DESIGN FOR HUMAN FLOURISHING IN ARCHITECTURE: PROGRAMMATIC WRITING AS A WAY TO DESIGN SOCIO-CULTURAL AFFORDANCES

Abstract

In architectural design for human flourishing (DfHF), compatibility between the environment and the user is crucial. A supportive relationship between the two is characterized by the environment’s action possibilities and the user’s perception thereof in terms of complementarity with the users’ psychological needs and personal goals. This paper highlights a design method called “programmatic writing”, that was developed in a student design project. Programmatic writing connects target groups’ needs and an enriched program within an architectural design, by applying techniques as narratives and scenario writing. This is a first crucial step in an architectural DfHF-process. In this paper, first, a short theoretical background of DfHF and the set-up of the design project are sketched. Next, the development of the design method is discussed through an analysis of the design process in the exercise. Hereby, we aim to contribute to the development of an architectural DfHF-process.