ARCHITECTURE & SOCIAL BENEFIT: Expectations, Needs, Provisions and Acceptance
While architecture and urban planning are invariably associated with design and decision-making; with the determination of form, and thus a specific and often individual interpretation of aesthetics; with an understanding of and commitment to client needs, and thus with the provision of functional requirements; as well as designerly self-interest; both, it may be argued, should also be considered and assessed in terms of appropriate contributions to the community, and thus the idea of significant social benefit.

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Given the proposition that architecture should thus go beyond individual / architectural interest on the one hand, and the requirements and desires of clients / corporations / institutions / etc. on the other; and drawing on the views and/or arguments contained in a range of different sources (though without merely reporting or summarising them), you are asked to develop a well-constructed and persuasive argument that addresses the issues of:
(i) what constitutes the notion of community or communities plural and on what basis are community requirements, which may well be different between different groups, to be determined and provided?
(ii) what constitutes social benefit; for whom; and how are disparities between different parties within different community ‘groups’ to be reconciled or ignored? and
(iii) if potential requirements and expectations might simultaneously be positive for some and negative for others, what is the role that architects can and should play in relation to society and vice versa?

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