Measure for Measure

Why is it the most important criteria for a building always seem the hardest to measure? The apparent choice: specifying that which can be measured versus well meant prose hoping for poetic results.

Einstein said something along the lines of ‘things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler’. Perhaps some qualities are just not susceptible to being reduced to a number.

However, 20 years of writing design briefs has convinced me that everything can indeed be meaningfully described in one of three ways: by numbers, by ranking, or by similarity. The ‘generous’ space I want might actually mean 102.5 sqm, or just bigger than my current space, or a lot like some other space I can show you. The degrees of freedom offered to the designer is radically affected by which one we choose to best describe what we want.
A better brief is not one with more numbers, rather it is one with just the right numbers.

By taking a more measured approach to measurement we can choose not to be afraid to aspire to complex, poetic outcomes.