Canada Newsletter, February
“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;” ~ Proverbs 24:3
At EMI and in the corporate construction world, good design is frequently discussed. But how often do we stop to think about what makes good design? Is good design simply about functionality, or is there more to it than that?
On the Indian subcontinent, when it comes to construction and DIY (do it yourself), there is the concept of paka and jugaar in Urdu (or jugaad and paak in Hindi). Jugaar describes something that has been designed and built in a jerry-rigged fashion (think of all those engineering flowchart memes that extol the virtues of duct tape to secure things that move that shouldn’t and WD-40 for those things that don’t move but should).
With resources or finances often limited, people are endlessly creative in designing and building solutions to everyday problems. But is this good design? The answer is usually no. While always innovative, when something is built jugaar it is meant to be a temporary fix, not a repair to stand the test of time.
Paka, on the other hand, means pure. To design or build a project paka means it is to be done properly, with no corners cut. Something built paka is more expensive but is built to last. A project being completed paka is often what is meant when discussing good design. Both paka and jugaar have their place, sometimes we just need a simple temporary creative solution to a design problem, while other times we need to ensure the work will last.
While in Uganda, our project team serving Bless The Children Ministries saw plenty of examples of jugaar solutions to engineering problems. One that stood out to our civil engineering interns Naomi Bouter and Sarah Kasssulke was some scaffolding seen while stopping for fuel.
“It was all wonky…they could have built it a little bit more safely,” said Naomi.
While not something they would want to climb on to work from, Naomi said it was holding up the one workman and allowing him to get the job done. A true jugaar solution to a temporary construction problem. However, in life, faith and engineering, it is best to strive for excellence or paka.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,” Ecclesiastes 9:10 NIV
Just as with scaffolding in Uganda, when something is built jugaar, its unconventional features can be eye-catching and fascinating. When something is built paka its simple functionality can go unnoticed.
When a ministry engages EMI Canada to serve alongside them in support of their calling, EMI’s goal is to provide planning and design services that will elevate a ministry’s facilities and solutions, within their local context, from jugaar to paka. In the process, we ensure that the ministry can focus on their community and God’s call.
When EMI Canada comes alongside ministries to serve in support of their mission, our prayer is that our designs will bring their vision to life in a way that leaves a lasting impact.
At EMI, good design is built to leave a legacy of hope.