Secondary Architecture

 Secondary Architecture

                Architecture does not solve problems and we as designers or future architects are not the primary problem solvers in our field. Architecture should create conflict, it should challenge people’s lifestyles, it should encourage conflict resolution, and it should assume that solutions are ideal. I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I do not want to be the problem solver. At the very least I want to organize complicated problems for people and be an important factor to problem solving where my skillset in architecture makes me relevant but secondary to people solving their own problems.

                This concept is loosely like client self-determination in social work, and I think we should all carry this mentality with us into the work we do. On the topics of scarcity, participatory, and citizen architecture I want you to consider my thoughts on conflict as follows: our goal is to not avoid nor eliminate all conflict, but to foster conflict resolution and constantly engage in conflict resolution regardless of the potential for a resolution.

                I do think problems exist and it is important to help our clients rationalize, articulate, and organize the problems they face as well as not be hesitant in conveying our perspective in complex situations, but we must be secondary to our clients goals. Our clients are the primary problem solvers because they face the problems. We can be a part of the team sure, everyone needs a support structure. In larger sociopolitical or environmental issues, we are only small parts of a larger network of collaborative efforts. We should look towards strategies that follow this mindset.

                I think we interpret the work of Samuel Mockbee and Rural Studio as solving real-world problems, but I do not think he and Rural Studio ever advocate as such problem solving. In fact, Sambo encouraged students and architects to recognize that these rural contexts are where most of their considerations and skillsets are needed in the world and not in major cities. He encourages us all to leverage our knowledge and skillset to investigate and participate in the lives of people within areas where most of us do not grow up, have not experienced, and where our profession does not covet as a desirable environment to work. To do this, we must submit that our influence is secondary to the reality of the culture, environment, and community infrastructure (that is, rurality versus urbanity) and work so that, for example Hale County, Alabama, does not fall victim to industrialization, urbanization, and globalism but can be humanized by these aspects.

                One project from Rural studio challenges our whole education and understanding of our role as designers in ‘solving’ problems. The project that design-built a home for Music Man was a fluid process where he was participating in the design process and was able to advocate for his lifestyle and the problems he faced. We would likely see a decrepit trailer falling apart, damaged by rain, with poor indoor air quality, and evidence of hoarding as an issue that can be solved with simple spatial planning and durable material choices. Music Man’s only care was making and listening to music because it was the greatest joy he found in decades of living in rural poverty. He couldn’t live nor wanted to live any differently. Rural Studio and Music Man together determined that he just needs to live in a house that does not leak, won’t fall down on him, has running water, and supports his lifestyle. The result is a sort of whimsical home with recycled materials that is thoughtfully crafted and sited to last longer and keep him safe from the elements while supporting his wants and identity. Music Man still filled every square inch of the home with electronics and items he loved.

                Whether or not that we see this lifestyle as a problem is irrelevant because we cannot address the problems people face without humanizing them first and understanding how problems impact their identity. In this scenario, Rural Studio was one step in addressing the problems Music Man faced with the way he was physically living. Ultimately, the studio is addressing a larger issue of socio-economic infrastructure and support for the county, but projects like these paves the way for further social work to occur and support people in solving the problems they personally face.

                In architecture school we would never see a project that would suggest the client can continue living in poor organization strategies or a lifestyle that does not look pristine. We’d be encouraged to push for a more contemporary lifestyle or to leave that aspect of the project vague. I don’t think we’d dedicate a studio to a scenario where we’d organize 200 broken cd players, stereos, and turntables in a small apartment even if that’s all the client cared about and owned. We should be learning about humanizing complex problems rather than ‘solving problems’ we fabricate as a learning exercise.