Arkitekten och brukarmedverkan

Working conditions and regulations encourage everyone to participate actively in shaping the surrounding environment in order to increase the social durability. End-users’ participation during the construction process will contribute to building better products that fulfil their needs and requirements. Meanwhile the real estate administrators will achieve a long term economic success if all renters are satisfied and prolonged their contracts. Contrary, for the individuals, both the social value and health aspects are possible to influence in shaping the living environment and working places.

The aim of this study is to analyse how architects can transform and manage end-users’ demands, needs and requirements during the construction process where the construction documentation are formulated and followed-up. Emphasis will also be on how the architects’ education supports the profession’s role as facilitators in the process of involving end-users.

Two case studies had been performed in order to highlight the architects’ role and involvement of end-user in the process. In order to gain an understanding on how the architect students and the professional architects view the research problems, questionnaires were used.

A big asset in the construction industry is the individual knowledge gained and the mutual competence that are acquired during the construction project. For that knowledge to be useful, it requires the right working conditions, suitable organisation and above all time. Time and dialogue combined with the right tools will depict the right picture of what is to be built. Clients that work with the developed forms of cooperation provide resources at the early stage of the project which form a good condition for construction process.

Both the students and the professional architects consider that it is necessary to be more participative as a society builder in the development of a durable society. A problem in the professional role is the experience feedback from end-users which results in knowledge gap about the end-users needs. A stronger cooperation between the architect and the engineer during the education period will lead to a better teamwork in the construction process. The development of a durable society requires a durable process.