Behavioral Architecture

1. What are examples of architectural design that you consider to be epic failures?

There is a community college in Centreville, MI with an absolutely terrible design. The building is built into a hill with a long hall leading up to a massive set of stairs. The stairs, a hideous blend of concrete, wind up into the center of an enormous concourse/student area. The concourse is larger than any other part of the school and is hideous. It is one huge open room with no visceral appeal and no private places to study or relax. The classrooms are set back into four tower-like "wings" at the corners of the concourse. They are inconvenient to reach because there are no entrances besides through the concourse. The building does not allow for easy or desirable expansion and suffers from structural issues (leaks, shifting walls, etc).

2. Choose a building on K's campus and analyze its behavioral and visceral usability.

Stetson Chapel is a really cool building on campus. It has an extremely attractive, antiquated feel with a neat bell-tower. The brick construction is very pretty, and the windows are neat. Stetson has a large seating capacity, and so is appropriate for some student functions. The building is also acoustically well-designed and so functions well for concerts.

3. What is the flaw in the current design process? How could this problem be fixed?

The flaw in the current design process has to do with a lack of communication. Owners and contractors cannot seem to communicate desires properly to each other. It results in finished products falling short of desired results. Were the strictures of relationship loosened, the program schedules changed, the flow of design would improve 100-fold.