Design is a Social Process: A Survey on Inclusive Practice

Author

Gabriel de Souza Silva, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow

Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Architecture

Advisor/Mentor

Colangelo, Jessica

Committee Member/Reader

Goodstein-Murphree, Ethel

Committee Member/Second Reader

Holland, Brian

Committee Member/Third Reader

Saeidi, Shirin

Abstract

This inquiry pivots the discussion on design practice toward process, and seeks to elucidate how inclusivity is achieved in it, and by what means it is maintained. The design process is interrogated through a series of case studies on contemporary practitioners that either describe themselves or are recognized by the wider design community as inclusive of gender, race, sexual orientation, ability level, and are sensitive to history of place. The case studies are selected to demonstrate a diversity of project types, management structures, and design tools, and they comprise the practices of LA Más, Assemble, and Bryony Roberts. The product of the case studies is a comparative analysis of process through three registers: freedom of use, situatedness, and citizenship participation, concepts gleaned from the work of Stephen Carr, Donna Haraway, and Sherry R. Arnstein, respectively. The conclusion states a number of observations on the relationship between practitioner and user in the cases studied, as well as on certain aspects and individuals involved which should receive particular attention.

Keywords

united states; united kingdom; affordable housing; participatory design; social justice; collaborative design

Citation

de Souza Silva, G. (2022). Design is a Social Process: A Survey on Inclusive Practice. Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/archuht/48