2.1 What is the purpose of architecture?
Architecture is considered to comprise both process (planning and designing space, form and ambience which reflects to its particular function, social and aesthetic considerations) and product (outcome, structure of building). Architecture will be more vital if it can carry meanings that teach us to assimilate the architecture to its content. For instance, we will be able to feel the function and characteristics of a railway station rather than seeing it as a collection of bricks and stones.
Significantly, architecture serves the public in general. It is a reflection on the things we do. Besides, architecture also evolves in a new and reinterpreted method of inventing and refining the identity of a place. Perhaps most crucially, when we think of architecture as an identification and culture of a place, we will then adapt the idea of architecture is actually relating to more than one individual. Therefore, architecture is operated by and for people who have various needs and desires, beliefs and objectives; who do things with activities that have practical needs; who have aesthetic sensitivity that are influenced by touch, warmth, sound, colour and visual encouragement; and people who view the world in a meaningful and significant way.
In addition, architecture is supposing to be able to affect everyone. This means that the design allows us to feel familiarize and touches our heart; scale that is appropriate with the human proportion and the most vital aspect is that it holds up a very revealing mirror to the type of society that we live in; and how we feel and behave. In short, architecture is to correspond well with the occupant’s expectations and perceptions, even if it is time consuming to fulfill all these requirements.
Besides, architecture also implies a permanent building which serves as a place to allow specific human activities to a specific group of people, allowing them to socialize and get connected with each other. For example, we make places to do certain things – places to eat, to sleep, to shop, to worships, to learn etc. These places are being shaped according to our (users) beliefs and aspirations, our world view. As this world view of ours varies, so does architecture: at individual stage; the social and cultural stage; and also between various sub-cultures within our society. Such is nothing than a reminder of the most fundamental condition under which we live and how a true architecture must operate.
2.2 Main purpose of architects
Since ancient time, architects have the power to open up new perspectives yet within a certain limit (considering individual values and to build within a social system). They wished to incorporate architecture as the prime symbol of the advancement of human progress. As the genuine practice becomes ever more restrain by standards and codes, architecture education - a platform for experiment, has becomes unrestrained in its self-indulgent desires. These have lead to the change of new role of the architects in the Information Age.
Architects now are to comply what the public wants with their own strong desire in a affirm way, fulfilling the standards of competence in work. Besides, they need to increase the corporate identity of the commercial clients and satisfying their ongoing alternate changes of tastes. This profession is thus divided into two categories: either the architects are being classified as engineers or they are known as advertisement tool to acquaint their products. It is the increase of the latter that boost up the growth of “experimentalism” in architecture. With the increase of these “experimentalism” in architecture, many architects start to explore the idea of so call fractal architecture, basically based on sophisticated variation like fern and crack of an ice.
It is at this exact point that architects start to forget the root of their noble profession. They are going to rapid and far with the technologies - killing the authentic spirit of architecture, whilst being distilled by politics, economics, ego and greed. This makes them begin to orient themselves with certain dream catcher’s trend and ambivalence, trying to forecast and chase the characteristics of the future. It is also at this same point that the death of architecture has start to occur.
2.3 Architecture Now and Then
The way people in the olden days treat architecture is vary with the way we treat architecture now. With the living conditions and economic growth of the people have improved, their needs to their lifestyles changed. Indisputably, question changed when the value changed, influencing on how the architects and designers think nowadays. In the past, architects place the priority of the users first, thinking of how to fully utilized and make the space more functional and beneficial to the user’s needs and desires. Every space has its purpose and not being wasted. On the other hand, architects now always think of how to make their buildings more famous and how to make it the most extravagant, tallest and mega amongst those existed architecture in the world. This issue gets even severe with the introducing of technologies and computer production where curve and wave, twist and warps, splines and fibers are easily reached and produced in a very economical price compared to before.
Designers in the olden time emphasize on creating the characteristics and needs of the space. For example, carvings and paintings (ornaments) in the pantheon relate with the traditions and needs of the people back then. In contrary, designers nowadays design the space mostly based on the aesthetic value and trend, sometimes these elements seems to serve no function at all. Moreover, the architects and designers are subtle with their work. Most of the time, they are easily being persuade to change the right values. For instance, based on my own survey (Pie Chart 1) that has been carried out, seventies percent of public now prefer to have an architecture that can bring out their social status and pride rather than emphasizing to their cultures and identities. Thus, when there’s a demand, the architects will supply these public with what they want rather than making an effort to affirm them about the right value of what architecture should be. Another significant difference is that architects and designer in the olden days are more patience and having more humanity thoughts of serving the best and most beneficial way to the people in a long run whilst the architects and designers now seems to have less patience and care less for their people. These are just a few issues which mark the differences between the architecture back then and now.
2.4 Changes in Perspectives of Today’s Architects, Designers and Society
There is a mutual global issue that the architecture industry in this world face, that is the fame and wealth versus the user’s needs and functionality as the subject matter of building. In this part, it will be categorizing and showing how these fame and wealth have influenced architects, designers and society to turn away from the authentic architecture.
2.4.1 Architects and designers
Architects and designers now show a little concern with social buildings such as schools, public buildings, universities and hospitals. Most of them are more into getting hired to work on small, private, commercials and rewarding projects. These architects and designers have been benefited from the extraordinary growth in wealth of the world which allows them to design and build almost anything imaginable. Besides, architects and designer now have lost faith in what they are doing. They often feel that in order to gain publicity and make more money, they need to stand out from others. They wanted to do something different and extravagant to catch people’s, especially the wealthy and rich tycoons attention without fully understand the usage of what they built. [WEALTH]
The 170 meters tall ‘cloud city’ (Figure1 & 2) located in the Zaabeel Park in Dubai an example to show the above statement. This standing ‘sculpture’ has the height but it does not really fully utilized the height because for this whole building, there are only three levels being used at the top where others are being left underutilized. It is obvious that the architect has not been practicing what a good architecture should be. He has turn away from the right attitude (user’s needs and character of the architecture) just to obey what money wants him to build. [WEALTH]
Figure 1: The ‘Cloud City’ Figure 2 : Angle View of the building
Tons of buildings built by architects and designers under the supervision of the politicians are mostly without the right attitude towards architecture values. They are usually being supported by a certain kind of paid press (media) which helps to make publicity to their architectures, making us - the public, to believe that that is the current trend of architecture. The architects and designers are now treating the architectural style as fashion, mostly due to the fact that information is now being exchanged at a fast pace due to the internet. Therefore, this technology has created a negligent of the rules and limitation of architecture, while emphasizing on creating and developing new and imaginable forms in order to gain fame in the fastest method. This fame obsessed mindset have makes us to neglects the basic of what architecture should be. Lacks of morality, sense of belonging and human touch in architecture are the mirror and effect of this restless chase of fame. [FAME]
One of the examples is the Experience Music Project (Figure 3 & 4) in Seattle, Washington by Frank Gehry. As most of us know, Frank Gehry earns his recognition with warped forms and titanium scale. In most of his design, there is always a large piece of his style in the architecture itself, regardless whether it is a necessary or not. The EMP is free form, painted with aluminum and clad in stainless steel. However, it lacks of the functionality and durability as a building for music lovers whilst it is being too emphasized on creating a noticeable image and iconic architecture of Frank Gehry to the people. This building shows Frank Gehry's unawareness to the user’s needs by producing a building that is rigor deficiency.Thus, Frank Gehry's non-stop fame chasing dream has made the EMP to be drastic, awkward and shocking. [FAME]
Figure 3: Overall view of Experience Music Project Figure 4: Front view of Experience Music Project in Seattle
Some architects adapt themselves very strongly to a particular style they finds desirable. For instance, Le Corbusier: pure, abstract form and a machined production style; Peter Eisenmen: explore the crucial of architecture principles and rules; Ken Yeang: ecological problems as main issues etc. It is fine if they make use of their signature styles in a minor way which suits the needs and desires of their clients to carry out the architect’s identity but it will be a problem if they try to fit everything they want into that building itself. The architects now attempt to gain the same popularity status as the Hollywood stars. This is due to the architect’s arrogance, which best illustrate the cool, whimsy, not functional, irrational and inhuman architecture of this period. [EGO AND SELF AGGRANDIZEMENT]
Architects, like most people in the world, have lost touch with what life is and for. Therefore, they don’t know that they can conduct and helps to improve the life of its people through maintaining and reproducing the architectures in a more optimal method. This is vital because it is the most fundamental idea, especially to architects because of all professions in the world, they serve as intervene between the modern individual and his world.
2.4.2 Society
Architecture is now being treated as a trade and icon to symbolize the status of wealth of a society. Superficial architecture is highly in demand as a result of the unprecedented growth of wealth. This easy and wealthy lifestyle has birthed new generation of architects, designers and societies: the Generation Y. This generation constantly quest for new information in the fastest pace where everything else (including architectural experience) does not really matters as long as they get the instant delight. Architecture too, like other things must be changing constantly in a new, avant-garde way and being able to exhilarate the people rapidly. Masses think that the greater and the extravagant the buildings are, the richer it tells others about them. Therefore, most society urged and request for fractal architectures in order to attract business to their countries and helps to boost up their economic. However, they do not realize that the image of architecture is developing in a pace that the architecture itself can bear. The societies are concerned only with the image (exterior package of an architecture), mostly because that is what they know. Once they have the image that shows their social status, they do not take the trouble to develop the rest of the architecture, as in functionality because they have sufficient money to invest in other new images which can fulfilled and increase their social pride.[WEALTH]
One of the examples is that the societies now are over obsessed with the latest Burj Khalifa (Figure 5 & 6) in Dubai by Adrian Smith. It is a fine example of what superficial architecture equal to wealth. This means that the higher and extravagant the architecture are, the higher social status and possibilities of being accepted and respect by others in the society. Therefore, architecture now is constructed for the sake of being cool and out stand the others in the world to show how wealthy a society is. Moreover, the cultures and values of the society changed when this is the time that everyone starts to compete and race amongst themselves in order to display their wealth through introducing superficial architectures. It is kind of ashamed that people starts to forget to instill their roots (identity) in their architectures, which they have grown up and live in most of the time. Architecture now is just mere building without the soul (characters) that can make the users feel attached and be proud of. [WEALTH]
Figure 5: Day view of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai Figure 6: Night view of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai
Most people keep suggesting that there are something missing and maybe the architecture can pronounce to the lost. Here, in the realm of social projects and planning, the innovative and fearless approach for a new dimension of architecture is inspired. Thus, the masses now have become the architecture’s new client, especially in the Soviet Union where new programs start to inspired new forms and designs. This idea of social advancement and of mankind’s ability to be able to construct the architectures to show their advancement seems disparage today. Grand designs (Figure7, 8, 9, 10 & 11) are referred as nothing but grand presentation, arrogance that leads to a deadly effect. [FAME]
Figure 7: Grand Lobby Design of Burj Khalifa Figure 8: Interior View that Hardly Shows the Identity of the Eastern Country (1) Figure 9: Interior View (2) Figure 10: Interior View (3) Figure 11: Viewing Tower
Societies have eagerly wanted to ‘build’ their fame amongst others. They have started to find different solutions to make themselves famous. Indisputably, media press is the best source that they can ever find. Therefore, in order to make it to the cover page, it is no doubt that they are necessary to make their architecture special and more outstanding than the other existed architectures. Comparison diagrams (Figure 12) for architecture around the world are created. This has even made the societies to be restlessly chasing to build even taller in order to gain the fame and attention from other countries. This is kind of despicable because there is no comparison diagram about the overall best architecture (in term of functionality, durability and beauty) which is useful in helping to raise the value of a greater architecture to serve the society now and in the future. If we are classifying architecture as a result of the economic conditions in this period where wealth and fame comes hand in hand, rather than to a particular purpose and style, then we have to question ourselves, what’s next? [FAME]
Figure 12: The Comparison Diagram
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