Art is just a bunch of nonsense or is it?

This week’s video De Drager: A Film About John Habraken stuck out to me. There were a lot of hot takes throughout the movie and I will address a few of them later in this post. First I want to acknowledge the great work Habraken has done in the field. I enjoy his methodology, he is not trying to make the most beautiful or most unique building, and rather he is trying to create a framework/space to help people navigate through their everyday environment. He was definitely a supporter of the form follows function argument. He and his colleagues thought that solely relying on form to create buildings is in a way arrogant; let me explain. They believed that when an architect designs with only form in mind they are neglecting their duties of providing a service. They are ignoring site, context, budget, culture, and most of all people. These architects would not be adding and helping the built environment rather would be trying to impose their “art” on to everyone. There is a quote early on about how architecture goes off the rails when it tries to become art.

 

I agree with the quote to a certain degree. I have said what I am about to say a hundred times already on previous posts but I will repeat it once again here. I believe architecture is the balance between art and science. I whole-heartedly agree with Habraken that architecture should be a service and that it should be designed to best assist the built environment but I do not think that means we throw art and form out the window. In the design process these two ideologies must be thought about in unison through each step of the process. I feel that this would create the most efficient and successful buildings for people to use and enjoy. I realize that this is easier said than done but I think we all should try to do this as best we can.