Putting the empathy back in architecture
When it came to designing U+I's offices at Howick Place, we gave our architects a simple – but unique – brief: a video tape of the film 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Of course, we gave them all the technical details they needed as well, but this emotional brief was just as important. It conveyed the sense of childlike wonder we wanted to create when people walk through our doors, the sense of possibility that awaits at the start of every new project.
This emotional brief – and its response – is what’s missing from so many of the presentations I see from architects. In too many schemes today, design, curiosity and imagination give way to process and prestige. All too often when architects give presentations, their first slide will be a picture of a group of them, all looking like a democracy. Then there is a list of awards they have won. Then they will go through education, housing, commerce, with pictures of buildings. There is no philosophy, there is very little empathy and understanding of what the customer needs.
To me, architecture isn’t just about the technical brilliance or the awards won. It’s about the feel of a place. The areas where U+I works are often overlooked, deprived, derelict spaces. There are social problems that we need to overcome if we’re to create somewhere with lasting potential and value.
Design is just one of the many tools we use to fix what is broken and create somewhere everyone can be proud of. Take Deptford Market Yard. Our development there wasn’t just about a beautiful design that restored the railway arches to their former glory. It was about using those restored arches to create spaces where local businesses can thrive. The design was not the end in itself, but the means to reconnect people and place.
The Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas once went to view some architectural students’ work. When he arrived, he told them to either show him art, or politics. As developers, our art – our politics, even – is making beautiful spaces that are inclusive and thoughtful for all. If architecture is to fix what’s broken, then it needs to start with an understanding of the context in which it is operating. It needs to get under the skin of the community that will use what is being built.
This is something we seek to do in every one of our projects at U+I. In Deptford, for example, we spent time at the site while we worked on our plans. We got to know the local community there, talked to them about what they wanted and needed. We moved an old railway carriage onto the site, creating a meeting point for locals, and we opened up the derelict railway arches to local traders. Some of those traders went on to take permanent space in the refurbished arches. Today, Deptford Market Yard is a thriving hub of independent shops and restaurants, and a new weekly food market is bringing people flocking to the area for something unique.
Having nice buildings is a small part of what goes into creating these beautiful, thoughtful spaces. Perhaps it’s best illustrated by thinking about one of the oldest community spaces of them all: the local pub. When I go to a pub, I want a pint and some pork scratchings. But I also want atmosphere. The architect very regularly talks about technical competence like a pub talks about a pint and pork scratchings.
What’s missing is the service and care that will make my experience memorable. It’s when that emotional connection happens – when developers and architects think about more than just the pint and pork scratchings and respond to the context and community they’re working in – that a place becomes truly special.
This article was originally published on 2 August 2018 by U+I. It was written by Richard Upton.
--U and I
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Retrofit 25 – What's Stopping Us?
Exhibition Opens at The Building Centre.
Types of work to existing buildings
A simple circular economy wiki breakdown with further links.
A threat to the creativity that makes London special.
How can digital twins boost profitability within construction?
The smart construction dashboard, as-built data and site changes forming an accurate digital twin.
Unlocking surplus public defence land and more to speed up the delivery of housing.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill
An outline of the bill with a mix of reactions on potential impacts from IHBC, CIEEM, CIC, ACE and EIC.
Farnborough College Unveils its Half-house for Sustainable Construction Training.
Spring Statement 2025 with reactions from industry
Confirming previously announced funding, and welfare changes amid adjusted growth forecast.
Scottish Government responds to Grenfell report
As fund for unsafe cladding assessments is launched.
CLC and BSR process map for HRB approvals
One of the initial outputs of their weekly BSR meetings.
Architects Academy at an insulation manufacturing facility
Programme of technical engagement for aspiring designers.
Building Safety Levy technical consultation response
Details of the planned levy now due in 2026.
Great British Energy install solar on school and NHS sites
200 schools and 200 NHS sites to get solar systems, as first project of the newly formed government initiative.
600 million for 60,000 more skilled construction workers
Announced by Treasury ahead of the Spring Statement.
The restoration of the novelist’s birthplace in Eastwood.
Life Critical Fire Safety External Wall System LCFS EWS
Breaking down what is meant by this now often used term.
PAC report on the Remediation of Dangerous Cladding
Recommendations on workforce, transparency, support, insurance, funding, fraud and mismanagement.
New towns, expanded settlements and housing delivery
Modular inquiry asks if new towns and expanded settlements are an effective means of delivering housing.