Being an architect on the worst of days still requires us to
be the master ceremonies for a multitude of crowds. Every big project has this
person. Most times, it ends up being the project manager, but often it relies
on the architect to moderate between the different disciplines within the job site
to make sure everything going smoothly. This politicking must extend to behind
closed doors with our local governing entities. At the end of the day our job
site is at a choke hold by some alphabet organization that is meant to regulate
and mandate safe building practices. Even before the first shovel hits the
ground, there is a slew of other bodies that you need to maneuver through just
to get the proper permissions to build what you want. All while working with
legislatures to try to adopt new sanctions for better market driven design which
should boost economic growth but ends up making developers more money with service
back to the community.
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| 20K Joanne's House |
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| Lincolns' Park Restroom |
Embedded
in this scope is the reason why Rural Studio’s projects are so special. They
are the proof of concept that an independent team of motivated intellectuals
can propose solutions that are economically responsive to a very poor slice of
the country. From collecting oil drums for light and heavy structure to
salvaging plastic for curtains, the people involved were able to successfully prove
that you can have engaging design solutions made from bare-bone budgets/resources/materials.
The most interesting part is the level of complexity of their design they were
able to achieve. And a large part of this came from just finding solutions to the
specific needs of the occupants of the space. Proof of a better world through ‘perfect’
craft and design.
So where am I going with all this? Why cannot we do more of these projects. Not just as architects taking pro-bono work, but as communities. It will most likely take an architect and engineer to approve the structure for safety, but outside of that, the rest can be done by common people working together. I do not think that in the current system of the United States that Humane Architecture can exist solely because of the regulations of our built environments. But this can always change. A good start is always to refurbish your local community gardens and see where you go from there. I hope that in the future, legislation will align with good design practices.
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| (the stairs in question being used by Adi and his wife) |
Hey Kyle! I think humane architecture, currently, can't be fostered in America. Like you mentioned, all of the developers, politicians, and even most architects themselves, don't share or are willing enough to make this kind of transition. Something significant would have to eradicate this way of design entirely for this to even be plausible here at a large scale.
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