WHEN EVERYONE'S SUPER...

NO ONE WILL BE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8I9pYCl9AQ

In Habraken’s “Questions that will not go away”, he quotes Lawrence Anderson (Dean of Architecture @ MIT) “Too bad nobody wants to do a background building,” and even stated that “one cannot claim at […] that the entire built environment is to be architecture and that architecture is special and different. How can everything be special?”

We as students aim to be great. Not necessarily “starchitects” but definitely not the person making the background buildings. We see our designs as beautiful creations cherished throughout time. Buildings that will never be torn down – never be empty – always be maintained – always be. The students are not to blame in this situation because we rarely see the failures. When we do, the architect usually has several successes to overshadow the failure, allowing the failures to fade out of the curriculum. Along with the failures, students rarely get a chance to look at the ‘background’ buildings. If the building did not advance technology, theory, society, or the economy it is of no importance and forgotten.

The sad thing is many of our designs will be background buildings. Buildings that do no other service then give people a place to work or live. Instead of focusing on how our buildings can make an impact on the world of architecture, we should focus instead on how we can make an impact on the users. Non-architects will never fully understand why a boxy white building on stilts is special – but they will notice if it leaks. “What is common cannot be special, but it can be of high quality.”

https://misfitsarchitecture.com/2011/09/03/the-darker-side-of-villa-savoye/