Baa•ham
(BAH-hum) From Urdu, two things working together
Our world is sick with bad design, and it’s ruining our health, our relationships, and our happiness. It’s continuing to get worse by the day. To flourish, we must adopt a new way of designing places.
In the Urdu language, “Baaham” means two things that are linked and influencing one another. It’s like our relationship with our physical environment—first, we shape it, then it shapes us.
Baaham focuses on designing spaces that are useful, life-promoting, and responsive to the needs of the people who use them.
Baaham’s Principles
Whether you’re creating a single room or an entire city, follow these principles
Look within
Put the people who predominantly use a space at the center of that space’s design—their needs, goals, and aspirations—and then design outward.
Solve real problems
Prioritize solutions over style. Think practically about what people need from their space on a daily basis, and find form through function.
Design for change
Harness the power of the built environment to nudge people in positive ways. Recognize that needs change over time, so designs should be adaptable.
Follow nature
Like nature, collect feedback on what’s working and what isn’t to refine designs. Make the space work for, not against, our evolutionary and biological needs.
Build locally
Source materials and approaches to construction from the area in which you’re building. Minimize the use of materials that do more harm than good to us and the planet.
Embrace details
Consider the finer details to ensure your design works, not just looks good. The details will also make it more beautiful and people will use it more.
Zoom out
Judge an object’s usefulness based on how well it supports both the surrounding environment and the other principles. Consider unintended consequences.
Fans of Baaham
Paul
Editor of Architect Magazine
The ideas changed how I see the world and interact with my surroundings.
Sarosh
NASA Engineer
As a human systems engineer, Baaham REALLY resonates with me.
Michael
Architect and Developer
Immensely inspiring – how architecture can help manifest a more equitable, just future.
The Baaham Manifesto
I’ll never forget the first time a bad design ruined my day. I ended up covered in pee—and it wasn’t my own.
I was 5, attending kindergarten in the Atlanta suburb of Riverdale. Our classroom, overseen by a matronly Mrs. Ray, looked like any typical kindergarten: a square rug where kids plop down for storytime, folding vinyl mats to sleep on during nap time, a bookshelf stuffed with Smurfs and Curious George, and the glazed ceramic mugs we were making for Mother’s Day. There was also a bathroom attached to the back wall, and one afternoon, I really had to go.
It was a single-occupancy bathroom, but for some reason had two doors, one to my classroom and one to another. The moment I realized this, another full-bladdered boy came bursting through the door, his pants already unbuttoned and falling down his legs. Then he began emptying his bladder. His stream sprayed with complete abandon, landing all over the walls, the floor, and the toilet seat, but for the most part, right on me. I was trapped. The one-person room left me no choice but to maneuver my body out of his stream’s path and wait, desperately, for him to finish.