#activistarchitecture

(Text written in 2011 for the New York League of Architecture Open Call: "it's different").

“Hundred years ago, all architecture could be held in the intelligence of a single maker, the master builder. Part architect, part builder, part product designer, and building engineer, and part materials scientist, the master builder integrated all the elements of architecture in a single mind, heart, and hand.”(1)

Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi is the perfect example of a master builder. He had direct responsibility of making the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. His innovations cut across the fields of architecture, industrial design (produced his own tools such as an unprecedented screw jack and lifts), structural research, construction processes and material exploration.

During modernism, the profession of architecture specialized in various elements; architects, consultants, contractors, engineers, educators, providers, urban planners, etc.  The multiple foci of the discipline only fragmented architecture in an advancing world, making “appearance” and “form” the only quest in the profession.

At the peak of modernism, Le Corbuiser, the Congrès  Internationaux de l´Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and  “The Charter of Athens had separated urban function into broad division of living, working, leisure and circulation.”(2)  This new version of the city as a park filled with objects never took in consideration sociological, economical and environmental components.  Space and appearance triumphed over substance.

In contemporary times, we have inherited these fallacies. As architects, we have ignored the reality of our world: poverty, globalization, climate change, climate justice, and social responsibility. Some Cities have become places for spectacle and consumption, while others are ignored by architects because of their lack of glamour or limited financial resources. For instance, “The Olympic Stadium in Beijing serves little purpose these days and is acquiring a reputation of being more White Elephant than Bird´s nest.” (3)

“In fact, most media produce a false sense of wellness, an artificial impression of the world of architecture and design, a world with an endless budget, perfect clients a timeless schedule. Welcome to the real world? No, this is NOT the world we live in.” (4) The world of architecture has grown wasteful, splintered, disposable and fragmented.

As a result, architects today need to understand the complexity of our world and engage the profession constructively. It is not only necessary to become a “master-architect” like Brunelleschi did, but to become an  Architect “All-field”, “All-terrain”, “Off-road”; Arquitecto Todoterreno.

Architects today must be involved in the academia, in the construction process, doing material research and product design or even become activist. We must explore deeper into what lies beyond mere looks –to see how we accomplish things, not merely what they appear to be. Architects must work in teams integrating sociologists, artists, craftsmen, historians, ecologists, administrators, city officials; solving real daily problems, not only fashionable projects for the privilege.

It is a call-for action for architects and city builders to take part in the re-construction of a more equitable and sustainable world. In recent years, very few architects engaged projects that dealt with scarcity, natural disasters, poverty, and war exposing a different type of practice.

Times have changed, and the profession of architecture needs to be redefined. Architectural Record Magazine clearly provokes people in its January 2011 front cover by asking, “What now?”(5). In the past, people and the media put too much emphasis on buildings and their creators. The world does not need more designers concerned only with stylistic agendas, but interdisciplinary teams of people working towards socio-cultural issues, environmental projects, and economically constructive proposals that transform lives.

The new role of designers is to be reflective individuals that search with conviction and work with responsibility to improve the quality of life of the local and global communities. The work of architecture must be based on the application of methodologies, analysis, critical thinking and careful experimentation avoiding intuitive egotistic proposals. The new role of designer is to be a diverse architect that produces a variety of works and scales always searching for inventive -yet practical- proposals turning the very constraints into a design philosophy. The world needs real solutions, not fashionable and socially restrictive designs. It’s different now.

Most architects have abandoned less profitable and ordinary projects only focusing on the spectacular, when in reality the “normal” projects have much deeper impact on humanity. Architects that deal with real constraints are the new heroes.

“Understanding the impacts of demographic growth on the environment has become a necessity, as the links between architecture and society become both more complex and more fragile. How we choose to shape our cities, buildings and public spaces, will determine how we respond to the challenges as well as addressing human rights, justice, and dignity for the billions of people who move to cities in search of work and opportunity.”   We live in a continually transforming society, where the status quo constantly evolves. It’s different now.

[1] Kieran, S and Timberlake, J. Re-fabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies Are Poised to Transform Building Construction.

[2] Curtis, W. Modern Architecture since 1900. Ed. Phaidon, London. 3rd Edition, 1996.

[3] Burdett, Richard. Cities, Architectutre and Society. 10. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura. La Biennale di Venezia. Ed. Marsilio, Italy. 2006

[4] Grellner, J. Evoltion Five-twenty. Senior Seminar. Drury University. December 2003. Springfield, MO