Say No To Plunk Architecture.

Enjoying the warm spring sun, our feet in the barely grown grass, a friend and I stared up at our university's Education Building. He shared about how from the front side, he could kind of see what the architects might have been thinking. But from the backside of the building, he had no idea what they were doing. He lamented about the spaces inside and how they didn't seem carefully thought out or well planned. How the exterior looked just as the interior was - unresolved and dysfunctional.  

I couldn't help but call it "plunk architecture". The rooms plunked along a corridor. Each room possibly meeting the spacial requirements of the functional program/design brief that the architects were given. Possibly the architects had seen another faculty of education building (a precedent study, as they would call it) that had exactly the same organization and seemed to "work" just fine. Possibly this faculty design came from an exhaustive precedent study that the architects had done on "state-of-the-art" education buildings, and melded together the best of what was out there. Nonetheless, my friend couldn't make sense of it - not from its form and definitely not from its function.  

I define PLUNK ARCHITECTURE as the placement of previous ideas, designs, and/or concepts into new projects without deeply recognizing the differences in organizational structures, staffing, culture, ways of working, processes, etc. Plunk architecture doesn't take into account the complex network of functions that are individual to each client. Plunk architecture fails to recognize the unique needs of each client.

Plunk architecture attempts to seamlessly apply designs from one project to another project, so much so, that at times it fails to remove another client's logo or name from the title block!  (oh yes, that's happened, I've seen other hospital's names in places they shouldn't be). 

Far too many times, I have heard about the failures of designs, especially in healthcare. Too many times, I have heard that staff "signed off" on the architectural drawings, yet had no idea what they signed off on. Too many times, I have heard they trusted that they were getting the latest and the greatest, only to discover what worked in a far away land doesn't work for them. Even if it looks beautiful.  

Design, especially the system of healthcare design, has significant problems with delivering usable products. I believe those significant problems come from deep rooted issues embedded in both architectural and healthcare practice. Nonetheless, first and foremost, I think we need to agree that PLUNK ARCHITECTURE is not the answer and that it serves no one. It does not serve the staff as it does not respond to their unique ways of working and it doesn't understand their individual needs. It does not serve the architect as their product disappoints and causes endless revisions. And plunk architecture definitely does not serve healthcare institutions who end up needing to renovate brand new spaces and who have to struggle with staff complaints. 

In starting this blog, my hopes is that together we can prevent plunk architecture from finding a home in a healthcare environment near you. 

**The title of this blog was completely inspired by the dust jacket of Studio Art Direct's portfolio, which states...No Plunk Art - http://www.blurb.com/books/6652676-p-o-r-t-f-o-l-i-o