Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Affordable CoHousing (FWD)

[J . Massengale (J.Massengale]

>>While agreeing that what Harry said is clearly an over-generalization, I 
can't resist responding to your last comment.  It rather seems to me that one

of the main problems with architecture as a profession is that it is judged 
on the basis of a picture of the building, rather than on whether the users 
of the building like it or not.  Hence we get lots of grand statement 
buildings which leak and work poorly as social environments.  (Not to say 
that all architecture is that way, but a lot is).

So why don't we ask Harry to back up his assertions with post-occupancy 
surveys rather than picture?<<

1) I hoped it was evident that my comment was a bit tongue in cheek. I could
have added a little smiley face, but I don't like them. I've never noticed
smiley faces in any of my favorite authors' books.

2) You're right about pictures and buildings.

3) Nothwithstanding 2, a picture often is worth a thousand words,
particularly on the internet. All of the Internet design lists have the same
problem, which is that people often express ATTITUDES about design and you
think you agree with them until you see the actual object or building being
discussed. Lacking the object, the designer's sympathies and interests become
more important than the designer's talents.

Similarly, although post-occupancy surveys can be valuable (see *How
Buildings Learn* for an excellent discussion of that), they're also a bit
like any other survey -- if you know what question to ask, you can get just
about any answer you want (see the survey sketch in the English comedy *Yes,
Minister*).

By my definition, in order to be a good architect, you must be able to design
a building that functions well and fullfills the users' needs. But that is
only the beginning of the equation. Architecture is a visual art -- if you
can't also solve that part of the problem, you haven't done your job.
Commoditas, Firmitas, Venustas - Commodity, Firmness AND Delight.

I, for one, don't think much of many of the co-housing designs, although I
think the concept is great.


There are untrained architects who far outdistance their better educated
brethren. Leon Krier, for example, who designed Prince Charles's new town of
Poundbury. But I will always say that words alone will not tell us if Harry
Pasternak is one of his peers.