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Rand Soellner AIA
Architect/Owner/Principal
Rand Soellner Architect: Home Architects
Cashiers NC
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I think we need to be careful not to over intellectualize on the subject of style, which I believe evokes a primal and visceral response on the parts of the observers, or something from our souls that we cannot necessarily explain, but feel is appropriate and stirring and wonderful. I think that what attracts a particular client to a particular architect is that those clients simply have a positive response to the appearance of his or her projects. If we as architects can capture some essence of the heart and soul of what we are doing for a project (site + client needs) in our design, then hopefully potential clients who desire something evocative of what we have accomplished will see images of our work and perhaps want us to create something unique for them as well.
I feel that we should try to create timeless designs that could have been built a decade from now, or a hundred years ago, or even possibly in the next century. While we all learn from each other's work, I feel that we should try to filter what we do into something as devoid of any particular stylistic trend as possible, so that 25 years from now, we and others can look back at what we have done and say: "That's great! It still looks good, and could have been built today." I do realize that immersed in a culture rich with talented architects, it is difficult not to notice each other's work. Perhaps Mies said it best about "God being in the details," so that we might endeavor to carefully craft our own details, which will tend to create a different character in our designs, responsive to the variety of environments in which we all practice, thereby evolving a unique expression for each of us.
I do agree with Mr. Ytterberg's statement about architecture being appropriate to relevant criteria, and Mr. Brogno makes valid points as well, regarding architecture being expressive of all people's values.