Spark Architecture: Just Cause
by
Better Everyday.
Or better every day, sums up our “just cause”. But what comprises “Everyday (life)” ? And what makes it better? Given that our work is with and for other human beings, it helps to gain some clarity of what makes us tick.
We found some useful frameworks in the fields of economics and psychology. Our experience of life can be looked at as how, what and where we fulfill our needs for: Subsistence, Protection, Affection, Understanding, Participation, Idleness, Creation, Identity, and Freedom.
In practice that translates into providing settings and spaces that successfully support these needs, both in our own culture and the projects we work in. We work hard to identify, understand, and meet the primary needs and concerns of each client. Beyond that, we seek an understanding of the context, values, and aspirations of our projects, to see what added value we can realize while we’re at it.
Results could be as simple as a moment of surprise or delight, an opportunity to connect people, connect people to nature, or as complex as a tailored resilience-building sustainability strategy.
So how do we actually do this as an organization? This leads us into the five Spark values: