by hand

“Hope is a function of activity.” (Bamyeh, 2009:6; Foucault, quoted in Baymeh, 2009:13)

“Personal commitment may possibly be as important as humane design.” (Wilsher and Righter, 1975:95)

A powerful way of improving our environment is to put the control of it into the hands of its immediate users who have the stake and knowledge to make it function well (Lynch, 1984:165). The last great force in the city is the residents themselves (Orum and Chen, 2003:18) and their creative response to change is their ultimate guarantee of survival (Lynch, 1984:172).
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Action, impact and ownership (Rapoport,1977).
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(i) Built on concepts variously described as ‘life between buildings’ (Gehl, 1987), ‘found space’ (Rivlin, 2007), ‘open-ended space’ (Fernando, 2007; Rapoport, 1968, cited in Fernando, 2007;1977), ‘casual space’ (Smith, 1977), ‘open-minded space’ (Walzer, 1986 cited in Lees, 1998).

(ii) An approach which leaves room for ambiguity, personalization and use in multiple and long term temporal and cultural, use, meaning and communication contexts (e.g. but certainly not limited to Rapoport’s (1977) open-ended design – see section on conjunction later in this text).
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for[1] the hand made.
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Personal intimacy, many-sided social relationships, nonhierarchical modes of organization (Bookchin, 1974:128[2])
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Something like the ‘wisdom’ of Georges Friedmann, the ‘amenity’ of Bertrand de Jouvenel, Illich’s ‘conviviality’, Radovan Richta’s ‘capacity for creativity’ and Ellul’s ‘individuality’ (Ellul, 1978:138)
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Resultant
People play with things and find new uses for them (Lynch, 1984:157); Messy and spontaneous, individually created, everyday expressions of the creativity of everyday people in all of its facets. A response to the environment, a reflection of society, culture, and traditions (Jonas, 2007). Change reconciles with the idea of improvement (Koolhaas, 2002) and people feel joy, as opposed to mere pleasure (Illich, 1973:17)[3].

[1] Not hand made, but a way that leaves space for, does not constrain and facilitates the hand made. We do not manage creativity but we can manage for creativity (see the work of Amabile). Allow the building process to be a creative act of gradual construction. Each new material must be more flexible, more adaptable and more capable of coping with variation than the last. Build from flimsy to strong but with materials that go from stiffest to most fluid. Such process enables life comparable to a master craftsman, whose work is fluid, confident and steady – a relaxed and candid wisdom. Most modern building however is that of novices – uptight and rigid; panic stricken and micro-managed (see Alexander et. al. 1977:962-8 GRADUAL STIFFENING (208)).

[2] Discussing countercultural planners.

[3] Commerce returns to its meaning (in French) of conversation and fruitful social relations – an exchange of savoir-faire (knowledge of how to make or do) and savoir-vivre (knowledge of how to live) (Stiegler, 2010:16).