Is our ~special knowledge~ enough?
This week I thought a lot about scarcity and how this translates into the disparity in the quality of architecture that exists today. Capitalism has ingrained this sense of obligation to progress that (I believe) is pointless unless everyone is able to benefit from it. I hate when people come at me with the argument of “but competition fosters advancement and innovation”, ok but at what cost? Exploiting the earth and the working class feels like a really high price to pay for a new, shiny building. Good architecture is now a product rather than an end in itself. It is withheld from those who can’t afford it. It’s also a scarcity. I don’t think it’s enough to push architects to always design good architecture in new and creative ways. That puts a tremendous amount of responsibility on architects to combat capitalism alone. We have the ideas and hope and the skills but I don’t think we possess the tools to dismantle this system that shapes almost every facet of our lives. I do think focusing on what we can do in our immediate environment is a good place to start though. I would love to believe that we have what it takes rebuild our society literally from the ground up.
I don't even feel like that I have any special skill.
ReplyDeleteAs with all things there is a delicate balance. Too far in either direction and a majority of the people involved will suffer. Innovation does in fact arise out of competition most times, but it also arises out of just the shear need for it. Today, our society needs innovation in the ideas of scarcity in architecture. It isn't capitalism that obliges us to find new creative ideas to solve the problems of the world but the problems of the world themselves that charge us with this responsibility. Action in this field is our duty because we have the means by which to actually do something, while many others don't, and thus we inherently must.
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ReplyDeleteEMMA!!!!!! You hit the nail in the head. I strongly feel the same way. Capitalism and chasing after that $$$ (translate to all currencies) has overtaken every aspects of our lives. Quite negatively impact for those at the bottom of the pyramid (including us). Because we don't have access. I do believe that we can make changes through what we do even at the smallest level like our immediate environment. Mockbee's and Kéré 's works prove that small changes can make an impact. We as the up coming generation should bring this approach to many other places. Many small amounts will become a huge impact of change to the world.
ReplyDeleteAs to how or if this approach can change Capitalism? I think not. Perhaps that's why we are not in finance or banking to begin with. We are in architecture. Let's stay in our lane and do what we do best to make changes in our own way.