The Primitive Hut in a Primitive World
Laugier’s theoretical approach of man’s need to shelter from nature has been a driving factor for most modernist architects. Mockbee's AIA convention articulates Laugier's approach in the modern-day discussion. Mockbee and Hopkins, architects representing clients on extreme ends of the financial spectrum, face the same core concerns of a project. “Architecture, more than any other art form, is a social art and must rest on the social and cultural base of its time and place.” (Mockbee) And so, the two architects presented here must recognize the needs and lifestyles of their clients.
Today, many forget or choose to ignore the value of a home: a means of protection. An architect must recognize that fundamental need and carry it through into the mindset of today’s consumerist environment. “But the question for us is the same: do we have the courage to make our gift count for something?” (Mockbee) Today, the architect must play a balancing game of upholding the fundamental needs while incorporating what a consumerist environment means to the client. For Mockbee, his client has a driving factor of a safer space to live eclectically. For Hopkins, it is about embellishing an already unattainable place in society. Must we, as critics of architecture, say that one's role is more valuable than the other? Both go out of their way to meet the expectations of what today's culture entails: one relies on the person to humanize a home, the other depends on the fabrication of work to liven the humans that dwell within.
I wonder. When does the architect recognize the act of balance and know when to put the theoretical paintbrush down?
You picked out one of my favorite quotes from the article. Architecture is very much a social art, but I often find that some of the biggest architectural projects fail to address social concerns. These buildings are more about profit than about fulfilling the original purpose of architecture: to shelter and protect. Unfortunately, to survive in a capitalist society we have to participate to an extent. I guess the real question for architects is where we drawn the line for that threshold and if we can offer a solution that doesn't drive us further down that capitalist rabbit-hole.
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