why design matters - boston society of architects · pdf file• why design matters •...

Why

Design

Matters

“Boston is home to the world’s most innovative thinkers. Our city’s built environment should reflect this culture of imagination.”

—Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, 2014

How do we create a built environment that reflects our culture of imagination?

And how will we know when we have achieved a standard of excellence?

In the next few pages we’ll explore • Why design matters • Design principles • Case studies • Design process

Why design matters “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” —Winston Churchill

For thousands of years architecture has represented society’s

highest aspirations. Buildings provide more than shelter; they are enduring testaments to human values.

Why design matters

Some forms seem to have a universal meaning that resonates across oceans and millennia. Times may change, but our need to create order and harmony endures.

Why design matters

Architecture provides connections to the past, but it also reflects the

ways in which a society changes. We face new challenges, and need to develop new forms and materials to meet them.

Why design matters

Today there are endless possibilities for the design of buildings and civic spaces, but the goals remains the same. Form, function, and technologies need to work together to create meaningful places.

Why design matters

Architects, engineers, clients, community members, and regulatory

authorities must engage in thoughtful conversations about the kind of built environment we want to create for ourselves.

Why design matters

• Buildings and their sites are inseparable

• Buildings are shaped from the outside in, and the inside out

• Architecture choreographs movement through space

• Building envelopes create a dialogue between interior and exterior

• Buildings stimulate physical and emotional responses

• Architecture has an expressive dimension

• Tradition and innovation work hand in hand

• Innovative thinking fosters civic renewal

We might agree on a few design principles

to guide us

The best buildings relate to their contexts in clear and meaningful ways. Their forms and spaces are part of larger patterns of urban development, transportation planning and landscape design.

Design principles: Buildings and their sites are inseparable

Buildings may have their own life and vitality, but they are also a

backdrop for open spaces where people can gather.


Architecture can establish a strong relationship to the natural world as walkways, walls, and roofs reach out to engage it.


Buildings are shaped from the outside by landscape and urban conditions, and from the inside by their uses. Their forms express the

forces that act on them—human and environmental.

Design principles: Buildings are shaped from the outside in, and the inside out

Architectural composition tells a compelling story about how different parts of a building and site are used. Every building gesture suggests how we can relate to each other and our environment.


Solid walls, expanses of glass, light screens and elements that seem to float

can all make connections between the interior life within buildings and the world all around them.


Windows can dematerialize walls and roofs—allowing unexpected

connections between inside and outside. By breaking out of the box, people can relate to their contexts in new and interesting ways.

Design principles: Buildings envelopes mediate between interior and exterior

Small windows can define places for individuals, while larger windows represent collective spaces. Terraces welcome the public. Together

they reflect our need for a diverse range of experiences.


Buildings can have a civic scale that represents their place in the larger social order. Windows and smaller

elements remind us of the scale of the human body, and the builder’s hand.


Entries celebrate the relationship between inside and outside and can dramatize the passage from one to the other.

Design principles: Architecture choreographs movement through space

Walls, stairs, railings, and functional elements organize interior spaces and establish relationships between them.

This spatial orchestration responds to function while creating delightful experiences.


Circulation spaces—like stairs and

hallways—dramatize the movement from one place to another. They create myriad possibilities for human interactions.


Architecture needs to resist gravity and the force of the wind. Building structures heighten our perception of the work buildings do, and how

these forces act on our own bodies.

Design principles: Buildings stimulate physical and emotional responses

We experience architectural forms and spaces with all of our senses. Proportions and compositional relationships can have a dynamic

quality—suggesting taking flight.


Other buildings are more static, creating a sense of peace and tranquility, and offering a momentary respite from the demands of the world around us.


Buildings must meet functional requirements, but like music, dance, or sculpture, architecture can transcend utilitarian concerns. Forms and

spaces can be shaped to create a shared emotional impact.

Design principles: Architecture has an expressive dimension

Animated forms and quirky shapes can make buildings stand out. This gives them, their component parts, and the activities they accommodate

a memorable character.


Materials have their own characters. Like the instruments in an orchestra they can be combined to create a rich environment that

satisfies the senses while meeting pragmatic requirements.


The best buildings make connections to the past, the present, and the opportunities of the future. Architects use drawings to make

evocative allusions that can help clarify intentions.

Design principles: Tradition and innovation work hand in hand

Architects, engineers, their clients and citizen groups can work together to reinvent our civic institutions. Architecture can

inspire fresh thinking about how we serve the public.


Through design we can reinforce enduring patterns of city building and

inhabitation, while recognizing that society must evolve.


Big budgets and large scale can’t replace innovative thinking in creating meaningful places. Shape, color, and proportion may be more important than expensive materials in energizing buildings.

Design principles: Innovative thinking fosters civic renewal

Design professionals and their clients can work together to meet the challenges and opportunities of a changing world—and use land and resources in more sustainable and inspiring ways.


Our schools, universities, and businesses foster creativity and critical thinking. Design can support that effort, while maintaining a connection to history and tradition.


Those who choose architects, commission buildings, or just want to understand the physical environments that surround them, should think about design as a process as well as product.

Great design is a process as well

as a product

• What are the features in the context that could or should shape a new or renovated building?

• What aspects of the building’s use can help create a sense of community by welcoming people to the site and inside?

• Can broader participation in the design process improve the character and quality of what is designed?

• Are there opportunities for innovation that will inspire building users and the public?

• What kind of flexibility can be built into buildings so that they can evolve over time and meet a variety of needs?

Asking questions helps shape excellent

buildings

Experience matters. But having completed commissions nearly identical to the one under consideration may not be necessarily as critical as exceptional design skills. When selecting architects it may useful to ask:

• Does the architect have the flexibility to look at every project in new and inventive ways based on a real understanding of the client and context?

• Can the architect bring in the technical and administrative expertise to achieve a high quality building with budget?

• Have they been recognized with significant awards or publications that show a commitment to design excellence and innovation?

• Have they pursued innovative design ideas through teaching or research warranting consideration along with seasoned professionals?

Selecting the right architect will make a

client’s job easier

• Are resources being efficiently leveraged to ensure the best is cost effective?

• Does the design express the realities of the site and intended uses in evocative and meaningful ways?

• Are there elements that inspire and make people think differently about their environment and each other?

• Are there opportunities for the building and site to evolve—to accommodate new uses and technologies—as the world continues to evolve?

Explore options to keep an evolving project on track

Featured projects, architects, and photographers 1 Copley Square, image by Bruce T. Martin

2 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, designed by Renzo Piano Workshop, image by Nic Lehoux

5 Hatch Shell, designed by Notter, Finegold & Alexander, Inc., image by Bruce T. Martin

6 Atlatnic Wharf, designed by CBT Architects, image by Anton Grassl | ESTO

7 The Parthenon, designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates under the direction of Phaidas, image by Frederick Edwin Church, courtesy Creative Commons

8 Quincy Market, designed by Alexander Parris, renovations by BTA, image by Juergen Roth

9 Hyde Park Branch Library, designed by Schwartz/Silver Architects, image by Steve Rosenthal

10 Massachusetts General Hospital Museum of Medical History, designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects, Inc., image by Anton Grassl | ESTO

11 Design review, image by Alan Brian Nilsen/ABNphotography

13 Low Carbon—High Urban, designed by Peter Rose + Partners

14 Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, designed by Perkins+Will, image by Anton Grassl | ESTO

15 The Clark Art Institute, designed by Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, image by Tucker Blair

16 Institute of Contemporary Art, designed by Diller, Scofidio, & Renfro, image by Boston Magazine

17 Isabella Stewart Garnder Museum, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, image by Nic Lehoux

18 Arts Center, Seton Hall, designed by designLab, image by Jonathan Hillyer

19 East Boston Branch Library, Boston Public Library, designed by William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc., image by Robert Benson Photography

We welcome your stories about commissioning design, and your

feedback on this guide.

Email us at [email protected].

20 Simmons Hall, designed by Steven Holl Architects, image by Wikimedia Commons

21 Kripalu Housing, designed by Peter Rose + Partners, image by Matthew Snyder

22 Phoenix House, designed by Sebastian Mariscal Studio, image by Yoshi Koitani

23 BSA Space, designed by Höweler + Yoon Architecture, image by Keitaro Yoshioka

24 Milken Institute School of Public Health, designed by Payette, image by Robert Benson Photography

25 Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion, designed by Utile Architecture & Planning, image by Chuck Choi

26 MIT Media Lab Complex, Building E14, designed by Fumihiko Maki, image by Maki and Associates

27 LM Guest House, designed by Desai Chia Architecture , image by Paul Warchol Photography

28 District Hall, designed by Hacin + Associates, image by Gustav Hoiland

29 The Foote School Science and Techology Building, designed by Maryann Thompson Architects, image by Chuck Choi

30 Boston Public Library, Allston Branch, designed by Machado Silvetti, image by AHA

31 Museo Maya de America, designed by over,under

32 New Cambridge Public Library, designed by William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc., image by Robert Benson Photography

33 691 Massachusetts Ave., designed by Urbanica Inc., image by Chang Zhang

34 Allencrest Community Center, designed by Abacus Architects + Planners, image by Chuck Choi

35 Project Taichung Cultural Center, designed by Platform for Architecture + Research

36 Project Tozzer Anthropology Building, designed by Kennedy & Violich Architecture, image by John Horner

Featured projects, architects, and photographers,

continued.

43-49 The Field School, designed by Jonathan Levi Architects, images by David Lena

50-56 The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, designed by Mecanoo Architecten with Sasaki, images by Anton Grassl | ESTO

57-62 Project E + // 226-232 Highland, designed by Interface Studio Architects with Urbanica Design, images by Sam Oberter, Urbanica Design

Featured projects, architects, and photographers,

continued.

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