A New Era of Eraless Architecture

 Now that we're back on track, I mentioned that critical regionalism was visible within this weeks topic. 

Architecture is a very powerful thing. It has been linked to social stature, politics, and overall ideology of place and time. Whether this has come through the accessibility of the design, the portrayal of the façade, or simply the means or reasons in which it was designed or built in the first place (capitalism, political gain, opportunity zone). 

In my last post, I discussed the importance of being different without avidly trying to be different, which is what it seems critical regionalism was set out to do. I had also mentioned that a further study on location, site, and surroundings (much like Mockbee's approach in the rural studio) will lead to the difference that everyone seems to be striving for without compromising a substantial intent. 

The same rings true in this weeks conversations. If we are to be critical of architecture, why don't we step away from the aesthetic and focus on being critical of how architecture affects our surroundings and people? This in no way means that we should forget about how the building looks, but rather allow our primary focus to be on the function and impact of our design and allow the aesthetic to blossom out of that conversation.

David asked us at the beginning of class what the future of architecture may look like (with a focus on the interiors). It's an awesome question and it seems to me that it's indicative of what I am blabbing on about. Architecture is more diverse now than it has ever been (although it can stand to become even more diverse). There are more flavors of architecture today than there have ever been in the past and to me, at least what I have been able to see from my peers, it is an architecture that cares about resilience, inclusivity, and cognitive design. It is comprised of people who are driven by technical resolution, holistic design, and experiential design which I would argue cover a wide range of phases in architectural design. Specialists will start to emerge, which is not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that collaboration in an effort for more complete design will emerge along with it. 

Architecture isn't about an era anymore, it isn't just about trends, but deducing what those trends mean in the greater scheme of inhabitability and how people may or may not use our designs. And that's a track of thinking I can get behind, a criticality of spatial interaction and function that walks hand in hand with how the building looks and feels.