Who are we?
Critical vs. Projective
Index vs. Diagram
Hot vs. Cold
Architecture having nearly 2000 years of history, development, exploration, and criticism is littered with words. Each word carries with it a set of implications we either choose to acknowledge or choose to ignore. With each design, each design iteration, each decision in the design iteration, these loaded words cannot be avoided. Generally, architectural history can be followed in a clearly defined vocabulary for each "era" or stylistic trend, but I do not believe this holds true today. Architects define themselves not by a set style or vocabulary, but rather exists within a balance of opposing words, which are used at our own discretion to accomplish the goals we desire. Taking the Critical vs. Projective example. Much of my undergraduate work took a more Critical perspective, focusing more on the process and driving logic to create space and in some sense Architecture. Recently, a more projective approach has been emphasized, and as such my work reflects, but is really an abstraction of an idea applied to the world. Only when a balance is achieved between the two, and certainly not perfect balance can a project shine, yet even still is it such a good idea to even label stances? Words inherently are how we understand things, but do we need to put fixed ideas to things that seem to come natural? Today these words are treated more like tools in a tool box, a change for better or worse, which is a stanch reality for us.
It
is OK to switch sides of the fence at a whim, but now how do we define
ourselves individually as architects within a hyper dynamic definition
of ourselves? Are our identities ever changing, or did we not have one
to begin with and we simply attach whatever facade we need?
Eric,
ReplyDeleteTo me, the labels have become something of public profession - a lick-and-stick stamp on our work and subsequently on ourselves that comes about to help others understand our position on architecture at a given time. Sure, the applied stamp can change as frequently as our rabbit-minds change directions, but I think that it follows our identity rather than vice-versa. At any rate, the label becomes a time-stamp - something that others (architects most likely) can look back on to identify cultural trends and shifts and locate architects within the nebulous stream of design typologies.