The way a landscape architect uniquely experiences every aspect of his life including the places and spaces he lives in gets incorporated into his work. For the most part, his designs are related to his personal life exposures with whom he feels the greatest connection. If for example, he grew up with educators in his family, great designs for schools, parks and playgrounds would most likely be closest to his heart. In the grand scheme of things though, a good design must be inclusive, done for everyone, and can cause social impact for all.
While it is very important (and the right thing to do) to create spaces that are easily accessible to people with disabilities, designing for both disabled and non-disabled users sends a good message that the shared environment is meant to be enjoyed together by all people with varying abilities. According to Kat Holmes, an advocate for equitable design in the tech world, inclusive designs must “foster a true sense of belonging for all populations”. Designers must take into account how disabled people can be integrated equally into the society while still providing for them dignified accessibility.
Empathy for all serves an evident purpose in design. By being knowledgable and inspired by other people’s experiences, a landscape architect can understand the real needs of the users of the spaces that he designs. By having empathy, he gets to set aside his own personal view of the world so that he can understand better the community of people that he is designing for.
As pointed out by Tim Brown, Chair of IDEO (Innovation Design Engineering Organization), designers must have a “deep understanding of the problems and realities of the people you are designing for. It involves learning about the difficulties people face, as well as uncovering their latent needs and desires in order to explain their behaviors. We need to have an understanding of the people’s environment, as well as their roles in and interaction with the environment.”
The good news about human nature, designers included, is that empathy can be cultivated by exposing ourselves to people who are different than us. To improve our empathy we must widen our circle. And landscape architects can do this by continuously training, gathering research, and immersing themselves in the users’ physical environment. Visit sites and observe how the members of these communities live, how they think and make important decisions , and how they interact with one another. Pass on the heart of empathy for clients to colleagues and staff by discussing and encouraging it during office meetings, seminars, and project deliberations.
A critical part of the empathic design and creative process is active listening.
Mindfully and intentionally listening without ego to the client and to the whole design team is fundamental in delivering designs that can improve the quality of life of the users of the space. The texture and color of the tiles, the shapes of the garden fixtures , the types of plants and shrubs used can all powerfully convey visual messages. It is important then that if for example a landscape architect is asked to come up with a memorial design for a community that has tragically lost hundreds of lives due to a natural calamity, he must visit the place and spend time with the local government officials and with the residents, and listen to their story of sadness, survival and hope. Out of that quality time spent listening will come out a design for a memorial monument that will surely resonate with the people. The lessons we learn from the recent COVID-19 outbreak, for instance, will also have a profound influence on the future of landscape architecture as we think of innovative ways for people to adapt to life post pandemic. By listening to the affected population, landscape architects can design environments that are built for future pandemics, provides solutions for climate change, and advocates for responsible development of cities.
The challenge therefore now for landscape architects is to design with impact and to look beyond what they find beautiful. Designs must be relevant, aim to enhance the quality of life, and improve the people’s experience of the world. And the best way to achieve this is by understanding the people you are working for and applying an empathy-focused approach to the design process. Empathizing helps landscape architects to look deeper into people’s unique situations and turn the seeds of ideas into good design decisions that can make people’s lives easier, safer, enjoyable and changed for the better.