Designing for the user: why architecture begins with people

Who is the user?

There is never just one user. A school has children, teachers, parents, caretakers and cleaners. A hospital has patients, families, doctors, nurses, porters and delivery drivers. A house has people of different ages, and visitors. A good brief names them all, and asks what each needs.

Start by listening

Before drawing, we try to understand how people really use a place. We ask questions, visit similar buildings, look at what works and what does not, and ask people to describe a normal day. People often say what they want in terms of a solution ("a bigger room"), so we ask why, and find the underlying need ("a place where the whole family can sit together"). See How to run a user workshop.

A school has children, teachers, parents, caretakers and cleaners.

Think in journeys

A building is experienced as a journey: arriving, finding the entrance, being greeted, moving through, doing the thing you came for, and leaving. We follow each type of user through their journey and ask where they might be lost, delayed, uncomfortable or worried. Good design smooths those moments.

Consider the range of people

People differ in age, size, ability, language, culture and confidence. Designing for the user means designing for that range. A design that works for people with the greatest difficulty usually works better for everyone, as with step-free routes, clear signs and good lighting. See Designing for people with disabilities and Designing for different cultures and customs.

The five senses

People feel buildings through all their senses: light, sound, temperature, touch, smell and movement. A room that looks beautiful but echoes, overheats or feels cold has failed its users. We consider comfort and atmosphere as part of use, not as decoration.

Test with people

We use drawings, models and walk-throughs to test ideas with the people who will use the building, and we adjust what we learn. Sometimes a simple full-size mock-up of a room shows a problem that drawings did not.

Look after the people who look after the building

Cleaners, caretakers and maintenance staff are users too. A building that is hard to clean or repair will deteriorate. We think about how it will be run and who will do it. See also Post-occupancy evaluation.

Keep checking

The user's needs change. A building should be able to adapt, and we like to learn from how a building works after it opens, so that the next one is better.

In short

Know who will use the building, listen to them, follow their journeys, design for the range of people, and keep testing. A building that suits its users is usually a better building in every other way.

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