November 1997
The Value of Planning
An original article written for the BSCI web site.

Story © 1997 Kirk P. Williams

about Design and Function

Ever wonder?
I have always wondered why architects, interior designers, and building owners so often ignore the obvious needs of the client in favor of the need to be creative.

Frank Lloyd Wright received a call from a client saying that the rain had penetrated the roof and was drenching his dinner guest. Frantically the client implored, "What shall I do?" Wright's reply: "Tell him to move his chair." It is likely that Wright's response reflected his true attitude about his designs vs. his client's need. Wright's designs were so pleasing to the eye, that the public forgave the fact that the function of his spaces might be flawed.

To consider alternative uses of a space and its elements is far more noble than grand designs and probably serves the client better. Yet, I am still amazed at how little (if any) time is spent teaching architects, interior designers and facilities planners the basics such as "craft."

Now there is a word
Craft. Now there is a word too seldom employed! Spending time at the bottom of the rung is unheard of. For a young designer to be a materials librarian is demeaning. The fact that the librarian can learn more about products and how they are made and interrelate is lost on the young professional racing toward the title "Senior I-Know-It-All."

Don't get me wrong. I do believe there is hope and not everyone has the greed of a robber baron. However, on the bottom line is still the fact that good designs for people today has more to do with the ADA and the on-again-off-again OSHA ergonomics threat than with the possibility that the designer cares about the function of his designs.

Who cares?
So what is the problem? Does anyone notice? Do our clients really care? To design, an individual must possess a highly inflated ego. Humble nobility is hard for a designer to value since, by its nature, there is seldom much recognition of the people possessing the quality. But we would be better off with the type of nobility exemplified by Mother Theresa [though she got more than her share of recognition] than that of the family Windsor.

To complicate the issue, it seems our society has trouble determining our values. We condemn the tabloids but purchase the rags with the fervor of a piranha.

So what does this have to do with design? Well . . . perhaps if we all valued functional design a little more, designers would strive to provide our clients and customers designs that truly work well. To be sure, looking great is part of the function, but humans adapt so well to the environment presented them, that even an awkward solution soon becomes what we believe is the best and only answer.

An itch to be scratched
A friend relates this simple example from a Russian idiom, "YXO," (pronounced "ooo-kah"):

It is possible to scratch your left ear with your right hand by reaching around the back of your head. But, it is easier to just raise your left hand to your left ear.

Perhaps it is just too easy not to think.