On a beautiful day, just a few years ago my wife and I entered a hospital near our home in Oakland, California for the birth of our first daughter, Maya. We had responsibly toured the birthing center in advance and yet we were somehow still startled to find ourselves in the place where we would experience one of the most significant moments of our lives. We were stuck in a windowless room with no hint of the bright and sunny day that we had left. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, the paint on the walls was beige and machines beeped inexplicably as a wall clock indicated day turning to night. That clock was placed above a door in direct line of sight to where my wife lay as her contractions increased hour after hour. Now, I've never given birth --
在几年前一个美妙的日子里, 我和妻子来到 加州奥克兰离家不远的一家医院, 准备迎接我们第一个女儿 玛雅的出生。 我们早先已经参观过生育中心, 可是我们仍然开始为 将要在这个地方度过生命中 最为重要的一个时刻而感到兴奋。 我们被困在一个没有窗户的房间里, 看不到任何光线 和外面晴朗天气的迹象。 头顶的荧光灯滋滋作响, 墙上涂抹的是米黄色的墙漆, 机器莫名地哔哔声不绝, 墙上的钟表指示着日夜的流转。 挂在门上面的钟表 直对着 宫缩不断增加的妻子躺下的地方。 我没有生小孩的经验——
(Laughter)
(笑声)
but she assured me that the last thing that a birthing woman would ever want is to watch the seconds tick by.
但她向我说, 作为一个孕妇最希望的是 看到时间一秒一秒过去。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
An architect by training, I've always been fascinated watching people experience design in the world around them. I believe design functions like the soundtrack that we're not even fully aware is playing. It sends us subconscious messages about how to feel and what to expect. That room that we were in seemed completely misaligned with the moment that we were experiencing -- welcoming a human being, our daughter, into this world.
作为一个训练有素的建筑师, 我总是着迷于 观察人们体验周遭世界的设计。 我坚信设计的功用就如同配乐, 我们往往都不会意识到它正在播放。 它向我们传递着事关如何体验, 以及有何预期的潜藏信息。 我们所在的这个房间与我们 正在经历的 迎接一个人的诞生—— 我的女儿,来到这个世界上 出现了明显的错位。
At one point a nurse, without any prompt, turned to us and said, "I always think to myself, 'I wish I had become an architect, because I could have designed rooms like this better.'"
有个护士,不经意地 转向我对我说, “我有时候想, 我真希望成为建筑师, 这样我就可以把 这个房间设计得更好些。“
I said to her, "An architect did design this room."
我对她说道, “的确是建筑师设计了这房子。”
(Laughter)
(笑)
Despite the immense joy of our daughter's birth, the messages of that hospital room stick with she and I to this day. Those messages are, "You are not at home, you are in a foreign place." "You are not in control of anything. Not even the lighting." "Your comfort, simply, is secondary." At best, a hospital room like this might just be described or dismissed as uninspiring. At worst, it is undignifying. And I use it to point out that none of us, anywhere in the world, are immune from bad design.
尽管女儿的出生 给我们带来无尽的喜悦, 但医院产房所传递的信息 一直印在我和妻子的脑海中。 那些信息在提醒你, “你不是在家里, 你在一个陌生的地方。” “你无法控制任何事情, 就连灯光也不受你控制。” “你的舒适只是次要的。” 最好的情况是, 像医院产房这样的地方 只是被视为令人沮丧的。 糟糕点,则是让人丧失尊严的。 我想用这个案例来说明, 我们任何人, 无论在哪里, 都无法摆脱糟糕设计的影响。
I went into architecture because I believed it was about creating spaces for people to live their best lives. And yet what I found is a profession largely disconnected from the people most directly impacted by its work. I believe this is because architecture remains a white, male, elitist profession -- seemingly unconcerned with some of the greatest needs in the world or even the relatively simple needs of an expectant mother. Students are trained in school using highly theoretical projects, rarely interacting with real people or actual communities. Graduates are funneled through a long, narrow unforgiving path to licensure.
我从事建筑行业,是因为我相信 这是关于构筑人们 美好生活空间的工作。 然而我却发现专业性 与人们从建筑中直接感受 的往往非常脱节。 我认为这是因为,建筑仍然 是一个白人,男性,精英的职业—— 对世界上最重要的需求, 或者一个产妇简单的需求 基本上是漠不关心的。 学生在学校 接受的是非常理论化的训练, 很少与真实世界中 的人或社群接触。 毕业生只能通过一条又长又窄, 且不容许任何闪失 的路径来取得文凭。
Meanwhile, the profession holds up a select few through relentless award programs focused almost exclusively on the aesthetics of buildings, rather than the societal impact or contributions of them. It only goes to reinforce a warped view of professional responsibility and success and yet this isn't why so many young, hopeful people go into architecture. It's not why I did. I believed then, though I didn't have a language for it, and I know now, that design has a unique ability to dignify. It can make people feel valued, respected, honored and seen.
与此同时,专业领域 举办的少数奖项, 仅聚焦于建筑的美学, 而非建筑的社交影响和贡献。 这些只是进一步扭曲了 职业责任和成功的观点, 然而这些并不是 很多满怀憧憬的年轻人 从事建筑行业的原因。 这不是我想要的。 那时候,我并没有 合适的词来形容这个行业, 但我现在知道了, 设计有构建尊严的独特能力。 它可以让人们感到被珍视, 受尊重, 和被认可。
Now I'd like for you to just think about some of the spaces that you inhabit. And I'd like to have you think about how they make you feel. Now, there are places that make us feel unhappy, unhealthy or uninspiring. They may be the places that you work or where you heal or even where you live. And I ask, how might these places be better designed with you in mind? It's a really simple question and it can somehow, sometimes be very difficult to answer. Because we are conditioned to feel like we don't have much agency over the spaces and places that we live, work and play. And in many cases we don't. But we all should.
现在我想让你们去想想 你们所居住的空间。 我想让你们去想想 你对它们的感觉。 这些地方多半让我们感到不开心, 不健康 或者无法让人振奋。 它们可能是你们工作的地方, 是你接受治疗的场所, 或是你生活的地方。 我要问,你们觉得这些地方 还可以如何更好地设计下? 这是一个非常简单的问题, 但有时候还真挺难回答。 因为我们习惯于不过多 关注我们生活、工作、 玩耍的空间和场所。 很多时候我们完全不关心。 但我们应该这样做。
Now, here's a potentially dumb question for any women watching: Have you ever stood in a disproportionately long bathroom line?
我想在这里向现场的女性 提一个很愚蠢的问题: 你们有没有 在小小卫生间前排过长长的队伍?
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Did you ever think to yourself, "What is wrong with this picture?" Well, what if the real question is, "What is wrong with the men that designed these bathrooms?"
你们有没有问过自己, 这场面出了什么问题? 实际上,这个问题应该这样问: “设计这个卫生间 的男人们有什么问题?”
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
It may seem like a small thing, but it's representative of a much more serious issue. The contemporary world was literally built by men who have rarely taken the time to understand how people unlike them experience their designs. A long bathroom line might seem like a minor indignity. But the opposite can also be true. Thoughtful design can make people feel respected and seen. I've come to believe that dignity is to design what justice is to law and health is to medicine. In the simplest of terms, it's about having the spaces you inhabit reflect back your value.
这看起来也许只是件小事, 却反映了一个非常严肃的问题。 当代世界主要是男性建造的, 这些人很少花时间去理解 跟他们不一样的人 如何体验他们的设计。 卫生间外的长队看来 只是轻微的有伤尊严。 但另一面也许是真的, 考虑周到的设计能够 让人们感受到尊重 和被认可。 我认为尊严对于设计 就如公正对于法律, 健康对于医学, 用最简单的话说, 它是关于让居住空间反映你的价值。
Over the past two years I had the opportunity to interview over 100 people from all walks of life about their experience of design. I wanted to test my hunch that dignity and design are uniquely related.
在过去两年, 我有机会访谈超过100个人, 关于他们如何体验设计。 我想要测试我的预感, 即尊严和设计有特殊的联系。
I listened to Gregory, a resident of this cottage community designed specifically for the 50 most chronically homeless people in Dallas. Gregory had been living on the streets, drifting from town to town for over 30 years. A broad coalition of social service agencies, funders and designers, created this place. Each 400 square foot cottage is designed beautifully as a permanent home. Gregory now has a key to a door to his own house. He describes the sense of security that it brings him. Something he had lived without for three decades. When he arrived with little more than the clothes on his back, he found everything: from a toaster, Crock-Pot and stove to a toothbrush and toothpaste awaiting for him. He describes it simply as heaven.
我倾听了格雷戈里, 一名住在平房社区的居民, 这个社区专为 达拉斯50位无家可归的人们所设计。 格雷戈里一直住在这些街区, 在城镇之间飘荡了超过30年。 一个广泛联合了 社会服务机构, 资助者和设计师的组织 创建了这个地方。 每一座400平方英尺的居家小屋 都设计得很漂亮。 格雷戈里现在拥有了 他家 房门的钥匙, 他说这带给了他安全感。 这种他已经失去30年的东西。 当他背包入住时, 他发现了齐全的生活用品: 从烤面包机、慢炖锅和炉子 到牙刷和牙膏都在等候他。 他对这一切的描述非常简单, 犹如天堂。
On the other side of the world, I listened to Antoinette, the director of this training and community center for women in rural Rwanda. Hundreds of women come to this place daily -- to learn new skills, be in community, and continue rebuilding their lives following the country's civil war. These women literally pressed the 500,000 bricks that make up the 17 classroom pavilions like this one. Antoinette told me, "Everyone is so proud of it."
在世界的另一边, 我听了安托瓦内特的故事, 她是这座为卢旺达的妇女提供的 培训和社区中心的主管。 成百上千的妇女每天来到这地方 学习新技能, 成为社区的一员, 在这个国家的内战后 继续重建她们的生活。 这些妇女 压制了50万块转头, 建造了17个像这样的教室展馆。 安托瓦内特告诉我, ”每个人都为之自豪“。
And then back here in the US I listened to Monika, the director of a free clinic primarily serving the uninsured in Arkansas. Monika loves telling me that the doctors, who volunteer at her free clinic routinely tell her that they've never worked in such a beautiful, light-filled place. Monika believes that even people experiencing poverty deserve quality health care. And what's more, she believes they deserve to receive that care in a dignified setting.
再回到美国, 我倾听了莫妮卡的讲述, 她是一家主要为 阿肯色州无保险的人 提供免费诊疗服务的诊所主管。 莫妮卡告诉我那些自愿来这 提供免费诊疗的医生 不时告诉她, 他们从没有在如此 美丽,明亮的场所工作过。 莫妮卡相信, 即便是贫穷的人 也值得享受高质量的医疗服务。 而且, 她相信他们值得接受 有尊严的治疗。
People like these are invaluable ambassadors for design and yet they are roundly absent from architectural discourse. Similarly, the people who can most benefit from good design often have the least access to it. Your cousin, a homeless veteran; your grandma or grandpa who live in a house with a kitchen that's no longer accessible to them; your wheelchair-bound sister in a suburban area planned without sidewalks.
这些人都是无价的设计大使, 但他们并不存在于建筑的话语中。 同样,最能从好设计中获益的人 往往却几乎接触不到这些设计。 你的堂兄,一个无家可归的老兵; 你的祖父祖母, 已经无法使用家里的厨房; 你坐轮椅的妹妹, 住在没有人行道规划的郊区。
If good design is only for a privileged few, what good is it? It's time designers change this by dedicating their practices to the public good in the model of firms like Orkidstudio, Studio Gang and MASS Design Group. Their clients are orphaned children in Kenya, foster children in Chicago and pregnant women in Malawi. Their practices are premised on the belief that everyone deserves good design. Dedicating more practices to the public good will not only create more design that is dignifying, but it will also dignify the practice of design. It will not only diversify the client base of design, but it will also create new, more diverse forms of design for the world.
如果好的设计仅是少数人的特权, 它又好在哪里呢? 设计师是时候改变这些了, 他们应该把自己的实践贡献给 公司模式中的公共利益, 如兰花工作室(Orkidstudio), 甘建筑工作室(Studio Gang), 马萨设计工作室 (MASS Design Group)。 他们的客户 是肯尼亚的孤儿, 芝加哥的寄养儿童 和马拉维的孕妇。 他们的实践基于这个信念: 每个人都值得拥有好的设计。 致力于为公众利益贡献更多实践, 他们不仅创造了更多有尊严的设计, 也让设计本身变得有尊严。 它不仅使设计的客户基础多元化, 也为世界创造了 更多新的,多元化的 设计样式。
Now, in order to do this, my architecture and design friends, especially my fellow white guys, we must simultaneously and significantly diversify our ranks. If we want the public to believe that design is for them and for everyone. Today, barely 15 percent of registered architects in the United States are women. And a far smaller percentage are persons of color. Other professions, like law and medicine had made far greater strides in these crucial areas. How might our shared built environment -- our homes, our hospitals, our schools, our public spaces -- be shaped differently if women and people of color were behind half of the proverbial blueprints? It is not a question of whether, but to what extent our buildings, our landscapes, our cities and our rural communities are less beautiful, less functional, less equitable and less dignifying because women and people of color are less likely to be creating them.
要实现这点, 我的建筑师和设计师朋友, 尤其是我的白人朋友们, 我们必须同时且显著地 提升我们队伍的多元化。 如果我们想要公众相信, 设计是为了他们, 为每一个人。 今天,只有15% 的美国注册建造师是女性。 有色人种的比例就更小了。 其他职业,如法律和医疗, 在这些关键领域都有长足的进步。 我们共同拥有的环境—— 如果女性和有色人种 占比远小于一半, 我们的家园,医院, 学校和公众场所 如何得以不同? 这不是是与否的问题, 而是在多大程度上, 由于女性和有色人种较少参与其中, 我们的建筑,我们的景观, 我们的城市和我们的乡村, 会少一些美观,少一些功用, 会少一些公平,少一些尊严?
As Winston Churchill famously noted in 1943 when he called for the rebuilding of London's war-damaged parliamentary chambers, "We shape our buildings, and afterward, they shape us." The good news is that we can change how we build and who we build for. Be that a health worker in rural Rwanda, or a birthing mother and nervous new father in the United States. We can do this by recommitting architecture to the health, safety and welfare of the public. This will pay dividends. Because once you see what design can do, you can't unsee it. And once you experience dignity, you can't accept anything less. Both become part of your possible.
正如战后伦敦议会两院的重建时, 温斯顿·丘吉尔在1943年 呼吁时所说的, 战后伦敦议会两院的重建时, “我们塑造了建筑,而建筑 反过来也塑造了我们。” 好消息是,我们可以改变 打造建筑的方式 以及我们所服务的对象, 如卢旺达农村的卫生工作者, 或者在美国生育的母亲和紧张的父亲。 我们可以通过重申建筑服务于 公众的健康,安全和福利来实现。 这会带来好处。 因为一旦你看到了建筑的功效, 你就不能无视它。 而一旦你体验了尊严, 你就无法接受让人有失颜面的东西。 两者都成为你可能的一部分。
One of my favorite conversation partners is my 90-year-old grandmother, Audrey Gorwitz, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. After one of our conversations about design, she wrote me a letter. She said, "Dear Johnny, I thought the other day, as I sat in my doctor's office, how depressing it was, from the color on the wall, to the carpet on the floor.
我最喜欢的谈话对象 是我90岁的奶奶。 来自威斯康星州 奥什科什的奥黛丽·戈维茨。 有次我们聊完建筑的话题后, 她给我写了一封信。 信中说:“亲爱的强尼, “我想起有一天, 我坐在医生的办公室, 从墙的颜色到地毯, 是多么令人沮丧。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Now I will have to call to see who is responsible for the drabness in that place."
现在我要打个电话, 去看看谁应该为这里的乏味负责。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
In the same letter, mind you, she said, "I did call, and I got the man in charge, and he said he appreciated someone calling him. My doctor's office is now on the list for an upgrade."
在同样的信件中,她说道, “我真的打了电话, 我找到了负责的人。 他说很感谢有人打给他, 我医生的办公室现在已经 列在升级改造的清单上了。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
She signed it by saying, "It is always good to express one's opinion if done in a proper manner."
她字里行间都在表明, “表达观点永远都是有益的, 如果以适当的方式进行。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
I love my grandma.
我爱我奶奶。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Like my grandma Audrey, you deserve good design. Because well-designed spaces are not just a matter of taste or a questions of aesthetics. They literally shape our ideas about who we are in the world and what we deserve. That is the essence of dignity. And both the opportunity and the responsibility of design for good and for all.
跟我奶奶奥黛丽一样, 你们都值得好的设计。 因为精心设计的空间 不仅事关品味和美学。 它们还够塑造了我们 在这个世界中如何定义自己, 我们值得拥有什么的观点。 这就是尊严的本质。 设计的机会和责任是为了 美好, 为了所有人。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)