From this list, I would choose:
ARCHITECTURE! over
architecture?
ARCHITECTURE! to me reads as keynote
architecture; or architecture that has never been duplicated except
by various ideas if form, structure, and/or function. The beauty of
this architecture can be found in it's uniqueness and deliberate
existence to contrast contemporary standards of it's time. As I
begin to practice, I hope to be able to take on large scale projects
that will put focus on my overall design ideas as to copying or
re-implementing someone else's ideas in the same atmosphere in
another built environment. This desire comes from the atrocious
placement of houses all over the US, with most having no unique
quality in coordination with it's surroundings. The same structures
are found in a catalog that can be purchased for $20 at a local
bookstore. So I ask, how is that expressing architectural ideas???
Networks over Objects
As I have interned and worked on studio
projects dealing with urban design and development, I have begun to
understand how important the fabric of life, culture, the built
environment, humans, nature, and many others begin to overlap into a
living organism network. As I move into the future, I hope to
develop buildings not just for the client or for my own personal
prestige, but for the overall greater good of the surrounding fabric
of networks. Everyday, we experience the built environment,
sometimes unconsciously walking and interacting with the
surroundings. So I pose the question, instead of interacting with
just the building, what if your interactions in the building can
impact and interact with the greater built environment or networks of
life and the like organisms? What if flushing a toilet or using a
sink would lead to a water purification system in the building that
waters the plants on the exterior of the building, which in turn
feeds the endangered birds of the area. Would then architecture not
contribute to the greater good of life?
Substance over hype
I must choose
substance over hype because I feel that too many keynote building now
days are hyped up over the architect or person funding the project.
Where many of these projects fall short is their connection to
networks and the “WOW!” factor. Anyone who has millions of
dollars can fund a major project and any architect can drop trees
hardheartedly onto flat surfaces. However, I question what greater
good will that building serve? If the building doesn't take into
account environmental factors, the various networks of human and
natural interactions, or the account a greater purpose, then I
question why build the space as a monumental structure? Why not
instead keep the project as a simple building that everyone
recognizes for it's purpose because unless every-time someone walks
into a building and feels a greater good or connection, then the
keynote building will be no different than the mall down the street.
