How and why

A big inspiration for our work in the field of participation was Susanne Hoffmann and her Berlin-based firm Die Baupiloten who have worked intensively with participation, especially for the renovations of schools and kindergartens. Today they are one of the main Berlin-firms commissioned to conduct participational processes for new schools being built in the city.

 

According to Hofmann, the atmosphere is as important as the design and construction of a building. The atmosphere has a direct impact on us and something everyone can feel or sense. Atmosphere is vague and hard to grab but offers space for uncertainties in the design which brings in a contingence to the process and space for the architect to work with the user. The user might not be familiar with plans and sections but talking about the sensory experience that architecture has can be a way to communicate with the architect, a way for the user to express their own ideas and visions. 

 

If you assume that the sustainable usage and the users identification with the building is important, they have to have an essential role in the planning of it. The practical and sensorial knowledge of the space and building that the user has is an essential source to the architect in the planning of a new building or area. Unfortunately the process to work with users is very seldom part of the planning and designing process and not covered in most contracts between client and architect. In Germany the so-called Phase 0 is instead becoming widely accepted and used, meaning that a participation with the future users is organised before the planning process even starts (hence the 0). The consequence is that the participation is ended even before the designing starts and the user has little impact after that. Instead the participation should be seen as constant communication between architect, user and client.