How architecture can create dignity for all | John Cary

譯者: Yu-Hsiang Wang 審譯者: Melody Tang

On a beautiful day, just a few years ago

幾年前，風和日麗的一天，

my wife and I entered a hospital

我和我太太前往一家醫院，

near our home in Oakland, California

在我們家附近，位於加州奧克蘭，

for the birth of our first daughter, Maya.

去迎接我們的第一個女兒 瑪雅的出生。

We had responsibly toured the birthing center in advance

我們事先參觀了分娩中心，

and yet we were somehow still startled to find ourselves

但是我倆仍驚訝地感到不真實

in the place where we would experience

我們即將在這裡

one of the most significant moments of our lives.

經歷生命中最重要的時刻之一。

We were stuck in a windowless room

我們被安排在一個無窗的房間裡，

with no hint of the bright and sunny day that we had left.

完全感受不到我們入住時的好天氣。

Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead,

日光燈在頭頂上嗡嗡作響，

the paint on the walls was beige

牆上的油漆是米色的，

and machines beeped inexplicably

設備還莫名地嗶嗶作響，

as a wall clock indicated day turning to night.

壁鐘顯示時間的流逝， 白天轉為黑夜。

That clock was placed above a door

那個鐘掛在門的上方，

in direct line of sight

正對著我太太。

to where my wife lay as her contractions increased hour after hour.

她躺在床上，經歷為時數小時 愈來愈強的收縮疼痛。

Now, I've never given birth --

當然我沒生過小孩──

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

but she assured me that the last thing that a birthing woman would ever want

那時她向我保證， 產婦最不想要的

is to watch the seconds tick by.

就是看著分秒緩慢流逝。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

An architect by training, I've always been fascinated

身為專業的建築師， 我總著迷地看著

watching people experience design in the world around them.

人們體驗日常生活中 環繞著他們的設計。

I believe design functions like the soundtrack

我相信設計的功能就像原聲帶，

that we're not even fully aware is playing.

人們甚至沒察覺它的存在。

It sends us subconscious messages about how to feel

但它會在我們的潛意識裡

留下感受和期許。

and what to expect.

That room that we were in seemed completely misaligned

當時我們待的房間

似乎與我們所經歷的那一刻 完全錯位──

with the moment that we were experiencing --

welcoming a human being,

當時我們在迎接一個人──

our daughter, into this world.

我們的女兒──走進這個世界。

At one point a nurse, without any prompt,

那時有位護士突然間

turned to us and said,

對著我們說

"I always think to myself,

「我一直有個想法，

'I wish I had become an architect,

真希望我是建築設計師，

because I could have designed rooms like this better.'"

因為我能設計出比這更好的房間。」

I said to her,

那時，我跟她說，

"An architect did design this room."

「這房間是出自設計師之手啊。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Despite the immense joy of our daughter's birth,

雖然女兒的誕生 帶給我倆莫大的喜悅，

the messages of that hospital room stick with she and I to this day.

至今我們仍記得待在那病房的感受。

Those messages are,

那時的感受是，

"You are not at home,

「這不是家，

you are in a foreign place."

你是在一個陌生環境。」

"You are not in control of anything.

「你無法掌控任何事，

Not even the lighting."

連燈光你也不能動。」

"Your comfort, simply, is secondary."

「你的舒適感是次要的。」

At best,

說好聽一點，

a hospital room like this

像這類的病房

might just be described or dismissed as uninspiring.

只能被形容為平淡無奇。

At worst, it is undignifying.

講難聽一點， 這設計無法讓使用者覺得被尊重。

And I use it to point out that none of us,

我想用這例子點出：

沒有人，不論來自哪裡，

anywhere in the world,

are immune from bad design.

會對爛設計無感。

I went into architecture because I believed

當初我學建築是因為我相信

it was about creating spaces for people to live their best lives.

我能夠為人們創造最棒的生活空間。

And yet what I found is a profession largely disconnected

但我卻發現設計這個行業

from the people most directly impacted by its work.

幾乎與被他們的設計 影響最大的人們脫鉤。

I believe this is because architecture remains

我想這是因為建築業還殘留著

a white, male, elitist profession --

白人觀點、男性思想、菁英主義⋯⋯

seemingly unconcerned

覺得其他事情都不重要。

with some of the greatest needs in the world

他們不關心這世上 一些最重要的需求，

or even the relatively simple needs of an expectant mother.

甚至一位準媽媽的小小心願。

Students are trained in school

建築系學生在學校接受的訓練

using highly theoretical projects,

是基於高度理論的方案，

rarely interacting with real people or actual communities.

極少接觸到實際的人物或團體。

Graduates are funneled through a long, narrow

畢業生們歷經層層關卡，

unforgiving path to licensure.

才能取得專業證照。

Meanwhile, the profession holds up a select few

同時，少數菁英也被

through relentless award programs

很殘酷的設計競賽所綁住，

focused almost exclusively on the aesthetics of buildings,

因為這些競賽幾乎 只專注於作品的美感，

rather than the societal impact or contributions of them.

而不是帶給社會影響力或貢獻。

It only goes to reinforce a warped view

這種情況加重價值觀的扭曲，

of professional responsibility and success

只追求專業責任與成功。

and yet this isn't why so many young, hopeful people

但這不是眾多前途似錦的年輕人

投入建築界的原因。

go into architecture.

It's not why I did.

那不是我入此行的理由。

I believed then, though I didn't have a language for it,

雖然難以言喻， 但我從那時直到今日都深信

and I know now, that design has a unique ability to dignify.

設計能獨特地建立使用者的尊嚴。

It can make people feel valued,

它能讓人們感受到個人價值、

respected,

被尊重、

榮耀感與被看見。

honored and seen.

Now I'd like for you to just think about some of the spaces that you inhabit.

現在，請你們想想你的居住空間。

And I'd like to have you think about how they make you feel.

並想想你對那些空間的感受。

Now, there are places that make us feel unhappy,

有些地方讓我們覺得不開心、

unhealthy

不健康

or uninspiring.

或者無趣。

They may be the places that you work

也許是你的辦公空間，

or where you heal

或是你療癒的地方，

或是你的住所。

or even where you live.

我想問，這些地方如果 有考慮到你會不會設計得更好？

And I ask, how might these places be better designed with you in mind?

It's a really simple question

這問題很簡單，

and it can somehow, sometimes be very difficult to answer.

卻有時也最難回答。

Because we are conditioned to feel like we don't have much agency

因為我們已習慣性地

認為我們無權改變 我們的生活、工作和遊樂的地方。

over the spaces and places that we live, work and play.

And in many cases we don't.

多數的情形是我們的確沒有。

But we all should.

但我們應該要有才對。

接下來，容我問女性觀眾一個蠢問題：

Now, here's a potentially dumb question for any women watching:

Have you ever stood

妳們是否曾經排過 不成比例的長的隊伍，

in a disproportionately long bathroom line?

就只是為了上廁所？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Did you ever think to yourself, "What is wrong with this picture?"

你是不是也覺得這很扯？

Well, what if the real question is,

好吧，如果真正的問題是：

"What is wrong with the men that designed these bathrooms?"

「設計這些廁所的男人 是不是有問題？」

(Applause)

（掌聲）

It may seem like a small thing,

雖然看似一件小事，

but it's representative of a much more serious issue.

但它代表了很嚴重的議題。

The contemporary world was literally built by men

現代社會幾乎是由男性建造的。

who have rarely taken the time to understand

他們極少花時間在

了解與他們不同的群體

how people unlike them

experience their designs.

對他們的作品的體驗。

A long bathroom line might seem like a minor indignity.

廁所前的長龍也許是 很微小的不尊嚴。

But the opposite can also be true.

但反之亦然。

Thoughtful design can make people feel respected

體貼設計使人們感到被尊重、

被看到。

and seen.

I've come to believe that dignity is to design

我發現尊嚴對設計而言，

what justice is to law

就像正義之於法律，

and health is to medicine.

健康之於醫療。

In the simplest of terms,

簡而言之，

it's about having the spaces you inhabit reflect back your value.

就是使你居住的空間 反映出你的價值。

Over the past two years

在過去兩年來，

I had the opportunity to interview over 100 people from all walks of life

我採訪了 100 名以上 各行業的民眾，

about their experience of design.

以了解他們對於設計的經驗。

I wanted to test my hunch

我想要印證我的直覺，

that dignity and design are uniquely related.

那就是尊嚴和設計息息相關。

受訪者之一的格里高利，

I listened to Gregory,

a resident of this cottage community

他居住的社區

designed specifically

是為了達拉斯 50 名長期無家可歸者

for the 50 most chronically homeless people in Dallas.

特別設計的。

Gregory had been living on the streets,

格里高利長期無家可歸，

drifting from town to town for over 30 years.

30 多年以來流離於不同的城市。

這社區是由

A broad coalition

of social service agencies,

社會服務機構、

funders and designers,

捐款者與設計師們

created this place.

所組成的聯盟所創立的。

每間 400 平方英尺的小屋 都設計得很美，

Each 400 square foot cottage is designed beautifully

as a permanent home.

就像一個永久的家。

Gregory now has a key

格里高利現在擁有一支

to a door

自己家門的鑰匙。

to his own house.

He describes the sense of security that it brings him.

他敘述這帶給他的安全感，

Something he had lived without for three decades.

是他 30 年來未曾體會的。

When he arrived with little more than the clothes on his back,

入住時，他僅有一身的衣服，

he found everything:

卻在小屋裡找到所有物品：

from a toaster, Crock-Pot and stove

從烤土司機、燉鍋、火爐

to a toothbrush and toothpaste awaiting for him.

到牙刷、牙膏都為他準備齊全。

他形容這小屋

He describes it simply

簡直是天堂。

as heaven.

On the other side of the world,

在世界的另一邊，

I listened to Antoinette,

我採訪了瑪莉安東尼，

the director of this training and community center

她是這個訓練和社區中心的主任，

for women in rural Rwanda.

該中心支援住在盧安達鄉間的女性。

Hundreds of women come to this place daily --

每天都有數百名女人來這裡

to learn new skills,

學習新技能、

be in community,

融入社群，

and continue rebuilding their lives

並在這國經歷內戰後

following the country's civil war.

重建她們的生活。

These women literally pressed

這些婦女親手

砌了50 萬塊磚，

the 500,000 bricks

that make up the 17 classroom pavilions like this one.

來搭建 17 間像這樣的 做為教室的空間。

Antoinette told me,

安東尼告訴我，

"Everyone is so proud of it."

「大家都感到很自豪。」

And then back here in the US

在美國這裏，

I listened to Monika,

我認識了莫尼卡，

the director of a free clinic

她的診所

primarily serving the uninsured in Arkansas.

為沒有健保的阿肯色州居民 免費醫療。

莫尼卡很愛對我說，

Monika loves telling me that the doctors,

在她的診所義診的醫生們

who volunteer at her free clinic

routinely tell her

經常告訴她

that they've never worked in such a beautiful, light-filled place.

他們從來沒有在如此美麗 又光線充足的環境工作過。

莫尼卡相信，

Monika believes

that even people experiencing poverty

即使是窮人，

也值得擁有高品質的醫療照顧。

deserve quality health care.

And what's more,

並且，

she believes they deserve to receive that care

她相信他們也應該 在受尊重的環境下

接受照護。

in a dignified setting.

People like these are invaluable ambassadors for design

這些人都是極為珍貴的 好設計代言人，

and yet they are roundly absent from architectural discourse.

雖然他們完全沒上過建築課程。

同樣地，迫切需要好設計的人

Similarly, the people who can most benefit from good design

通常擁有最少的資源。

often have the least access to it.

Your cousin, a homeless veteran;

像是退伍後無處可去的表親；

your grandma or grandpa

你的爺爺奶奶，

who live in a house with a kitchen that's no longer accessible to them;

他們家的廚房設計已不符需求；

your wheelchair-bound sister

你的坐輪椅的姐妹

in a suburban area planned without sidewalks.

住在附近沒有人行道郊區。

如果好設計只鎖定給優勢族群，

If good design is only for a privileged few,

what good is it?

那還算「好」嗎？

It's time designers change this

是設計師們改變這種現象的時候了。

by dedicating their practices to the public good

藉由將實務經驗付諸公共事務，

in the model of firms

向模範企業學習。

like Orkidstudio,

例如：Orkidstudio，

Studio Gang

Studio Gang，

and MASS Design Group.

還有 MASS Design Group。

Their clients

他們服務的對象

are orphaned children in Kenya,

是肯亞的孤兒，

foster children in Chicago

芝加哥的寄養兒童，

and pregnant women in Malawi.

還有馬拉威的孕婦們。

Their practices are premised on the belief

他們行動背後的團隊信念是：

「每個人都值得好設計。」

that everyone deserves good design.

Dedicating more practices to the public good

將實戰經驗投入公共設計，

will not only create more design that is dignifying,

不僅能創造更多有尊重感的設計，

but it will also dignify the practice of design.

也讓設計本身令人尊重。

It will not only diversify the client base of design,

不僅為顧客導向設計增添多元性，

也為世界衍生出

but it will also create new, more diverse forms of design

嶄新多樣的設計型式。

for the world.

Now, in order to do this,

為了做到這點，

我的建築師和設計師朋友們， 尤其是白人男性，

my architecture and design friends, especially my fellow white guys,

we must simultaneously and significantly diversify our ranks.

我們必須同時和大幅地 擴展我們設計層次。

如果我們想讓大眾相信 設計是為了他們

If we want the public to believe that design is for them

and for everyone.

也是為了所有人。

Today, barely 15 percent

今天，

在美國有建築師執照的 女性僅佔 15%。

of registered architects in the United States are women.

And a far smaller percentage are persons of color.

而有色人種又更少了。

Other professions, like law and medicine

其他領域，像是法律界和醫界

had made far greater strides in these crucial areas.

在這方面已經進步很多了。

How might our shared built environment --

我們身邊的建築

our homes, our hospitals, our schools, our public spaces --

──包括自家房屋、醫院、 學校和公共空間──

be shaped differently

其設計會多不相同，

if women and people of color

如果設計的人中

were behind half of the proverbial blueprints?

有半數是女性和有色人種呢？

這不是會不會的問題，

It is not a question of whether,

but to what extent

而是會到什麼程度。

我們的房屋、街景、

our buildings, our landscapes,

our cities and our rural communities

城市、鄉間社區

被設計得不美又缺乏實用性，

are less beautiful, less functional,

既不公平也不尊重人，

less equitable and less dignifying

because women and people of color are less likely to be creating them.

是因為女性和有色人種 較無機會設計它們。

As Winston Churchill famously noted in 1943

1943 年，英國首相邱吉爾 說過這個名言。

when he called for the rebuilding

當時他呼籲全國重建

of London's war-damaged parliamentary chambers,

戰時受災嚴重的倫敦議會。

"We shape our buildings, and afterward, they shape us."

他說：「我們先設計出建物， 然後這些建物塑造我們。」

The good news is that we can change how we build

幸好我們還能改變我們的設計，

and who we build for.

來針對我們的目標族群，

Be that a health worker in rural Rwanda,

不論是住在盧安達的 偏鄉醫療工作人員，

or a birthing mother and nervous new father in the United States.

或在美國的待產媽媽和 緊張兮兮的新手爸爸。

We can do this by recommitting architecture

我們能針對他們的需求 重新進行設計，

to the health, safety and welfare of the public.

注重健康、安全、公眾福祉。

This will pay dividends.

這對社會很有幫助。

Because once you see what design can do,

因為你一旦見識過好設計，

you can't unsee it.

就再也無法忽視它了。

And once you experience dignity,

一旦你體會過好設計帶來的尊嚴，

you can't accept anything less.

你就不會接受低質感的設計。

Both become part of your possible.

這兩個會成為你可以做到的。

One of my favorite conversation partners is my 90-year-old grandmother,

我的奧黛莉奶奶，她 90 歲， 是我最愛的談話對象之一。

Audrey Gorwitz, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

她住在威斯康辛的奧旭寇旭。

After one of our conversations about design,

有次我們剛聊完有關設計的話題，

she wrote me a letter.

奶奶寫給我一封信。

She said, "Dear Johnny,

內容是：「親愛的約翰，

I thought the other day, as I sat in my doctor's office,

有天，我坐在醫生的辦公室裡

發現那房間的設計沈重無比。

how depressing it was,

from the color on the wall, to the carpet on the floor.

從牆上的顏色到樓層的地毯。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

我現在必須找出

Now I will have to call to see

who is responsible for the drabness in that place."

這樣死氣沈沈的設計出自誰之手？」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

In the same letter, mind you, she said,

在信中，我奶奶也寫到

"I did call, and I got the man in charge,

「我後來真打給相關單位，

and he said he appreciated someone calling him.

承辦人說很感謝我聯繫他。

My doctor's office is now on the list for an upgrade."

那間醫生辦公室已被列入 升級改造的清單中。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

She signed it by saying,

信件署名下方還寫上

"It is always good to express one's opinion

「表達個人意見永遠是對的，

只要用對方式。」

if done in a proper manner."

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

（掌聲）

(Applause)

I love my grandma.

所以我超愛我的奶奶

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Like my grandma Audrey,

如同我奶奶，

you deserve good design.

你們都值得更好的設計。

Because well-designed spaces

因為好的設計空間，

不只牽涉品味與美學問題，

are not just a matter of taste or a questions of aesthetics.

They literally shape our ideas about who we are in the world

而直接影響了我們的人生觀

和價值觀。

and what we deserve.

That is the essence of dignity.

那才是尊重的本質。

And both the opportunity and the responsibility of design

設計的機會和責任都在於

for good

為了美好，

and for all.

為了所有人。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。

(Applause)

（掌聲）