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Humanity & Design

“The building …becomes a receptacle for human-centred values working in concert with the technologies of the machine age. The human-ness of Lever House has something to do with its egalitarianism in the use of light and colour ; the building’s luxuries are equal-access.

Lees-Maffei, Grace (2013-09-12). Writing Design: Words and Objects (Kindle Locations 2834-2837). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Why is design something to be critiqued? What are we looking for out of it? 

Maybe “good” design comes from the pursuit to better understand ourselves, and why we are here. Maybe, the most complete way to critique a design is to ask, ‘Does this thing reflect a greater understanding of humanity?’

The readings outlined several different considerations, which effect how a design is received by the public, and of course by the critic. You have,

1) Economically - The place of the design in the local and global economy. Think about how The open door policy 1978 gave way to the skyscraper boom in China. 

2) Politically - The place of the design in local and global politics. In a post- 9/11 world, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman of EMAAR Properties stated Burj Khalifa is,  “…meant to counter that [negative] image by bringing ‘good news.’ …the developers stated (EMAAR, 2006):The goal of Burj Dubai [Khalifa] is not simply to be the world’s highest building. It’s to embody the world’s highest aspirations.” IMPORTING URBAN GIANTS:
Re-Imaging Shanghai and Dubai with Skyscrapers

3) The superlative nature of a design – Does the design hold a title, push limitations?

4) The effects of the design on the environment, i.e. - The sinking city of Shanghai.

5) The connection between design and local culture

6) The user experience in the space

All considerations are important, but why are they being considered and how would a designer achieve a ‘good’ review based on these considerations?

My understanding is that the most complimentary reviews were given to those designs that paid attention to the humanity of world the design inhabits – this would be a consideration of culture, physical space, time, and technology (I am separating technology from culture because the former is a mechanical, technical, and tangible item, while culture, even though technology is a huge piece of it, is intangible, historical, and emotional).

Where the design deviates from humanity is where the imperfections of the design are most present, and seem most highly critiqued.  In Re-Imaging Shanghai and Dubai with Skyscrapers The Burj Khalifa is criticized for its lack of obvious connection to the local culture. In Mecca, Saudi Arabia the Abraj Al-Bait Towers Complex has been criticized as destroying the “…historic character of the holy city and the sanctity of the holy site…”. In a talk to students at the Architectural Association in 1953, New York Times reviewer Mumford used the UN secretariat building as an example of “…‘folly-architecture’ that ‘consists in creating a monument to the architect and not a solution of his client’s problem’.” Lees-Maffei, Grace (2013-09-12). Writing Design: Words and Objects (Kindle Locations 2857-2858). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.

 

 The UN secretariat building, New York, New York.

In these examples it is clear that the design neglected some part of the human experience, which we value. Whether it is a seemingly flippant exclusion of culture, a show of disrespect to the surrounding physical context, a lack of user-friendliness, or a pointless display of ego, design seems to be regarded as most successful when it begins to reach the ideals that we seek for ourselves as humans.

Looking back at the history of the US, we can easily see how design has reacted to the greater understanding of humanity. In the later half of the 20^th century, the US transitioned from spaces where people were segregated by race, to spaces where people interact are equals.

More recently, we have seen a great focus on recreating the office to facilitate productivity by finding new ways to organize communal space, recreation space, even the physical position in which people work.

In the readings this week, we hear Mumford vehemently praise the Lever House for a number of design choices because, for him, the building is a perfect specimen of Modernism and the attention paid to humanity in that moment.

All these changes in design were born out of a better understanding of how we function as humans and what it means to be one. As we look at how our culture has implemented our human evolution into design today, to me, this is synonymous with the evolution into a ‘glocal’ community, and the success of those designs built with an awareness of ‘glocalism’.

To me, glocal community is the landscape of the future, and will be (and really already is) the next level of deeper understanding of what it means to be human on this Earth in this moment. Thus, while the terms and ideas and linguistic structure of criticism changes, I think it all comes back to the pursuit to reflect on the best understanding of humanity in the now.