Architecture and Empathy

 

“I believe that architects are given a gift of second sight and when we see something that others can’t, we should act, and we shouldn’t wait for decisions to be made by politicians or multinational corporations” Samuel Mockbee

The architect’s “gift of second sight” according to Samuel Mockbee touches on what I believe to be a much-discussed topic of this class: “what is the role of the architect?” On one hand, it is very easy to say that gentrification as bad and should be stopped, and that architects should lobby to create more affordable housing opportunities for disadvantaged peoples. On the other hand, however, these issues are much more complex than to be solved with simple lobbying of architects, and as designers we should learn how to take actionable steps towards solving these issues. Samuel Mockbee’s approach of living on site for months before the construction of the project is integral to the creation of an appropriate architectural intervention. He posits that architects, in order to truly design something that is both appropriate for the context and empowering for the user, should encourage a deeper and richer understanding of both of these. It is the way in which the architect can responsibly design for any community. This is just one very good approach to this problem, but in trying to understand the issues as much as possible, architects can begin to shape a new language within the discipline that creates opportunities to learn how to support racial and social equity where the mega-corporations would not.