A Stone in the Midst of Running Water

One of the ideas that struck me while reading the essay by John Habraken’s, was his comparison of architecture and time with a stone and running water. He writes, “Good architecture, we instinctively believe, is the stone in the midst of running water. The common environment, however, is the running water and change by way of adaptation over time is essential for its continued existence.” 

We think, as designers, that our designs should last the course of decades, of centuries – the larger the project, the more this rings true. But should we? Should we design skyscrapers to be merely their original intention – an office building or hotel etc. Or should we, with time in mind, design so that it is easily adaptable into something else? Was the way Venezuelan’s occupied the abandoned 45 story Tower of David wrong? Like I said in my last post, if you give someone a blank canvas, no two paintings will ever be the same. Although unsafe and not intended for living – thousand’s of people made it work and more importantly and beautifully they made it their own! There is something refreshing about seeing something actually lived in - laundry hanging outside, a oddly placed window, flowers hanging on a window sill - rather than the cool and disconnected architecture that strives to make everything perfect, neat, and undefined. The tower of David was just the running water... Change being essential for its continued existence.