Learning about Good Design

by Paul Deffenbaugh | 1 December 2022 12:00 am

I always love reporting on and learning about the winning design projects we cover. But what I enjoy most is sitting in on the judging panel and listening to them discuss the submissions. I get the great fortune to participate in three judging panels every year: the MCN Project Excellence Awards, the Metal Architecture Design Awards[1] our sister publication runs, and the Metal Construction Association Design Awards, which we administer. Those three days every year are the ones I look forward to the most.

I think many of us look around our built environment and are surprised by what sometimes gets built.

There are a couple of things to note about the judging process. First, we often get the same projects submitted in all the contests. Every year, from judging panel to judging panel, they routinely identify the same project for recognition. For example, this year the EJ Basler facility in Schiller Park, Ill., (page 26) earned top credit in the metal building category in all three awards contests. Nine different judges identified that project as the best. That doesn’t happen by accident.

I think many of us look around our built environment and are surprised by what sometimes gets built. There is work out there that just isn’t pleasing aesthetically, and that begs the question about what we believe good design is. I think the similarities we see across these judging panels shows that the design community actually has considerable consensus on what good design is.

That doesn’t mean good design is all the same. There are so many factors involved in evaluating a project: building type, location, context, form, palette, performance, material selection. When you consider how many design decisions are made for each one of these factors, the breadth and complexity of quality design can be extensive. And aren’t we all better off to live and work in a built environment that provides such variety? The other thing I wanted to note about the judging process is how much I learn from it. When I was young, I had a running argument with an art professor about evaluating quality art. My argument was that as a relatively smart, decently educated person, I should be able to judge the quality of a painting. I can’t tell you how wrong I was. (And that discussion begs the question of where did I have the gall to argue with a trained professional about his own field. The hubris of youth.)

Listening to the design award judging panels go through the submissions and talk about what they admire about the work and where it falls a little short is such an exciting education that I wish everyone had the chance to do it.

As I said, I’ve been observing three panels every year and I’ve been at this job for 11 years. Prior to that, I sat in on judging for awards programs from new residential work to home remodeling at least once a year. And every single time I learn something new.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/learning-about-good-design/

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