THE APPLICATION OF VALUE MANAGEMENT WITH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT TO IMPROVE THE DESIGN OF A PUBLIC AREA FOR ELDERS

摘要

The design and construction of public projects should take into consideration of the needs and wants of the people affected, especially those of elders who are easily affected by their environment. The concept of public engagement (PE) has been gradually applied in public projects in order to ensure the projects' success and the satisfaction of the stakeholders. However, because of differences in the various stakeholders' backgrounds, values, interests, and so on, it is not easy to implement PE successfully. For this study value management (VM) was integrated into the PE process with the aim of improving the design of a public area so as to satisfy the special needs of elders. The participants, including members of the community and outsiders who could affect the decision making, went through the entire three-stage VM-embedded PE process. A logical, systematic VM plan was integrated, and various VM techniques - including Function Analysis Systematic Diagrams (FAST) and star diagrams, brainstorming and so on - were purposively incorporated into the process. The participants identified the major function of the public area, developed a FAST diagram and, in the different PE stages, put forward numerous ideas to improve the project. All the participants were fully satisfied with the final design option, which focused on the needs of elders. The high average score (4.8/5) the client gave on the feedback form also demonstrates the success of the VM-embedded PE process. The key factors in the success of the VM-embedded PE process are pointed out in the discussion section.