Mathilde Grillon

AR3049

The architect of tomorrow is a facilitator who works with people who can’t afford an architect. He doesn’t claim autorship or ownership, doesn’t sell himself on an instagram account or a website. He intervenes with his knowledge in different communities to enable them to reach their goals faster and with less effort. He minimises the distance to the users by moving to the site for the duration of the project to develop a deep understanding of their lifestyles and to involve them in the project so that they can take ownership. 
During this semester two projects were carried out to put into practice this ideology. The dream project, a school in an informal settlement whose client is Manav Sadhna NGO and the client project imposed by the tutor, a nursing home for a private client. These two experiments allowed the development of tools such as activity mapping, the use of grid paper and moving figures so that the user is the source of the architectural production. The question of budget being central in this type of project, flexibility and the possibility of extending the spaces was one of the major considerations, as was the possibility of expansion over time. Both projects consist of a fixed metal skeleton, the filling of which can be adjusted over time and modified by the inhabitants of the community. 
These two projects raised questions about ideology. When the facilitator should refuse a project ? Where is the line between what people want and what the facilitator think that people should have ? Where is the difference between the personal decision and decisions as a professional ?