Pushin P // Baker R // Week 12
Week 12
Politics of the Envelope and Interior Spaces
Peter Zumthor, on this page, quickly answers the question " what do we mean when we speak about architectural quality"
His response is any building that moves him.
any building that moves him emotionally, like a song, might.
I think what's important here is what's NOT on the page.
He didn't say - architecture that satisfies the client, architecture that is sustainable, or that is programmatically efficient, or that is socially equitable.
^^^That sounds like a dig, but it is not intended that way - he obviously carries some or all of those values with him, but they are not his truth, his clear priority.
All though he is a "Starchitect", he is not a businessman, philanthropist, or environmentalist first; he is an artist first. The common path of the artist is to search for emotion within the work with a dogmatic ruthlessness - and that what is Peters does. I think this is a value some people have and consider, but it's not the top value of myself, and of my peers, or classmates - which is totally fine.
I think it's important we define our values, and maybe that is what the premise exercise in comprehensive is about.
I don't think there is one premise that says - "I am going to focus on the building being emotionally moving" or "I want the building to be experientially/aesthetically beautiful". although in my opinion that is a completely valid value in architecture.
Baker I totally agree. It is often swept under the rug or just an after thought in a lot of buildings these days. We are so caught up focusing on the technical aspects of many of our projects that the "beauty" of it ends up coming down to finishes, which for a large part are unfortunately chosen by the interior designer. This may be the reason so many modern architects have resorted to designing the shells and relinquishing the interior experience to the interior designer. Which is really quite sad, because the beauty of an artist's piece of work is inherently the purpose of their work. It is the soul of their occupation!
ReplyDeleteBaker,
ReplyDeleteYou make an excellent point about all of our premises lacking the thought of emotions or beauty. The premises are cool because they allow us to see what is important to each one of us individually; differences that make the world of architecture go 'round. However, I do feel that it has been easy for all of us this semester to forget the quality of the space due to everything else we are required to worry about. Unfortunately, this is a common problem in the real world too due to time and budget constraints. The question of "how can we solve this?" will linger in the backs (or fronts) of our minds for our entire career.