Users as co-designers: Visualespatial experiences at Whitworth Art Gallery

Abstract

The importance of building users in the architectural field has been increasingly acknowledged in architectural research. Some studies have applied actor-network theory (ANT) to highlight the ways through which users are embedded in relation to the built environment. However, many of these studies are limited in recognizing the diverse ways users manipulate these relations as they experience the same built environment differently. This study draws on a recent ANT scholarship by summarizing the ethnographic research of Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, United Kingdom. Findings show that users see and react to the same built environment in different ways that are not limited to their alignment or misalignment with the design. They extend to include diverse interpretations and reactions (destructing, ignoring, noticing, attending, and interacting). The different user experiences explored in this research demonstrate three main themes, namely, entanglements, continuity, and transformation, which suggest new ways of recognizing the need for increasingly adaptable and inviting designs that address different user preferences and desires.

Keywords

Actor-network theory / Architectural design / Design process / Design technology / User behavior

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2019 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).