Firmness, Commodity and Delight
Firmness, Commodity and Delight. We’ve all heard these words
preached to us so many times that they’re relevance to architectural theory
will forever be engraved in our minds. However, this weeks reading left me
questioning how these pillars of architecture, or the built environment as a
whole, may be effected by the fourth element that I believe Habraken presents:
Control. While Venturi describes
firmness, commodity and delight as the essential components of all successful
architecture, Habraken elaborates by stating “[control] defines the central
operational relationship between humans and all matter that is the stuff of
built environment”. If commodity is the design of a space to meet the
functional needs of its occupants and control means constantly transforming then
do these ideas of commodity and control work with each other or against each
other? Is commodity then dictated by control or is there an inherent
flexibility of commodity which allows for control? Another factor that Habraken
brings to our attention is change and the effects of time. He describes how we
build to ensure or resist time, which to me would mean that historically we
view commodity as a static or permanent evaluation, when ultimately we need to
view it as an ever changing, dynamic quality, that will be in response to
control and result in the durability and transformation of our built environment.
Without allowing space for control in a current commodity we’re running the
risk of obsolescence or rejection of a current building form.
Time and obsolescence seem to be our biggest enemies as architects. I like to think that if we do relinquish that control, we can much more easily build in a way that will continue to provide commodity as time passes.
ReplyDeleteI think that control has more to do with delight than with commodity. Control is talking about the purpose of architecture, about the meaning of it. Giving control to the user puts meaning in their hands. It gives them the ability to attach significance with every decision they make and makes their relationship with the built environment more visceral. Delight, in the Vetruvian sense, does the same. We find meaning in aesthetics in a way that commodity and firmness don't achieve.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to disagree with Bert here. Control and commodity are linked. But in the sense that control is a part of commodity. They are not competing considerations.
ReplyDelete