From personal experience to design : externalizing the homeowner's needs assessment process

Abstract

Advances in building and computational technologies, coupled with a reorganized and integrated system of residential design, may make custom homes a possibility for a larger segment of the population in the years to come. While tools and materials that embody building and design expertise are necessary for making such a system workable, how the homeowner is supported and represented will determine whether the resulting houses are not just custom, but personally meaningful. The particular focus of this work is on how to externalize the layperson's task of establishing needs and setting goals as an essential stage within a sophisticated design process. The work is informed by interviews with homeowners and a participant study of constructive and interpretative exercises. One such exercise asked participants to serve as investigators into their own practices through use of simple sensors placed in the home environment. The work concludes with a proposal for tools and approaches to collect rich requirement data and prime users for design decisions by helping them to identify their perspective, needs, and goals. KEYWORDS: home design, mass customization, participatory design, constructionism, reflective practice, adult learning, architectural program, HCI.