Design in Architecture

Design is very personal. People get upset when discussing their own design or evaluating the design of someone else. But why do people take criticism, whether constructive or not, so personally?

People are generally products of their environment and education. A persons “design” is based on the buildings that they grew up in or around, their experiences from travelling to different areas and cultures, their education from primary on up, and their reading and absorption of reference materials. If a person stays in the same town, on the same street and in the same house, then their design will be centered around that house and environment. They may believe that every house should have a front porch that is 20′ from the sidewalk, because that is where their parents sat in a swing and conversed with the neighbors. They may also believe that all houses should have wood ship-lap siding painted a royal blue, because this is the color that they painted their house every fifth summer. Of course, this may also make them want to have brick or hardi-siding that they do not have to paint. Either way, their design is based on what they experience through their lives.