Participation Methods and Processes in Residential Architecture: A Systematic Review

Subject Areas : architecture

ali asghar abdolkarimi ¹ , seyed abbas yazdanfar ² , neda sadat sahragard monfared ³

1 - architecture and environmental design, Iran university of sience and technology, Tehran, Iran
2 - architecture and environmental design department, iran university of science and technology
3 - architecture and environmental design department, iran university of science and technology, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2024-12-19 Accepted : 2025-07-26 Published : 2025-07-15

Keywords: Participatory Architecture, Participatory Design, Participation Process, Participation Methods, Participation Tools and Techniques, Residential Architecture,

Abstract :

Participation is now a well-established approach in different scientific fields and has robust theoretical and practical support. But despite its successes, it is facing many challenges. Some important questions are about participation methods and processes. This research uses a systematic review method to collect and analyze recently used participation methods, and processes to help other participatory designers choose proper participation methods in residential architecture.

 

The result shows that a recommended participatory design process has four steps. They include getting to know, current situation assessment, design, and feedback and modification. The first step is to gain people’s trust and cooperation. The second step uses a sorting task to reflect on the house and its different aspects, what takes place in it. The third step uses a location task to arrange different spaces in an imagined house. The fourth step is to present the 3D  or physical modeling design to the participants and gather their feedback.

 

References:

اسلامی، سید غلامرضا؛ و کامل‌نیا، حامد. (1392). معماری جمعی، از نظریه تا عمل (ویرایش اول). تهران: مؤسسۀ انتشارات دانشگاه تهران. پورابراهیمی، محمد؛ و شریف، حمیدرضا. (1394). جستاری در چگونگی مشارکت کاربران در فرآیند طراحی. دومین کنگره بین‌المللی افقهای جدید در معماری و شهرسازی، ص1–8. حبیبی، محسن؛ و سعیدی رضوانی، هادی. (1384). شهرسازی مشارکتی؛ کاوشی نظری در شرایط ایران. نشریه هنرهای زیبا، شمارۀ 24، ص15–24. دانشپور، عبدالهادی؛ و غفاری آذر، زهرا. (1399). طراحی شهری با رویکرد مشارکت همکاری‌جویانه، از ایده تا طرح. موردپژوهی: میدان هروی تهران. باغ نظر، دورۀ 17(شمارۀ 82)، ص5–20. https://doi.org/10.22034/bagh.2019.134125.3605 شهربانو پورمحمدی، پریا. (1391). مشارکت طراحی، پیوندی میان گرایشهای منطقه گرایی با نیازهای امروزجامعه. اولین همایش ملی اندیشه ها و فناوریهای نو در معماری، ص443–449. علی‌الحسابی، مهران؛ و یوسف زمانی، مهرداد. (1389). فرآیند طراحی معماری-تعامل میان طراح و بهره بردار. نشریه هنرهای زیبا- معماری و شهرسازی، دوره 2(شماره 43)، ص31–42. کامل‌نیا، حامد. (1392). چارچوبی نوین برای تعامل معماری جمعی در طراحی مجموعه های مسکونی معاصر. نقش جهان، دورۀ 3(شمارۀ 2)، ص63–73. کامل‌نیا، حامد. (1399). نظریۀ «معماری جمعی» در معماری معاصر کشورهای اسلامی. فردوس هنر، دورۀ 1(شمارۀ 1)، ص70–86. https://doi.org/10.30508/fhja.2020.44654 هدایتی، حبیب، و غفوریان، میترا. (1395). طراحی مشارکتی مسکن راهکاری برای رسیدن به پایداری اجتماعی. چهارمین کنگره بین المللی عمران، معماری و توسعه شهری، تهران، ص1–14. یوسف زمانی، مهرداد. (1389). مدل ساختار مفهومی درس «اصول طراحی معماری مشاركتی» (درس پيشنهادی كارشناسی معماری). نشریه معماری و شهرسازی ایران، دورۀ 2(شمارۀ 1)، ص69–76. https://doi.org/10.30475/isau.2011.61941 Abdalla, S. S., Elariane, S. A., & El Defrawi, S. H. (2016). Decision-Making Tool for Participatory Urban Planning and Development: Residents’ Preferences of Their Built Environment. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 142(1), 04015011. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000289
Albadra, D., Elamin, Z., Adeyeye, K., Polychronaki, E., Coley, D. A., Holley, J., & Copping, A. (2021). Participatory design in refugee camps: Comparison of different methods and visualization tools. Building Research & Information, 49(2), 248–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2020.1740578
Al-Kodmany, K. (2001). Bridging the gap between technical and local knowledge: Tools for promoting community-based planning and design. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 18, 110–130
. Al-Nammari, F. (2013). Participatory urban upgrading and power: Lessons learnt from a pilot project in Jordan. Habitat International, 39, 224–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.01.001
Borucka, J., Czyż, P., Mazurkiewicz, W., Pancewicz, Ł., & Perzyna, I. (2021). Improving social competencies of architecture students through participatory design of marketplace regeneration. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education
. Brookfield, K., Scott, I., Tinker, A., & Ward Thompson, C. (2020). Perspectives on “Novel” Techniques for Designing Age-Friendly Homes and Neighborhoods with Older Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1800. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051800
Bukovszki, V., Dóci, G., & Reith, A. (2021). Coding Engines in Participatory Social Housing Design—A Case to Revisit Pattern Languages. Sustainability, 13(6), 3367. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063367
Combrinck, C., & Porter, C. J. (2021). Co-design in the architectural process. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 15(3), 738–751. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-06-2020-0105
Dayaratne, R. (2016). Creating places through participatory design: Psychological techniques to understand people’s conceptions. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 31(4), 719–741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-016-9497-2
De Carli, B., & Frediani, A. A. (2021). Situated perspectives on the city: A reflection on scaling participation through design. Environment and Urbanization, 33(2), 376–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/09562478211028066
Deane, L., & Smoke, E. (2010). Designing Affordable Housing with Cree, Anishinabe, and Métis People. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 19(1), 51–70. JSTOR. Del Gaudio, C., Franzato, C., & de Oliveira, A. J. (2016). Sharing Design Agency with Local Partners in Participatory Design. Internatioanl Journal of Design, 10(1). Del Gaudio, C., Franzato, C., & de Oliveira, A. J. (2017). The challenge of time in community-based participatory design. URBAN DESIGN International, 22(2), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-016-0017-5
Derr, V. (2015). Integrating community engagement and children’s voices into design and planning education. CoDesign, 11(2), 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2015.1054842 Devos, T., Blust, S., & Desmet, M. (2018). Valuating narrative accounts in participatory planning processes: A case of co-creative storytelling in Antwerp, Belgium. Ghaziani, R. (2021). Primary school design: Co-creation with children. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 15(2), 285–299. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-07-2020-0132 Huisman, E., Appel-Meulenbroek, R., & Kort, H. (2018). A structural approach for the redesign of a small-scale care facility as a guideline for decision-makers. Intelligent Buildings International, 12(1), 32–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508975.2018.1493569 Iversen, O. S., & Dindler, C. (2014). Sustaining participatory design initiatives. CoDesign, 10(3–4), 153–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2014.963124 Kpamma, Z. E., Adjei-Kumi, T., Ayarkwa, J., & Adinyira, E. (2017). Choosing By Advantages incorporated framework for a user-involved design process. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 14(3), 194–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2017.1341831 Krommyda, V., Somarakis, G., & Stratigea, A. (2019). Integrating offline and online participation tools for engaging citizens in public space management: Application in the peripheral town of Karditsa-Greece. International Journal of Electronic Governance, 11(1), 89. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEG.2019.098806 Kuronen, M., Majamaa, W., Raisbeck, P., & Heywood, C. (2012). Including prospective tenants and homeowners in the urban development process in Finland. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 27(3), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-012-9269-6 Lee, B., & Na, I. S. (2019). A case study of a community center project based on appropriate technology as a community capacity building of underdeveloped country. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 18(2), 43–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2019.1595628 Manuel, J., Vigar, G., Bartindale, T., & Comber, R. (2017). Participatory Media: Creating Spaces for Storytelling in Neighbourhood Planning. Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1688–1701. https://doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3025745 McTague, C., & Jakubowski, S. (2013). Marching to the beat of a silent drum: Wasted consensus-building and failed neighborhood participatory planning. Applied Geography, 44, 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.07.019 Melcher, K. (2013). Equity, Empowerment, or Participation: Prioritizing Goals in Community Design. Landscape Journal, 32(2), 167–182. https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.32.2.167 Milton, A., Winton, E., & Hollis, E. (2011). Remodelling Home: Engaging the Public in Architectural and Design Debate through Participatory Design. Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal—Annual Review, 5(4), 509–526. https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1874/CGP/v05i04/38149 Moatasim, F. (2005). Practice of Community Architecture: A Case Study of Zone of Opportunity Housing Co-operative, Montreal [M.Sc.]. McGill University. Mokhtarmanesh, S., & Ghomeishi, M. (2019). Participatory design for a sustainable environment: Integrating school design using students’ preferences. Sustainable Cities and Society, 51, 101762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101762 Mota, N. (2019). Álvaro Siza’s Negotiated Code: Meaningful Communication and Citizens’ Participation in the Urban Renewal of The Hague (Netherlands) in the 1980s. Urban Planning, 4(3), 250–264. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v4i3.2120 Murray, C., Doak, J., McNeil, K., & Oms, P. (2020). Participatory Design Methods When Working in Remote Locations: The Case of Red Puna in North West Argentina. The Design Journal, 23(2), 239–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2020.1726663 Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 10(1), 89. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4 Pawlowski, C. S., Schmidt, T., Nielsen, J. V., Troelsen, J., & Schipperijn, J. (2019). Will the children use it?—A RE-AIM evaluation of a local public open space intervention involving children from a deprived neighbourhood. Evaluation and Program Planning, 77, 101706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101706 Payne, S. R., Mackrill, J., Cain, R., Strelitz, J., & Gate, L. (2014). Developing interior design briefs for health-care and well-being centres through public participation. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 11(4), 264–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2014.923288 Pirinen, A., & Tervo, A. (2020). What can we share? A design game for developing the shared spaces in housing. Design Studies, 69, 100941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2020.04.001 Purwanto, E., Sugiri, A., & Novian, R. (2017). Determined Slum Upgrading: A Challenge to Participatory Planning in Nanga Bulik, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sustainability, 9(7), 1261. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071261 Ravina, D. V., Shih, R. R. L., & Medvegy, G. (2018). Community architecture: The use of participatory design in the development of a community housing project in the Philippines. Pollack Periodica, 13(2), 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1556/606.2018.13.2.20 Reijula, J., Ruohomäki, V., Lahtinen, M., & Reijula, K. (2017). Participatory facility design challenges in two university hospitals. Intelligent Buildings International, 12(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508975.2017.1342591 Rid, W., Haider, W., Ryffel, A., & Beardmore, B. (2018). Visualisations in Choice Experiments: Comparing 3D Film-sequences and Still-images to Analyse Housing Development Alternatives. Ecological Economics, 146, 203–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.10.019 Saleh, I. S. S., Ismail, Mostafa Refaat Ahmed, & Faggal, Ahmed Atef Eldesouky. (2020). User Preference and Input Analysis in Architectural Design and Construction Using Participatory Frameworks with Reference to a Case Study in Egyptian Primary School. International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, 13(12), 4966–4975. Salter, J. D., Campbell, C., Journeay, M., & Sheppard, S. R. J. (2009). The digital workshop: Exploring the use of interactive and immersive visualisation tools in participatory planning. Journal of Environmental Management, 90(6), 2090–2101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.08.023 Sanoff, H. (2000). Community Participation Methods in Design and Planning (1st Edition). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0169-2046(00)00063-3 Seve, B., Redondo, E., Millan, A., & Sega, R. (2020). The urban transformation as a collective creation: Bottom-up and participative tool taxonomy for urbanists and architects. In REHABEND 2020: Construction pathology, rehabilitation technology and heritage management (8th REHABEND Congress), Granada (Spain), March 24th-27th, 2020 (pp. 470–477). http://hdl.handle.net/2117/329811 Severcan, Y. C. (2015). THE EFFECTS OF CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING AND DESIGN ACTIVITIES ON THEIR PLACE ATTACHMENT. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 32(4), 271–293. JSTOR. Valladares, A. (2013). The Community Architect Program: Implementing participation-in-design to improve housing conditions in Cuba. Habitat International, 38, 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2012.09.004 Vercesi, M., Zaninelli, C., Simone, P., & Nettuno, L. (2018). Community planning activities for rehabilitation projects in Italy. The positive case of the children participatory design on the area of Vergomasco landfill in Odolo, Brescia. Ri-Vista, 160-173 Pages. https://doi.org/10.13128/RV-22997 Zingoni, M. (2019). Prototyping process: Interior architecture as a social agency. Interiors, 9(3), 306–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/20419112.2019.1622234