By Claire Dickson

‘If we ask our clients what they want, they don’t always get what they need. However, if we listen to what they need, we can help define what they want…’

Speaking last week at the Education Building Forum, SASA talked about the importance of engagement in the design process.

Here at Southgate and Sarabia Architects (SASA) our most important role as designers is to listen and actively support our clients throughout the entire design process; driving excellence in design. The best way to achieve this is through collaborative and meaningful engagement.

So what does this entail? Well for example, if we ask our education clients what they want in their workspace, it often leads to answers such as ‘an office… like I have now… and X number of classrooms’.

The issue is this can often result in a duplication of space and wasted areas However, if we listen to what they need from their workspace the response is more than likely very to be different:  ‘A space to meet with my team… to talk privately to colleagues… a place to sit and work at my laptop and a space to allow students to work with staff’.

The outcomes will therefore be much more beneficial. Leading to the creation of collaborative workspaces with quiet areas for privacy; space that provides a multi-use and frees up areas for other purposes.

Design standards, regulations and codes set out clear technical guidance for designing our schools; ensuring they deliver from a performance and environmental point of view. As architects we can use these to guide us far down the design process with minimal engagement with our clients. However, by engaging with all stakeholders at all stages of the design process, we not only create spaces that are fit for purpose, but also ensure everyone is equally invested in the project.

We have found that one of the most beneficial tasks we can do is to host a ‘day in the life’ workshop at the start of each project. Thus helping us to uncover what is really needed, and therefore appropriately develop a brief. This is a crucial part of the conception: a time to spark our imaginations and understand the challenges that all users experience throughout the day.

To support this process, we need to ask the right questions. We are conscious that our clients are not designers, and they may not always reveal the nuances that are important for us to know. We must also be mindful that the needs we are talking about today, might not necessarily be relevant for the future. Therefore, we must not be over specific with our design: always allowing for flexibility.

Most importantly, we must ensure ‘needs’ are understood and incorporated at an early stage, to achieve them within budget. Often needs aren’t cost critical but missing them at an early stage can cause cost issues or disappointment later.

By working closely with our education associates to understand their young people’s needs, this will ensure their spaces are not only fit for purpose now, but future proofed for future cohorts.