Around the USA...
“It is obvious that the place one is inspired by is of profound importance. The chance of not being from that place is not a crippling deficiency that will render one incapable of inspiration. What is important is using one’s talent, intellect, and energy in order to gain an appreciation and affection for people and place.”
This quote seems very important at this time of our lives as architecture students. We are all getting jobs nationwide and about to begin our architectural careers. Many of us will be in new, unfamiliar cities and towns. How can we gain an appreciation and affection for these new people and places so that we can design with compassion? We have debated a lot in class about how to get the community involved in the process of architecture. How can we authentically understand people? Community forums, surveys, and other resources are potential ways for architects to judge the community's reception of a project. We have also discussed the architects' place in politics and other positions of influence in a community. It seemed to me at first that the obvious reason for an architect to be involved in these things would be to push excellent and thoughtful designs to better the lives of their neighbors. After reading this article by Samuel Mockbee, I think that the honest answer to why architects should be involved with politics, school boards, churches, charities, clubs, and any other kind of community organizations is not to push their agenda in all of these situations but to understand the people truly. That way, when it comes time for them to design, they will truly understand the people and have the social and environmental awareness to see the opportunities to serve those less fortunate.
Zoe great post! You said that architects could gain true understanding by being involved in all of these political aspects in the community rather than using it to push their own agenda. I'd never thought about it that way and it seems a very hopefully way of looking at it.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that we all need to be sensitive to the communities that we are entering. While we should be great listeners, I think we also need to be educators to these communities. It is important for the public to have a knowledge of what architecture can do for them. In this situation, we need to be aware of how we present ideas and how we speak to people. There is a balance of speaking with detail and knowledge, but while making it digestible for the average person.
Learning never stops. Zoe, your post reiterates this statement by showing how Architect's involvement in politics and the community could be a great learning tool for them to understand the community and its users. It's great that you pointed this out. If I decide to run for office, this argument can be used in the preliminary rounds!
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