Social Participation in Residential Architecture as an Instrument for Transforming Both the Architecture and the People Who Participate in It

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to draw attention to social needs in the residential architecture and to present the idea of participatory design. The concept of participatory design, that is the one that uses the knowledge of the potential users during various stages of the design process, has been presented in this paper because of the need to illustrate the mutual social interactions and their identification with the architectural surrounding. The author hypothesizes that social participation in the design of residential architecture has a positive impact both on the architecture and on the relations between people who are involved in the creation of such an architecture. On the one hand, the involvement of future users in the design process has a positive effect on the expression of residential architecture, it contributes to the creation of its individual nature. On the other hand, residential architecture that was created as a result of participatory design is a factor that supports the identification of users with the place of residence. This thesis is proved by presenting and comparing three examples of residential architecture designs created as a result of participatory design. The research scope covers contemporary designs created within the territory of Poland, and more specifically in Białystok, Wrocław and Gdynia.