Better by Design?

One of the golden rules for architects is not to cram an idea into a scheme if it doesn’t fit. I learnt this as a student visiting an ‘architecturally interesting’ building in Amsterdam. As I watched the students standing in the street taking photos of the glass fronted circulation space I wondered how secure and private the women in the refuge felt – how well the architect had addressed their needs. When style and ego is allowed to triumph over the very real substance of our human needs we – as a profession – take a step further away from being relevant and useful to society, and become further devalued by clients.

I wonder how a parent, sitting with their very ill baby in this new neonatal facility, feels about the architect’s design decisions - about the sensitivity demonstrated to their needs - as they take a momentary glance out through the (north facing) mesh covered windows and try to raise their hopes...