Post date: Feb 2, 2016 4:51:23 PM
On Monday, Dr. Miranda spoke to us about the contents of a program of requirements and the method for producing one. He described the Problem Seeking method defined by William M. Pena while at Caudill Rowlett Scott .
There are five preparatory steps:
Your assigned groups are collecting Facts.
Listening to Jonathan Brinsden has helped us to get a sense of a Goal. Midway wishes to produce a shopping, living, working district that appeals to a regional market, has synergy with Texas A&M University, and provides high profitability over a long period of time. This Goal can be elaborated further to include the four elements of enduring value: environmental stewardship, social conscience, economic viability, and sensory appeal. These Goals can also be elaborated. Ultimately, you must define actionable Goals that are not simply "feel good statements" but concrete outcomes that can be achieved through deliberate, planned steps.
Your next stage is to enumerate alternative Concepts. Your client has posed a Concept: a mixed use, mid-rise development adjacent to Century Square Phase 1. Phase 1 further gives a very concrete expression of a concept -- it should be constructed of predominantly wood frame; it should emphasize pedestrian patterns of movement; it should have residential, commercial, office, and entertainment uses; it should be aligned with university traditions, patterns, strategies, and image. You should further define that concept with photographs, writing, and diagrams.
Problem Seeking defines four considerations for defining the problem:
Think carefully to define the function in terms of these three ideas. Similarly to the Goals definition, a hierarchical approach is useful. People might break out into townspeople, students, out of town visitors. It could also break down into age groups. Activities are associated with the people and also can be though of as grouped into categories. Use verbs to describe activities: reside, dine, shop, administer, manage, recreate, exercise. of course, each of these can be elaborated. For relationships, think of adjacencies, correlations, sequences, and patterns.
As architects, we quickly move to creating form. However, the Problem Seeking approach discourages sketching and defining form at this stage. In defining the form, use mostly words and very general diagrams. Think of the qualities of the environment to be created, such as temperature, humidity, light, air quality and movement, texture, sounds, smell.
For Economy, it should be pretty straightforward. Use the pro forma to set the budgets for these. I like to use the word "budget" because it implies uncertainty. Cost implies something in the past, something that is already paid for. Budget implies something that will be paid for and thus can only be guessed. I also like to emphasize that the lowest cost is not desirable. If an extremely low cost is achieved, probably the quality has been sacrificed and opportunity lost. Try to hit the budget, neither undershooting or exceeding it.
Think about the history of the site to tie your design to the traditions and patterns of the community. Think about the current patterns of use and behavior. Think about the construction schedule. Think about what will happen in the future; what would Phase 3 look like? What if the city puts in light rail? What if the university puts in a think tank/ incubator center?
The Problem Statement is the culmination of the Problem Seeking process. it is not a vague, indefinite, fuzzy few sentences; it is a very detailed description of rooms, spaces, forms, materials, operational processes, performance objectives, and other objectives that must be achieved in the ultimate design. In the engineering world and computer software world, this document is called the Specifications. In the UK, it is called the Brief. In the U.S., it is called the Program of Requirements.
Once again, a hierarchy can be an appropriate organizational tool. There are requirements for the neighborhood and streets; there are requirements for each building; their are requirements for each department or use within a building; there are requirements for each room or space within a building; there are requirements for multiple areas within a room. All of these requirements should be traceable back to needs, to functions, forms, economy, and time, and to goals.
Your program of requirements should include narratives to define Goals, Facts, and Concepts. You should create spreadsheets that define Needs and associate them with Rooms, Departments, and Spaces. This spreadsheet will be put into Revit as a Room schedule.
Once this is done, you can start to design.