Japan Learns From Participatory Design Shinya Iwata (ID '91) North American facility design differs from the Japanese method in its close relationship to its community context. The goal of public facility design is to find out what the public's interests are, and provide them in an approachable form. To achieve this in North America, we invite the public to participate in the design development, and include public involvement in the operating programme. My company has been involved in a number of projects, for which the government held public hearings early in the development. From a designer's point of view, this process provided an understanding of needs, and public input was reflected in the final design. A well-managed public hearing effectively establishes trust between the public and the government. Mishandling this process can result in serious problems. For example, in the design of a new interpretive centre, the public became aware of the project when excavation began. People tried to find out what was going on, and many wrote to complain to the local newspaper. When a public hearing was held, people criticized the government's neglect in informing them, and organized a group to oppose the project. Due to public pressure, the building was relocated and the building height was lowered to minimize its visual impact. I believe that Japanese designers can learn from North America's public process. If they adopted this community-oriented design approach, they would have a competitive edge, especially when pursuing government projects. n Shinya Iwata is working with Aldrich/Pears Associates in Vancouver. A Japanese-language version of this appeared in the November issue of Nikkei Design magazine.

[ Top of Page | Table of Contents | Intervention | Previous Article | Next Article ]