“people first”

A lot of architects talk about “putting people first”, which sounds like a jingoistic election slogan, but what does it mean and how does it materialise in architecture? When designing homes and workplaces for example, how are people featuring in the design process when these spaces are repetitive, formulaic and heavily standardised?

Some might argue that this can be achieved by public engagement. In fact, more and more projects are now requiring public engagement, which is great, but this does not go far enough:

1️⃣ Public engagement is mostly limited to large-scale projects, especially community-led and public. There is no comparable endeavour in smaller-scale projects, like an office building refurbishment or a private residential new-build. There is talk of "what the market wants" but no diligent effort to really analyse this market and know it inside out.

2️⃣ The process of public engagement tends to be very clinical, akin to census taking or to local councilors touring the country in 1946 before launching the NHS. In some instances, it can be even paternalistic and patronising.

3️⃣ There is no understanding of the context of what is being said, or why it is said in the first place. Words are taken at face value.

4️⃣ As important as it is pay attention to what people are saying, it is arguably more important to listen to what people are not saying, to read between the lines, and to pick up on cues.

Gaining an understanding of the unsaid alongside a forensic understanding of the said is what begins to move the dial of innovation in architectural design. Herein lies the difference between a typical architect’s definition of a occupier who occupies a building, and Manufacturing Taste’s definition of a consumer who consumes spaces and experiences. This consumer has to be understood. Their needs have to be fulfilled. Their desires have to be addressed, and their language has to be spoken by the developers and the architects to create emotional resonance.