Saving the Worst for Last, or am I?

     Historically in school, the façade has been the least interesting part of the building for me to design. Sometimes I feel forced into it, and furthermore forced to create something “new” or “fancy” which usually turns me off to the idea from the beginning. I don’t quite understand the inherent need for every design to have a high-technical designed façade, especially when the building seems to be focused on other elements in the design. This thought was summarized during Franco’s lecture, on one of the main points of technical question vs social construct. To use his words, “Where is the meat in architectural design?” For my current project, the meat is quite obviously not in façade design.

  

    However, I know that I am flawed and that I am probably thinking about the façade in an incorrect way. After the lecture, my new frame of focus needs to be how can a façade enhance the true “meat” of my design, not just how I can splat a fancy system on the face of my building and call it a day. After spending the past two days focused on façade design, I feel like I can walk away proud about the addition to my project, and the enhancement it is to the building that I have designed, vs taking away from the important aspects of design.