Footsteps

Individuals make a difference. A school can be altered for a generation by the commitment of a single teacher, designer, or civil servant - all those who defy the limits of their labels.

But, like many relationships, we tend only to realise their impact when they move on. We then have a choice: accept the consequences or fill the gap. We cannot always depend on remarkable people to create remarkable schools.

The challenge for us remaining flawed mortals is to find the means to step forward in their place.

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Astonishing

At a recent conference on school design, an eminent Scottish architect prefaced his comments to a keynote speaker with ”Well that was astonishing . . . but not in a good way”.

Direct and open debate is often diluted when it is prefaced by caveats. It is often enlivened by the honest recognition of visceral responses to the sound of beliefs being broken. To my mind, that comment allowed passion into the discussion and patted several elephants in the room. And it was an articulate reminder of the power of architecture to celebrate the values we care about most.

Good architecture has the power to astonish us . . . in a good way.

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Concordare

A Latin word: to agree. Whether it’s joined up thinking or collaborative working or shared services or total place, the fundamental step is to get diverse people to agree on something and see it through in pursuit of an agreed purpose.

The simple but challenging technique of getting the right people together and creating a collective responsibility for making things happen is now the default for the way we resolve our big service and resource issues.

The output may be a contract, or an action plan, or indeed a Concordat, but the real outcome is the recognition that, ultimately, problems can only be resolved in the places where we work and live by the people who work and live there.

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The Wee Society

Scale matters. I am as guilty as anyone else of writing paragraphs which try and cover all the bases:

‘This unique place . . . responding to the street . . . engaging the neighbourhood . . . at the heart of the community . . . contributing to the town’s regeneration . . . building a regional capital . . . delivering national policy . . . an international exemplar.’

But this Russian doll approach to the narrative of a place can have the unintended consequence of confusing those who live there about the real reasons for change.

We are often asked the question – who is your audience – as if the development of the places we live was primarily an exercise in sales and marketing. Perhaps the question we need to focus on is ‘in whose name are you doing this?’.

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Arbour

The idea of a safe place seems to have been hijacked by the need for secure places. They are not necessarily the same thing.

Feeling safe is central to our sense of wellbeing. So, what makes us feel safe? As always, the most direct way to answer that question is to ask people. Whatever their responses, it is likely that it relies less on the calculus of insurance companies and more on personal circumstances and local context.

Yes, we need places that are secure. But we also need places that make people feel safe in a way that means something to them as individuals.

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Slow Cities

At the heart of deliberations about our cities and towns is an assumption about speed. Whether it’s economists debating the velocity of circulation of money or educationalists the rate of change of technology, the implication is that quicker is better. Ergo we need to plan for places that can move fast.

But speed is not the same as agility. Whether it’s a school corridor or a high street, being aware of one’s surroundings in a thoughful way is a key feature of belonging to a place. Details matter. Moments count. Individuals, rather than systems, loom large.

Successful places are not assembly lines fuelled by high speed empathy. Perhaps we need slower places that build on considered thought rather than blurred impulses.

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Another U-Turn

“I’ve started so I’ll finish . . . “ seems to be the rule when looking at masterplans – or indeed any Gantt chart laden project.

In the context of a project plan this makes a lot of sense. In the context of the real world it can lead to crazy outcomes. So do we cleave to the first idea we all bought into: the one we staked our reputation on. Or do we risk the career destroying headlines (‘Another U Turn from . . . ‘) and change our mind because it’s the right thing to do?

Resilience is not only about adaptable strategies. It is also about a culture where switching strategies is recognised as the grown up response to change.

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Begin Anywhere

We need to change the Place. But that means we need to change the Silos. But that means we need to change the Organisation. But that means we need to change the System. . . . And so it goes.

John Cage famously wrote ‘Begin Anywhere’. In the real world – the one beyond Taylorism and Classicism – that seems like good advice. At least if we are going to make change happen anytime this side of the next new Millennia.

So, whatever the obstacle is that we encounter – that’s the one to change.

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Valueless

I’ve got used to hearing the statement “We’d get rid of that building but it isn’t worth anything”. My reaction is always the same: “I’ll take it then”.

Certainly, some buildings are falling down, some lend themselves to no obvious purpose, and some are mired in bureaucracy. But no value at all . . really? I suspect that this stock of valueless buildings is massive. I also suspect that we all know many worthy organisations and worthwhile purposes that are desperately looking in vain for a home.

Our challenge is to use design to find ways of turning these liabilities into assets, and to use our power and imagination to release the potential for good in our valueless buildings.

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Media

Sometimes I get interviewed by journalists. No matter how carefully you choose your words the feeling persists that in amongst those seemingly reasonable answers to seemingly reasonable questions you have offered an unfortunate quote out of context.

So the choice is simple. Say nothing of any consequence, at length. Or use the opportunity to talk about things that really matter to you in language that conveys some sense of your passion and principles.

Like design without courage, words without heart make us complicit in the acceptance of the unacceptable.

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Hong Kong

From the aircraft window a panorama exploited in a hundred movies. On the ground a reminder that the English language has a rival.

Travel shows us other ways of living and makes us reconsider the things we take for granted. Design is a way of imagining what those other ways might mean for us and how to reinvent the conventional into the extraordinary.

A logical way of looking at airport design is the transformation of the flight timetable, a work of imagination, into an historical document. Neat, but misses the big picture. Another way is to look at the ripples of life changes and life chances that radiate from those journeys.

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Sydney

It’s winter in Sydney. Torrential rain, ash clouds, and stormy debates about the effectiveness of $16 billion investment in school buildings as a key part of Australia’s Economic Stimulus Plan.

It reminds me that what happens in our schools is important not only to our pupils and our communities and to learning – but also to our economies. When we say that schools must be seen in context we mean the whole context. When we say that our children are our future – we mean it.

Irrespective of which economic models prevail, schools are at the heart of any nation’s future.

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Crowds

The roads will be busy this Easter weekend. And those stuck in traffic will be asking why is everyone else going where I’m going? However, if the roads were empty the same people would be scanning the radio stations for news of some disaster.

We are uneasy when we are alone in our decisions, and we are frustrated when everyone else is making exactly the same decisions. We need to know our own tolerance for being part of the crowd, and for standing out from the crowd.

Walking through the door of a new building, do you think, I’m glad this is different? Or do you think, why is this different? Design needs to anticipate both reactions and nurture in contrary individuals the common belief that this was a place worth getting to.

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Darkness and Light

Popular anecdotes are like popular songs – for a while they seem unavoidable on every conference platform, and then they disappear. But just because something gets repeated to death doesn’t mean it’s not true.

Man walking at night meets someone on his knees under a streetlight looking for his keys. He offers to help, and asks him “Where exactly did you lose your keys?” The person points to the other side of the road, cloaked in darkness. “So, why aren’t you looking for your keys over there?” The man on his knees answers, “Because the light’s over here.”

The right answer isn’t always found in the place with the most light.

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Census

What are the right questions to ask? Do you ask the types of questions that tend to produce clear answers; the more vague questions with vague responses that perhaps matter the most; or the ones whose answers you suspect will have the most impact?

If the aim is to write a clear story that captures peoples’ lives in a way which can help shape their future, then asking the right questions is really, really crucial. Asking the right questions rather than making up clever answers is often what makes design great.

If someone walks into a building and says “This doesn’t work because . .“ the reason is probably not bad design, but bad briefing. Nobody asked the question, so nobody designed the answer. Every design starts with a question – choose carefully.

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Today's Word

Today’s word is ‘excogitation’ – to think something out carefully.

Design is rarely about surges of inspiration and flashes of insight. It is usually about a lot of hard work and perspiration. The American writer Gene Fowler famously said ”Writing is easy. All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead”.

When we design, we think something out carefully, and in buildings that is a truly massive challenge. Next time you hear someone trivialising design, remind them that design is a serious endeavour – one that involves a great deal of excogitation.

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Early Yearning

I recently heard someone at a conference refer to “early yearning” – a slip of the tongue for ‘early learning’. But the phrase captures exactly what we need to engender in design projects.

Whatever the engagement, the prerequisite for realising better outcomes is the desire for better outcomes. Yes, good design should spring from a clear sense of purpose. But it can also emerge from a vague sense of dissatisfaction – the feeling that there must be a better way of doing things and a better answer than the one we have.

Do I want clients that are satisfied with whatever design they can get? No. I want clients that believe design can change their lives: early yearners that keep hoping.

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The Existence of Good

Whether a learning environment is in a hut or a skyscraper, the senses of place that matter to children are universal. These include a sense of light and space, a sense of scale, a sense of comfort and a sense of inspiration. Places that provide these are places that people, of all ages, want to be in.

They are also about a sense of belonging: meaningful places that reflect closely the physical contexts and the individual narratives of those who use them. Acknowledging the uniqueness of the land and its local communities is the primary means by which good environments happen. Good learning environments are places that feel special to one place, but have lessons for us all.

There is such a thing as a good environment. We know it when we experience it, based not on personal prejudices but by observing what has worked over generations and by acknowledging what is changing and why. And we know for sure that good design can provide it in ways that enhance the lives of children, teachers, and communities. Good is not a concept – it exists.

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Great Designers

It seems that we are readily impressed when ‘ordinary people’ strive for Grand Designs – but do our bureaucratic utmost to prevent professional designers chasing the same high aspirations. This is perverse.

In other creative endeavours this doesn’t happen. Yes, we applaud when an amateur plays The Minute Waltz, but we can still celebrate the difference when Lang Lang plays Chopin.

If we are all to enjoy great design then we better value great designers.

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Holy Grail

Talk to the right people in the right way. Craft a brief that means what it says. And choose a decent designer who will create a thoughtful solution. Finding the Holy Grail for good design sounds easy.

We should all know by now how to do effective participation and meaningful briefing. But selecting the right designer can still be a challenge - particularly in the context of ever more demanding contractual regimes and complex procurement procedures.

As you work your way through the flowchart it is worth remembering that even in this corporate commoditised age working with the right person still really matters.

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Godzilla

When I first encountered Sim City it had an option which allowed a Godzilla-like monster to rampage randomly through your newly created city. The initial reaction was either to panic or to pretend it wasn’t happening.

Sometimes there seems to be only two types of architectural critique: “Look, a monster!” or “What monster?”. We are either struck by design shock horror, or are too polite to mention design at all.

Design is big. It can fill our horizons. And it deserves a considered reaction based on more than prejudice or etiquette. It makes demands of us and asks difficult questions. It deserves passion and honesty. It is worth arguing about.

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A Clear Desk

I now have a clear desk. It looks better. I feel less claustrophobic, and I can find what I need more quickly. So why do I feel unsettled? Probably for the same reason that some people feel challenged by minimalist modern architecture. There is now less of me in the place where I am. It is still the place where I sit, but it no longer feels like the place where I belong.

Is this an argument for clutter? No. But it is a recognition that imperfections in a place sometimes echo the untidy, fallible humans to whom that place belongs. They are a part of the language by which a place garners meaning.

Design is the means by which we create places that both work well and have an emotional resonance which underpins meaning – whether in the classroom or in the workplace. Design is not about perfection.

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