[Photograph of the stramp at Robson Square] (2018)
Take a look at the above photograph taken at Robson Square. While most architects design ramps to go aroundtheir stairs, the ramp here is integrated into the stairs (a combination known as a “stramp”) so that wheelchair users can go the same way as non-wheelchair users. It’s a nice way to reduce barriers and increase accessibility in an aesthetically pleasing way, right? Unfortunately, there are a few issues when considering how people will actuallyuse the stramp, such as how the steepness of the ramp parts and the lack of handrails make it more difficult for wheelchair users to ascend (Steenhout, 2018). These problems were likely the result of a disconnect between the architect’s vision and the reality on the ground. As discussed by Gruman et al. (2017), these disconnects happen because of role specialization, which often narrows people down to a specific part of a project and decreases their communication with those involved with other parts of the project (pg. 372). How can we address these disconnections? Perhaps we can take an approach known as social design to facilitate communication and improve people’s experiences with those buildings.
What is social design? Social design, as defined by Gruman et al. (2017), “is a process by which any building […] may be designed in collaboration with those who will actually use that building.” (pg. 352) When architects design a building on their own, they often focus more on its aesthetics than its everyday functionality. After all, they’re often not the ones who will actually be using the building. Social design essentially gives the people who will be affected by a project a say in its design. For example, in the stramp example above, one could imagine wheelchair users being quick to point out that the ramp is very steep for them and that without handrails to help pull themselves up, it would be exhausting going up. Involving their perspectives could have likely helped make the stramp more accessible to them and better fulfill the purpose of the design. Social design can help prevent practical problems from coming up after building a project. But it is not just limited to preventing problems. Social design can also improve our lives, such as through our sense of personal control.
Photo of a crowded high school by [LuigiSaysKachow], (2019)
It feels nice to feel like you are in control of your current situation, right? Most people do, and social design can help people feel like they are in control. As stated by Gruman et al. (2017), “good social design will provide building occupants with real options to control their proximate environment.” (pg. 374) Consider the above photo of a crowded high school building by Reddit user LuigiSaysKachow (2019), presumably taken between class periods as students are walking to their next class. With so many students walking in so many directions converging in one location, would you feel like you are in control? Probably not, considering there does not seem to be a way to escape the crowd when walking through this building, which can lead to stress. Gruman et al. (2017) state that “noise, unwanted social contact, congestion, and a lack of places of refuge are examples of primary sources of stress,” (pg. 375) all of which seem to be present in this photo. Unfortunately, when there are a lot of students at a given school, going through crowds like these can be inevitable. What can social design do to help a school with a lot of students feel like they are more in control of their environment?
Screenshots from Sensiba (2014)’s video Centennial High School Aerial Video
I would actually like to nominate my high school as a great example of how good social design can increase one’s sense of personal control. I had to deal with similar amounts of crowding as shown in the picture from the Reddit post, but I maintained a strong sense of personal control walking through those crowds. If you watch the video “Centennial High School Aerial Video” by Jennifer Sensiba (2014), a drone video of my high school, you may notice many tables and seats spread across the campus (also shown in the screenshots). Across the school, students could choose to sit down away from crowds to stop and talk with friends or to take a break from the stress. Additionally, with how the school was designed, there were usually multiple paths one could take to get from one class to another. When one path was too crowded, I would take an alternative path with fewer students walking through. Even though I still had to deal with crowding in my high school, it felt very manageable and less stressful thanks to the options I had to avoid the crowds. Clearly, the architects of the school had kept the perspective of the student in mind when designing it, using social design to give students personal control over some of their daily experiences.
In conclusion, social design is important because it improves the experiences of everyday people. Involving the people in the design process of a project that will affect them can help prevent problems that architects alone may not see, such as those involved in the stramp at Robson Square. But social design is more than just preventing problems. It can help improve the lives of people even if it doesn’t fully solve a problem. The tables and chairs spread across my high school did not solve crowding, but they did reduce the impact and stress crowding has on me and likely many other students over the years. Thus, when designing something that will impact other people, such as a new public space, it is good to take the social design approach and get them involved. Using their perspective can help prevent problems before they happen and, in some cases, improve people’s everyday lives for years to come.
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Sensiba, J. (2014, August 27) Centennial High School Aerial Video [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/SgNiDaDUDK4
[LuigiSaysKachow] (2019, August 22). The absolute crap design of my school. This is the place where every hallway intersects [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://reddit.com/r/CrappyDesign/comments/cu8dho/the_absolute_crap_design_of_my_school_this_is_the/
[Photograph of the stairs and ramp at Robson Square]. (2018). Part of a Whole. https://incl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/robson-square.jpg
Steenhout, N. (2018, 11 May). The Problems With Ramps Blended Into Stairs. Part of a Whole. https://incl.ca/the-problems-with-ramps-blended-into-stairs/