Oz

Volume 35 Article 5

1-1-2013

Principles for Integration: Learning from Public Interest

Jill Sornson Kurtz

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Recommended Citation Kurtz, Jill Sornson (2013) "Principles for Integration: Learning from Public Interest Design," Oz: Vol. 35. https://doi.org/10.4148/2378-5853.1514

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Oz by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Principles for Integration Learning from Public Interest Design

Jill Sornson Kurtz Rebuild Sudan

We cannot solve problems by using reconciliation or integration is for Purpose the same kind of thinking we used the new whole. For this reason and Alignment around the “Why,” Not when we created them. especially in the building industry, the “What” integration is easier and more often —Albert Einstein practiced within systems, but not Architecture is not primarily for ar- between them. Such siloed opti- chitects, nor are buildings built for As the mementoes of the assembly mization tends to undermine the builders; our projects must first and line approach the past, the last cen- entire system as “you can actually foremost be centered on serving the tury’s building portfolio epitomizes make a system less efficient, by not needs and purposes of our clients. the industrialized era in which it properly linking up those compo- The ultimate success of a project was produced. Isolating energy sys- nents…if they’re not designed to has its foundation in alignment tems and siloing disciplines from work with one another, they’ll tend around the project’s purpose. The each other for efficiency’s sake has to work against one another.”7 purpose for a project, in the eyes of resulted in a collection of buildings the client, is the underlying reason that are anything but efficient.1 While the concept of integration has for a building, not necessarily the Existing buildings use more than been spoken about for years, as each building itself. This purpose serves 41% of the United States’ energy2 discipline works to evolve its own as the project’s “thesis statement,” and are often full of inefficient en- procedures and knowledge, the prin- and it is paramount that the de- ergy systems, generate unnecessary ciples and theoretical framework to sign and construction teams align waste, and do not promote occu- practice the process of integration themselves around this objective. pant health. Even the American have not yet been established.8 In the Institute of Architects recognizes profit-driven, litigation-saturated, Integrative project teams and cli- their conventional terminology3 to and individualized building fields, ents must shift their initial focus describe the building process cre- new theories and approaches to from the “what” of the building’s ates legal and procedural barriers are not easily imple- form and function to the “why” that prevent project teams from mented. Evidence strongly shows, behind the need for a building in working in a more integrative and however, that a more integrative the first place. The following is an collaborative manner.4 “The biggest method of practice is emerging from account of this shift of thinking by single change that needs to be made the field of “Public Interest Design.” the 7group in a discussion with a in the building profession is not the Learning from the not-for-profit, client for an international corpo- invention of a new technology, but public-interest, and humanitarian rate headquarters: a change in the mindset”5 of de- projects of the last 40 years can signers and engineers to develop a help us rethink our traditional ap- “Why do you need this building?” the framework for integrative building proach of building to inform a new asked. “Trust me, I know this design and construction. interdisciplinary model that not seems obvious.” only responds to the challenges of To integrate is “to make a new whole today, but also prepares us to better “We need more ,” the Vice Presi- by bringing together many sepa- address the complexities of prob- dent replied. rated parts,” and originates from lems in the future. This article seeks the Latin word, integrat, meaning to propose and examine four core “Why do you need more space?” he “made whole.”6 The more complex principles of an integrative design prompted again. the conflict is between the parts, process as evidenced by public in- 20 the more difficult the process of terest work. “To house our growing workforce.” “Why do you need to house the work- proach for decades10 through what team, make a list of challenges you Contextual force?” he asked to the visibly agitated has been called Human Centered are facing. No Part in Isolation Vice President. Design. Recently, this process has 3. Reframe those challenges from been captured in a comprehensive the [occupants’] point of view and Winston Churchill once said, “We “To achieve a higher of effective document by IDEO in their Human the broader context. shape our buildings; thereafter they communication and morale.” Centered Design Toolkit.11 Created 4. Vote or select the top two or three shape us.”13 We also shape the neigh- to help organizations better connect challenges based on your criteria. borhood, local culture, and global “Why will they interact better if you with the people they serve, primar- 5. Narrow to one challenge with environment where our projects are build the design concept that’s already ily in the developing world, many of input from key stakeholders. sited. Understanding the larger nested up there on the wall?” the team asked these practices can be applied to any 6. Write a succinct, one sentence systems beyond a project’s site (wa- one final time, and then a silence fell design context. This process funda- [purpose] to guide the design team. tershed, infrastructure, community, across the room. mentally starts with an examination energy sources, larger regions, etc.), of the people for whom the design Many firms and projects12 do not helps guide an appropriate project After the executive had thought for a is intended by understanding their discuss project values or intentions design to work in harmony, not oppo- while, he suddenly exclaimed those needs, visions, and behaviors. The with the clients or they do not do sition, to those systems. While quan- “why” questions just saved him $30 first chapter entitled “Hear,” guides so early enough in the building pro- titative research facilitates a breadth million. When asked to explain, he this initial step by asking teams to cess to impact the outcome of their of measurable information, a shift said the reflection caused him to identify a concise design challenge, own established or strate- towards qualitative research should question why his employees’ inter- which is to become the foundation for gies. Learning from public interest also be encouraged to understand actions would be enhanced because the entire process. It maps out a suc- design’s human-centered approach a project’s context. Qualitative data of the proposed design concept, only cinct process by which to determine and purpose-finding process will al- provides a depth of understanding to realize half of them would reap no a project’s purpose: low integrative project teams time and a respect for the uniqueness of benefit at all.9 to understand the “why” behind the each place, allowing integrative teams 1. Work with leadership to identify project instead of focusing so quickly to see their building as a living part Public Interest have been a list of criteria for the challenge. on the “what” of the building’s form that influences and is influenced by practicing this purpose-driven ap- 2.With the leadership and design or function. larger nested systems.

Human Centered Design Process according to IDEO 21 Public Interest Design projects exhibit they have significant input by people standing.19 Additionally, participation in the design process to ensure the this principle well in master planning who are committed to a particular by the clients in collaboration with project’s outcome meets their desired opportunities such as the 100-acre area and rooted in knowledge grown the experts has been seen as a criti- needs.22 The community of Bayview on “sustainable community” plan for a from that place.16 cal missing link in the improvement Virginia’s Eastern Shore, is a national Haitian town just north of Port-au- of neighborhoods and communities. model for this collaborative approach. Prince. Looking to address the hous- Collaborative Most team members have not been ing needs of the 20,000 earthquake Shifting from Multi-Disciplinary to trained in how to share understanding Isolated and stricken by poverty, with refugees now living in their land, a Interdisciplinary with related disciplines, much less only six toilets for the town’s 52 hous- Haitian NGO invited Min- with a client or community. es, the community built a coalition to istries International (eMi) to design Current building practices have, for ward off the outside political proposal a master plan for their site. Though the most part, remained multidis- If a multidisciplinary approach offers of a maximum-security prison. They their immediate need was for hous- ciplinary. Professionals have been a variety of perspectives on a problem, then used their momentum and col- ing, “a large cry for Haiti’s rebuilding trained to optimize their systems then collaboration implies a com- lective voice to create an interdis- process is jobs,” said project leader, using industry rules of thumb and mitment to the hard work it takes to ciplinary team of experts23 lead by Rex Barber.14 Instead of seeing job designed separate from other building integrate such varied perspectives into designer Maurice Cox. What began creation as someone else’s responsi- systems. Buildings, therefore, contain a comprehensive solution. This type of as a small attempt to clean up the bility, the design team worked with redundancy after redundancy because integration requires a deeply partici- streets and plant flowers catalyzed the NGO and the local community the entire project cannot be under- patory process that seeks to reconcile larger redevelopment steps. The com- to approach the plan holistically. By stood as a whole from any one disci- conflicts between the perspectives un- munity frequently gathered together understanding the environmental pline; the “many minds participating til the sum is larger than its individual over cookouts to discuss issues and issues at play, they discovered assets in the process, function as disparate parts.20 Public interest projects have develop design options. “For me,” the community had in order to rebuild bodies of intelligence rather than as been practicing a collaborative design reflected Maurice Cox, “the most in- itself economically. The site’s marshy a coherent, organized force.”17 Many process since the early 1960s during teresting part of the process was the land is ideal for fish farming and rice studies have found that teams that the civil rights movement, seeking idea of using the design process as a type plants, so eMi also worked with lack shared understanding cause un- to democratize design and use it as way to help people make decisions... the community to design a fishery necessary iterative loops in the build- a vehicle for resolving urgent social [and when] a decision would be made, with an easily maintainable irrigation ing process,18 and that the highest issues.21 In these community-oriented we, the designers, would live by it.”24 system. They also developed plans for quality products are created by teams projects, teams seek to engage stake- Through this collaborative and par- sorghum to be grown and processed with an increase in shared under- holders and community members ticipatory process, small shacks were for biofuels and set aside land where farms could grow vegetable products to sell at an agricultural distribution center or local market. Additionally, a sports facility, a retreat center, schools, and a church, which serve as the hub of the community, were incorporated into this holistic design. Without this contextual approach, eMi may have provided a design to house the dis- placed, but they would be left jobless and without a sustainable way of pro- viding for their own futures.

With a contextual understanding, teams can create projects informed by the values of community members, knowledge of local construction meth- ods and practices, an understand- ing of the economic opportunities, and inspiration from nature herself.15 Projects focused on an integrative process aim to make a minimal envi- ronmental impact. They naturally fit 22 into the cultural landscape because View of refugee tents replaced by affordable and dignified rigid solutions without a thorough South Sudan to design a prototype we encountered many problems, in- neighborhoods, community gardens, investigation of the impact those school26 for future replication by in- cluding difficulty installing the piers, and a stronger economy. predetermined solutions can have digenous communities. During our a contractor change, the loss of team on a building and its surrounding trip, we collaboratively applied local members due to local tribal fighting, Partnerships and new technologies context.25 An integrative building construction knowledge to create a and a high rate of inflation. All of might attempt to facilitate collabora- can only emerge if the project team design that addressed the context these factors threatened to end the tion, but they do not create it; a shift is willing to explore, test, and refine and purpose of the project. After we project, but instead, we have evolved in the mindset is required to real- its project solutions; repeating the returned, we reflected on the initial our process and product for the bet- ize the synergistic value generated process again and again until a spe- design only to realize our approach ter as we remain adaptive to the cir- when things are done collaboratively. cific result is achieved. would not be economically feasible cumstances. Recognizing that everyone has some- to build or replicate. Though slab on thing to contribute to the design of a Learning from mistakes and the abil- grade foundation is the most com- The ability to question previously project, collaborative teams can often ity to adapt isn’t unique to public mon foundation type in nearby cities, established assumptions is often un- accomplish more together than any interest projects alone. But these we would need more than 1,200 tons comfortable, but challenging biases one individual can on their own. projects often have more time than (120 truck loads) of rock and sand to can lead to better solutions environ- money in their organizational ac- elevate our building enough to avoid mentally, functionally, aesthetically, Adaptive counts and therefore have been able flooding from the Nile River, and we and economically. Just as a project Continuous Development to implement an adaptable approach would have to ship it as far as 12 hours team must learn to adapt, so too more readily than traditional pro- away and cost up to $2,000 a load to must each individual team mem- Core to integrative design in the in- cesses. From my own experience on transport. ber. Recognizing our own character trinsic ability of a team to evolve a half dozen projects, I think there is development and ability to work with the project and design process as also an openness to learn and the hu- Understanding we would need to others affects the projects in which we they receive new information, ques- mility to ask questions, which helps adapt for our project to survive, participate. Adaptive team members tion preconceptions, and learn from to drive the evolution of the project we discovered a simple, but often often bring with them an openness to their failures. Through continuous through each iteration to a more under-utilized technology, helical learn and humility to admit mistakes, analysis, teams question assump- optimized solution. piers, which not only minimized ma- thus making them powerful contribu- tions and biases so that they may dis- terials for the entire structure, but tors to the integrative process. cover better solutions to the project’s In 2009, I co-led a team of 11 design- also elevated the building. During purpose, instead of implementing ers and consultants into what is now the implementation of this project,

Jalle School, South Sudan 23 Recognizing Future Applications

Buildings are one of the most perma- nent things one generation leaves for the next. This post-industrial society has inherited not only a deteriorating building portfolio, but also a dete- riorated building process. If the field of architecture is to evolve, design professionals must learn to build differently. But before they can build differently, they must learn to think differently. It is time for the building industry to recognize the potential of an integrative movement and be- gin establishing it as a framework for design.

The building industry must embrace a focus on purpose, with an emphasis not on high-quality building for the wealthy few, but on best meeting the needs those buildings are meant to serve for the majority of the popula- tion. Public interest projects should embrace their proximity to these principles and set an example of in- tegrative design that the rest of the industry can follow. Project teams must let a building’s context inform its design, creating improvements that will be readily grafted into the nested systems in which it will ex- ist. Building design and construction methods must foster collaboration within teams, putting different minds together to form elegant, intercon- nected solutions to the problems a project will face. Lastly, the design and construction industry must embrace an adaptive approach, being open to 24 the questions that challenge a design 5. Jason F. McLennan, The Philosophy of Sus- Based Approach to ,” S tu dy,” Journal of Engineering and Technology until it can be fully refined. tainable Design (Kansas City: Ecotone LLC, in Architectural Management: International Management 27 (2010), 22. The principles established in this 2004), 88. Research and Practice, ed. Stephen Emmitt, 20. Allen F. Repko, Interdisciplinary Research, article should be investigated fur- 6. “Integrate,” Oxford Dictionaries, http:// Matthijs Prins, and Ad den Otter (Chichester, (Los Angeles: Sage, 2008), 6. ther, tried across all project types, oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_ UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009); David Maister, 21. Association for Community Design, http:// us1258459# m_en_us1258459 (accessed April Managing the Professional Service Firm (New www.communitydesign.org/. and developed into a more robust 9, 2011). York: Free Press, 1997). 22. Henry Sanoff, Community Participation architectural theory of integration. 7. Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, L. Hunter 13. House of Commons on October 28, 1944 Methods in Design and Planning (New York: Only through the implementation Lovins, Natural Capitalism (New York: Back 14. Rex Barber, interview by author, Colorado John Wiley & Sons, 2000). of an integrative framework can the Bay Books, 1999), 117. Springs, CA, March 3, 2011. 23. Nature Conservancy, EPA, National As- 8. 7group and Bill Reed, The Integrative Design 15. The Living Principles for Design framework sociation for the Advancement of Colored industry shift its thinking from the Guide to Green Building (Hoboken, NJ: John is a catalyst for driving positive cultural change. People, Local leadership in Northampton industrial past and design buildings Wiley & Sons, Inc), 19; Whole Building Design It distills the four streams of sustainability – County, Alembic Community Development, that will create a new legacy for gen- Guide: A Program of the National Institute environment, people, economy, and culture US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Devel- erations to come. of Building Sciences, http://www.wbdg.org/; – into a roadmap that is understandable, opment Loan Program, and the Citizens for The Living Principles for Design, http://www. integrated, and most importantly, action- a Better Eastern Shore livingprinciples.org/. able. See more information at http://www. 24. Interview with Maurice D. Cox: Bayview 9. 7group and Bill Reed, The Integrative Design livingprinciples.org/. Rural Village in Design Like You Give a Damn Notes Guide to Green Building (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 16. Sim Van der Ryn, (Wash- (New York: Metropolis Books, 2006), 156-163. 1. 7group & Bill Reed, The Integrative Design 2009), 61. ington D.C.: Island Press, 1996), 65. 25. 7group and Bill Reed, The Integrative Design Guide to Green Building (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 10. The Institute for Human Centered Design 17. 7group and Bill Reed, The Integrative De- Guide to Green Building (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2009), 9-12 was founded in 1978 in Boston to advance the sign Guide to Green Building (Hoboken, N.J.: 2009), 204. 2. Department of Energy, Buildings Energy role of design in expanding opportunity and Wiley, 2009), 10. 26. For more information, see rebuildsudan. Data Book (2011). enhancing experience for people of all ages 18. Maaike Kleinsmann and Rianne Valken- org. 3. The AIA has created an industry standard and abilities through excellence in design. See burg, “Barriers and Enablers for Creating workflow process around the main catego- http://humancentereddesign.org/. Shared Understanding in Co-design Projects,” ries of a project: schematic design, design 11. IDEO teamed up with ICRW and Heifer in 29 (2008), 371; A Valkenburg development, and construction drawings, International for this project funded by IDE and K Dorst, “The Reflective Practice of Design Image Credits and construction administration. and the Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation. Teams,” in Design Studies 19 (1980). Page 20: Megan Sornson, Page 21: Human 4. IDP Definition Task Group, American Institute Download the toolkit and join the new network 19. Maaike Kleinsmann, Jan Buijs, and Rianne Centered Design Process according to IDEO of Architects California Council, Integrated Proj- at: http://www.hcdconnect.org/. Valkenburg, “Understanding the Complexity (p.8-9), Page 22: Clare Taylor, Page 23: Rebuild ect Deliver: A Working Definition Version .1 (Sac- 12. Anders Christoffersen and Stxephen Em- of Knowledge Integration in Collaborative Sudan, Page 24: (Top & Bottom) Rebuild Sudan, ramento, CA: AIA California Council, 2007), 4. mitt. “Exploring the Value Universe: A Values- Teams: A Case Page 25: Rebuild Sudan

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