After reviewing Ai Weiwei in Architectural Theory last week, I began to think of how Ai Weiwei and his art actually relates to architectural design in a cultural sense. I remembered that architecture often has hidden meanings represented in its designs much like an artist's work. Architecture like the White House and the US Capitol Building are symbolic in meaning of strength, institution, and democracy through the design and use of the columns, the use of granite, and the incorporation of steps along the major facades. These design ideas are to insinuate a connection with past cultures like the Greeks and Romans, showing a historic reference with modern ideas. Likewise, when one would design a building breaking traditional rules, like Phillip Johnson's Glass house and it's reinterpretation of personal privacy, the Architect, much like the artist, is making a political/cultural statement. This statement is often met with resistance and in Ai's case, being struck and jailed for expressing cultural misunderstandings and free speech. With this knowledge, architects can and should begin to change society for the better much like Ai Weiwei's efforts to help reform China and allow more personal freedoms such as controversial art back into society.
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