A critical analysis of participatory design processes leading to the employment of low-tech emerging building technologies

Abstract

The study investigates the impact of industrialisation on an architects' roles, proposing a shift towards incorporating low-tech building technologies through participatory design processes. It critiques the shift from the architect as a master builder to a more fragmented role due to advances in industrial techniques. The research aims to re-establish architects as integral to the entire building process by emphasising sustainable, community-based, and culturally resonant construction methods. Modern design processes are linear and separated from the rest of the construction industry, where practitioners mainly use conventional technologies. This research report explores the use of low-tech emerging building technologies and participatory design processes in a South African context. The focus will primarily be on hand-based, local and indigenous building technologies and how these methods could positively influence the design and construction processes. The main questions of this study deal with how a participatory design process can lead to the employment of low-tech emerging building technologies. The study focuses on when and why South African practitioners who follow a participatory design process employ low-tech emerging building technologies. It also explores the value of employing low-tech building technologies and how they could aid in better understanding the value of indigenous building technologies. The methods used in this study to analyse data are as follows: Firstly, five themes were identified from the literature to assess different projects and practitioners in the South African context. These themes include unskilled and skilled participatory design and hand-based, local, and indigenous building technologies. Existing case studies in an emerging building technology catalogue format have been analysed according to the themes. The following practitioners who most resemble this specific study were chosen from the catalogue to be interviewed. Their feedback was analysed using the same categorisation tool for the themes. Finally, precedent studies were conducted on each interviewee's projects and analysed according to the themes. A better understanding of low-tech building technologies through the adoption of participatory design processes could lead to the adoption of it by more practitioners in the South African context. Thus leading to more cultural, economic, ecological, and socially sustainable design practices.