From Barriers to Bridges: Understanding and Improving Interactions between Architect and User-Client in Dwelling Design

Interactions between architects and user-clients in Belgian private residential sector remain fraught with tension. A growing body of research highlights a persistent disconnect between architectural professionals and their clients, often leading to frustration, anxiety, and unmet expectations on both sides. While architects are still widely perceived as expert-authors, recent perspectives call for more collaborative design approaches that value user-clients’ experiential knowledge and emotional investment in their homes. This doctoral research investigates these complex dynamics, exploring the underlying causes of these challenges and proposes strategies to improve them.
Grounded in constructionist and participatory epistemologies, this thesis adopts a qualitative, multi-method approach combining a systematic literature review, interviews, ethnographic case studies, co-design workshops, and focus groups. These methods allow for an in-depth analysis of both architects’ and user-clients’ lived experiences, as
well as the mechanisms that hinder or facilitate meaningful exchange. Central to this analysis is the concept of friction and the phenomenon of habitus shock, where professional and lay perspectives collide.
Structured as an article-based dissertation, the thesis comprises nine peer-reviewed or submitted papers. These contributions map current practices, confront divergent narratives, and assess the transformative effects of co-design workshops developed during the My Architect and I project, which brought architects and user-clients together to co-create resources supporting better interaction.
Key findings underline the importance of early mutual learning, mediation tools, and soft skills — competencies often underrepresented in architectural training. Ultimately, the thesis advocates for a redefinition of the architect’s role: from expert-author to mediator. It calls on both academic and professional communities to adopt more human-centred and context-sensitive models of architectural interaction.