Scarcity Isn't the Problem
An architect should be a designer.
If an architect freezes at the thought of scarcity of materials, there is a bigger issue than just not having materials available. As a designer, an architect should be a problem solver. He or she should be someone who can troubleshoot and come up with creative solutions. This, at its very core, is what makes architects so valuable to society.
If schools are now producing and training architects who can only think as far as the given solutions already spoon fed to them, the schools are failing. I do not believe this is happening, but to believe that there will be a massive, unsurpassable crisis with material scarcity is to have a very small view of what architects are trained to do.
Jeremy Till's Article, "Scarcity contra Austerity" gives some good examples of architects already thinking beyond material constraints.
2012Architecten, Wikado playground, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2008) - Playground made from windmill pieces:
Officina Roma, MAXXI, Rome, Italy (2011)
If an architect freezes at the thought of scarcity of materials, there is a bigger issue than just not having materials available. As a designer, an architect should be a problem solver. He or she should be someone who can troubleshoot and come up with creative solutions. This, at its very core, is what makes architects so valuable to society.
If schools are now producing and training architects who can only think as far as the given solutions already spoon fed to them, the schools are failing. I do not believe this is happening, but to believe that there will be a massive, unsurpassable crisis with material scarcity is to have a very small view of what architects are trained to do.
Jeremy Till's Article, "Scarcity contra Austerity" gives some good examples of architects already thinking beyond material constraints.
2012Architecten, Wikado playground, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2008) - Playground made from windmill pieces:
Officina Roma, MAXXI, Rome, Italy (2011)
I totally understand the link between austerity and scarcity, but I agree I think there's an ability that we as architects can find creative solutions that begin to detach us from the idea that our product is controlled by the amount of scarcity. I really appreciated the examples in the reading and their creative solutions to readily available resources which are often overlooked.
ReplyDeleteI think that some of the best architectural pieces have come from scarcity. Just as Siza's pool project we can see great examples of architecture that are done with a minimal amount of materials. I think that the need to think "outside" of the box without certain materials makes us better designers and I also think that's why some "constrained" countries produce such great architecture.
ReplyDeleteI think the ability of the architect to be able to come up with innovative designs with everyday material/objects is imperative in the architectural profession. The examples of projects that were designed and made with a scarcity of materials show that really great and innovative designs can be made with very little material.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, scarcity isn't the problem. And I do think a lot of architecture, or design schools are failing students worldwide. Within some cultures, everyone is focused on the next big thing, innovation, and being the first in the field. With that logic, what are we to do with everything that was? Abandon, dump in the ocean, create new problems? I appreciate Clemson, and especially the health program for a lot of reasons, but one is because of the exposure to real world situations and professional integration. I wish all classes approached learning as an exercise in critical thinking alongside practicality and consequence.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, architects are problem solvers and should act as such, especially when it comes to scarcity. In hindsight, scarcity presents itself as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
ReplyDelete