Bridging the past and future: the design mode and role of architects in open building practice

Abstract

Housing flexibility is more than technical potentials and architecture design interests. It includes a complexity of relations between the housing supply initiated by clients, including private developers, or public institutions, and the housing demands of particular users. Architects who succeeded in providing flexibility act more like communicators and servants than designers in the traditions of the architectural profession. There is a need to understand the importance of changing the role of architects from creators of ideas and solutions, including floor plans and techniques of flexibility, to providers of customer service. To justify this, this paper investigated flexible housing projects in Switzerland, participatory design mode of Baumschlager & Eberle and a student team work in a urban design project at University of Hong Kong. It reveals the interactions among architects, clients, and users and compares the different understanding and procedures in different contexts. It points out the importance of providing a “software” package to support the technical and ideological participatory design.