The Negotiation of Desire: Co-creation of Sense in the Livingston Method of Participatory Design

Abstract

It is still open the discussion about the elements that allow real participation to be developed in participatory design processes and the research is framed in those lines of work that understand co-design as a spatial and social transformative action. The search for an element that allows and explains the effective participation of interested parties in participatory design processes in the field of architecture motivates this research. The objective is to evaluate the relevance and effectiveness of the concept of desire in participatory design processes based on the Livingston method. As a novelty, the contribution of the Livingston method, which uses desires as the key element to develop participatory design processes, is introduced into the debate. As a method, three collective processes based on the Livingston method are compared. The conclusions show that the use of desires is key in the development of projects with the Livingston method and is revealed to be consistent as an element of balance of power and transparency in communication between clients and architects. Work around desires can constitute an effective alternative to the use of the needs program in architectural studies and to the problem-solving paradigm and, in the field of participatory design, it can represent a useful instrument in combination with other methods.