“Within each of us is the ability to distinguish music from noise, poetry from drivel. In art we sense the presence of an order that is linked to the soul of man. The human eye and thus the soul is able to discern sensitivity and thoughtfulness in a work. It is when those substantial traces of humanity are embedded in a building that it begins to transcend the ordinary.”
Humanity have great stories to tell and build, architecture plays a big role of molding it. Architecture and economy are starting to build rivalry through times. Expectations are made for architecture itself as being one of a great factor of a growing economy, but why nowadays, people are satisfied by architecture visually? but more so theoretically, is architecture solving and living its role as one of an important factor in a country’s economical value and growth? Or its only becoming of an art itself and not being true to what living spaces should be or what people would really expect from it. what should architecture really be, an art? a science?, or trying to be both but merely not living its purpose.
Humanity leaves an infinite loop through its history using the media of language, art, knowledge and architecture. These loops are not simply viewed in the past; they are primary to our time and define our civilization and economy at any given moment, justifying our very sense of being human. This justification is important. Humanity exists in a constant tug for existence. We are vital, but we wish to become the maker and culture that would become success in this battle. Culture allows us to assert our existence to ourselves to the extent that we are not just ‘now’ but are- in essence- forever. There is a connection between the concerns and expectation in needs of every society or the situation it finds in ourselves and architecture, misuse of architecture is evident and rampant to create a narrative that is outside the built sustainable environment, many times we see architecture as a creation of dominance and power rather than creating a built environment that creates story for people, that serves people. Architecture has lost its value to create a society to create what people expect, to be the canvas of what people will stroke its brush and color it. Architecture has lost its true value to the society. The first purpose of architecture is to create habitat and to fulfill the needs of society or individuals for places to work and live. Good architecture has to be aware of those aspects which may have economic impact and meet expectations of humanity.
Architecture in reality and not by books nor by good presentations, have its limits. Living spaces are turned into vertical spaces rather than a horizontal ground space, did we ever questioned ourselves why this kind of development are being pushed through? Is it because of maximizing one’s space, its profitability. Is it economically viable or feasible? Economical feasibility does not need to be partnered with financial feasibility, as long as architecture creates good and livable space, a place to work, to play, to entertain, to live. The common definitions of social responsibility often leave out one critical dimension of sustainability, the necessity for profitability and economic viability. Sustainable Architecture must be able to meet some of the basic needs of people in today’s economy without compromising opportunities for those of future generations to meet their needs as well. In a sustainable economy, profits are the rewards for meeting the needs of people today while economic viability is the reward for being able to meet the needs of people in the future. All economic value is derived from either natural or human resources. An economy creates nothing; its productivity ultimately depends on nature and society. An Architecture that depletes the productivity of its natural and human resources is not economically viable over time. Regardless of how architecture must also survive economically in the present if it is to have the capacity to maintain its productivity and value to society into the future. At the end there will always be a question of having big investments architecture are free to do the best with the design and the process that approach the things more professionally. And with big investments architecture that has no boundaries, tend to alienate rather than speaking for its people and for economy of it.