observation & Research, Mapping & Analysis, Co-creation & User input.
We begin with the three aspects that makes social architecture - people, activity and place.
Studying each aspect and understanding the connections/ meaning across them will aid us architectural designers to create vibrant, sustainable social spaces for the community.
What is social architecture without the people?
Here we are looking at the following when it comes to design research and goals:
Communities
Psychology
Sociology
Mindsets
Identity
Apart from people, we should also study events that occur which can also play a part in our design decisions in social architecture.
We are focusing on the following:
Events (private vs public, individual vs group)
Time of event
Routines
Lastly, we should also study the importance of what makes a place 'the place', with key ideas such as:
Typologies
Climate data
Icons (cultural, social)
Landscape
Objects
Architects should discover the interconnections between people, place and activity.
Research can be done through Observation & Research, Mapping & Analysis, Co-creation & User input.
By performing research, one will better understand the meaning of place and why people do certain activities with specific people.
We can design for a more social architecture by proper research of people, activity and place.
Once there's a proper and tested hypothesis, we can proceed to design the architectural solution.
The AEIOU Method is a methodology to perform a holistic analysis of a site.
AEIOU stands for:
Activity Environment Interactions Objects Users
These techniques includes Photographs, Recorded observation of users, Timelapses, Interviews
To get started on social architecture, one can start by developing a empathy for the group of people you personally connect with. By fully understand users and occupants pains, journeys and stories, Architects can propose the most impactful design. Architects interested in social architecture should conduct interviews, gather data, seek quantitative data that justifies qualitative data to a hypothesis before starting to design.
The Singapore University of Technology & Design Architecture & Sustainable Design course has a module called 20.31 Social Architecture: Theory and Practice conducted by Dr. Chong Keng Hua. The contents of this page was inspired by the course there.
If you are looking to learn more about SUTD ASD and the course you can visit these pages:
Singapore University of Technology & Design Architecture & Sustainable Design (SUTD ASD)
20.31 Social Architecture: Theory and Practice Course
Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) 20.312 Social Architecture: Theory and Practice 2017 Publication (view paper here)
Paul Jones & Kenton Card (2011), Constructing “Social Architecture”: The Politics of Representing Practice, Architectural Theory Review, 16:3, 228-244 Nick Wates & Charles Knevitt (1987), Community Architecture: How People Are Creating Their Own Environment, New York: Routledge, Chapter 1: Rebuilding Communities, 15-25 Lee Stickells (2011), The Right To The City: Rethinking Architecture's Social Significance, Architectural Theory Review, 16:3, 213-227 *David Harvey (2003), The Right to the City, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 27:4, 939-941 *Henri Lefebvre (1996), ‘‘Right to the City’’ in Eleonore Kofman and Elizabeth Lebas (eds), Writings on Cities, New York: Blackwell, 63–181.
