Needs

There are three kinds of needs that architects have to consider when developing a design. These are the needs of the people, the structural need and the context in which the building will be placed. The architect must also think about how these needs change over time, the people change, the purposes change and the surroundings change as time passes by. When building a structure the architect must be aware that it is a work in progress and there will be various changes in the plans as the project develops.

People’s basic needs are based on 3 aspects: the physiological aspect (human scale, temperature, waste disposal and adequate air) the psychological aspect (the sense of safety and security) and the sociological aspect (allows interaction with others).

There are certain structural needs as well. the structure of a building must offer protection for the people, it must resist the weather and extremes such as earthquakes or fires. It must also be able to stand up under its own weight. On the other hand, the structure has to be comfortable for people to live in or work in. Lastly, it has to have good distribution and allow suitable entrance and exit of both materials and people.

The third and final need that an architect has to deal with is the context. The building has to relate to its surroundings and fit in with it. It has to have a connection with outside channels, it has to be flexible for changing and be economically reasonable with changing needs.

So, as a conclusion I think that by taking in consideration all of these categories on people’s needs, structural needs and context needs, an architect will be able to achieve an ideal project that will serve its full purpose.  