Unleashed Scarcity

Standing inside an era of minimalism, how can architects deal with the spatial dilemma and think beyond the scarcity? Jeremy Till gave us the good answer: understand the scarcity and use it instead of “ less is more”. I really like his opinion a lot with critical thinking and strong idea. He explained how the society created the scarcity and why minimalism didn’t work well without consideration of the people. When I read that, I realize we always see the bad side of the scarcity and try so hard to avoid it, and sometimes it doesn’t come out good. We don’t feel good because of compromising. Why not unleash the scarcity and redefine the object creatively?

Samuel Mockbee also mentioned the similar idea: “The dilemma for every architect is how to advance our profession and our community with our talents rather than our talents being used to compromise them.” Instead of fitting the design inside the social rules, we should reshape the social rules with innovative designs. That’s the social responsibility of architects. 

In 2012, the Architecture Foundation & Scarcity and Creativity in the Built Environment (SCIBE) at the University of Westminster started a competition — Scarce Times: Alternative Futures. Jeremy Till was one of the Jury. The competition was open to anyone — not limited design background. The four winning teams collaborated with the organizer to work on a project with the community in Bromley-by-Bow, London. This competition points out the future: designers can find an alternative way to face the scarcity with more public participation and social engagement. Everyone can get involved into shaping their own lives. Our space will become a new hub for humanity, equity and justice.