Buildings have inspired people and more often they do establish our model of existence of as a fact
(an event in time) in the ever changing world. It is perhaps so, because it allows a visit in the past for which we travel longer distances just to view such man-made objects.
Such is the power of a building that it generates emotions in the human consciousness and encourages you to displace yourself.
But not every building is worth a visit. The question of timeless architecture has been often asked in universities and a model through which it can be achieved. To achieve it, is perhaps an architect’s/builders lifelong dream. In the last 20 years, we have built more than we possibly could compared to the past 1000 years, but the ratio of achieving masterpieces have reduced considerably. It is true that there are very few modern buildings that would inspire you to travel for a visit. Is there something that we (designers) are doing differently wrong?
Education as much as it is a necessity for awareness, it can also be a curse in disguise, for we can only choose to register the past. The nature of innovation is such that one must disobey and contradict everything that lay before us. The new can never be justified with the reference of the past; it must emerge like any other, from minds that are free from fear and dogma. Therefore the focus of justifying ones design to others (usually pier, colleagues or huries) in reference to appreciation is a clear dogma that the profession of architecture is suffering from today. The system of assessments in most universities are set up, in which at the end of the episode one presents himself in front of juries and people and based on their response (good or bad) the result is declared. But I think the primary importance of universities must be to teach you ‘how to’ learn and not ‘what to’ learn.
Every year more and more ambitious architects graduate to achieve a dream which is soon shattered by the real world; it somehow pushes them back to take shelter under the knowledge of the past. And the inevitable result is to produce buildings that are more average than before. The truth is, to achieve something of equal or more beauty one must think beyond the object that it holds in comparison. One must be ready to foolishly play, as the dots can only be connected backwards.
Its always very easy to demolish a new idea, as it is difficult to justify with history and therefore is attacked by more experienced men in business and sometimes the financial crisis of the designer. But to pursue it further, to take it a level beyond the one presented, one needs courage, persistence and most importantly self belief. This is what makes the wonders of this world. The choice is always yours. Dare to Dream...
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that's why we call it the present."
Joan Rivers
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Subharthi Guha
17 Jun 2011
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