What will be the idea of "home" in the future?
This is probably not a very accurate comparison, but the way
I see it today and based on the way things are, asking an architect to solve the
issues with housing and our built environment is like asking a chef to solve world
hunger. De Carlo said that architects have been subject to the world view of those
in power and as I think about it, it seems like almost all examples of top-notch
architecture the world has seen come as a statement of power for the rulers,
the holy and the rich. Then, what is the role that architects can take with the
rest of society? Giving them the knowledge and the tools to the people to build their
own communities is an idea that could work in rural areas and in some remote parts
of the developing world, but not in modern cities. As architects’ effects on most of us are limited to public works, I am starting to question why dwelling
must be perpetually owned by someone rather than being considered a “public”
asset. In modern days, people move very often, and as everybody dies still, I
personally do not see the point of giving property titles to places of dwelling.
That idea sounds very drastic even to me, but as our lifestyles change, someday
we might have to move away from that system just as we moved into it centuries
ago as a result of a drastic change in the way we live (the agricultural revolution).
My parent’s house in Mexico sits empty, most of my family is old, and the young
ones have all moved away. Within a few decades, my house, my grandmother’s and all
my aunts’ and uncles’ will be unoccupied and after my generation dies, nobody
will even have a key to get inside. When I think of how it will look if I go
back 50 years from now, I would rather find it occupied by someone else rather
than in ruins.
Nomad society
Who knows?
Interesting topic. I am not sure where to even begin or rally what the answer is. I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand there is a sadness in the idea of a home falling into disrepair after years of being unoccupied but at the same time is the solution to that really a change to a more transient lifestyle. In my own life I know that I live in an apartment that I like but I do not feel a sense of ownership over. There is things that need to be fixed or improved but since I don't feel a sense of ownership I am not willing to spend the extra time or money because in the end I know I will be leaving and this doesn't belong to me. In some ways ownership is good and can create a sense of permanence and give something a a prolonged lifespan where something rented could fall off much sooner after years of abuse and inattentive inhabitants. Really hard question to ask yourself.
ReplyDeleteWe have been taught for a long time that to be someone of importance we need to own property, so I think that its very much a social status symbol. To own a home means you made it, to some degree. But I think right now, the "renting" lifestyle is re-emerging. Many use uber as a regular mode of transportation, rent long term, and rely on varying degrees of "renting" throughout many scales in their life.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with the notion that owning a home is a bad thing or simply just a status symbol. Organizations/society work best when everyone has some skin in the game. Additionally, human behavior is largely determined by incentive, every decision we make is a cost-benefit analysis. Like Gray said, what's my incentive to improve something I don't own?
ReplyDeleteThis topic is quite interesting, I do understand the comparisons, and agree with that a vacant home would be more beneficial if it went to another family rather than laying in ruins; yet I disagree with the ideal of ownership as a negative. Home ownership not only gives people a sense of pride, but grants generational wealth, something that can be passed down and remain within the family. In the African-American culture, many families hold their family reunions at a single house that remains in the family. The family as a whole has usually vowed to never sell that particular house because, it is the one piece and most likely first piece owned by the lineage and to keep that ownership within the bloodline is prideful. Regardless of how the younger generation has taken to this renting lifestyle, there will continue to be something that family can call their own. Architects will not be able to solve the housing issue, but this ideal of passing down ownership in the family can solve part of the vacancy issue.
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