Participatory Design (PCR Tool)

PCR Tool 5: Learning from the Housing Sector, describes how housing is produced in varying contexts. The use of a professional architect to design a house to a client’s individual specifications is predominantly reserved for the rich. Most who purchase housing in the formal sector have their houses designed by a developer and built by a contractor, with limited opportunity to influence the process. These two cases refer to formal urban housing. With informal housing, both urban and rural, residents may engage local builders who use traditional designs. One example of this is in East Africa, with the “Swahili House”. This generally contains a central corridor, with rooms on each side and a veranda to the front. Where housing is built by residents themselves, or built incrementally, there may be less thought about the design. Therefore, when a disaster strikes, it is usually the low-income, informal housing that suffers the greatest damage. This is mostly attributed to poor location, poor construction and maintenance, and low-quality materials. However, the design may also be to blame. For a building to be disaster resistant it must comply with certain rules related to the location of buildings, their shape, the position of openings, and their structure. Many architects and engineers know these rules, but residents and informal builders frequently do not. Hence the involvement of architects and engineers in reconstruction is important. This is no reason to advocate a topdown reconstruction process, however. Participatory design brings together residents and professionals, to ensure that both have a say in how houses are rebuilt. This not only creates safer housing, but also ensures that the people’s own resources are mobilised and contribute effectively. Participatory design enables residents to stamp their own identity on their living environment, generating greater satisfaction and ownership.