Design Matters but only in Context with Mankind and the Environment
Design that is of a graphic or sculptural form is nice, but if it is never built (PA Design Awards), it is not archtitecture. Architecture must be built and it must serve the owner's and community's needs for it to be good architecture. Built archtiecture may be good graphic design or good sculpture, but if ti does not serve the needs of the ower or the cummunity, then it is not architecture.
Buildings that are built but blow the owner's budget and cannot be finished, are rarely occupied, or do not function as intended are also not architecture, no matter how inspiring that structure might be. The office building known as The Ark in London is a great example of such a project. Each floor of this piece of scupture had a different sized floor plate, The interior atrium made it so that the building could not be subdivided. Both the architect and the owner went bankrupt and the building set vacant for years. It was a great piece of sculpture, but know one could afford to occupy the structure. Major corporations looked at the building and passed, deciding to move into the renovated wareshouses that were on the opposite side of the street. That way the corporate office workers could have an excitign view of a great piece of sculpture. The Ark won all kinds of architectural design awards, but in the end, the structure was never really architecture.
On the otherhand, the St. Louis Arch is an example of both great architecture and great sculpture. Good design and archietecture must fullfill the needs of what the building and its surroundings were intended to perform. Good archtiectural design must work for the owner, the community and be built in a manner that meets good economic and envirionmental practices. Sustainable buildings that do not meet building efficiency needs or are in need of contant repair are not good architecture. They may look good, but they are really stage settings; a Disney World of metal buildings with stage setting fronts and interiors.
Good design must go beyond just the building shell and its visual attaction. Good design must consider building science, the community, and the economic needs of both the owner and the public. A simple warehouse with efficent design and materials designed for a short term use, knowing that the dynanmics of the area are changing and that at a not too distant future the warehouse may be raised, may be great architecture. To the contrary, a $400 or $500/sf LEED, 2030 Challenge, Award winning building may be a nice piece of sculpture, but the costs involved in construction, maintenence, use of substandured material jsut to score points, is in on way a viable, long term structure with any real archtitectual value. It may be an architectural laboratory, but it is not an example of great architecture. Great architecture must consider economics. Trophy buildings considere economics as does a metal building. They also consider life-cycle costs as well as long term occupancy and and maintence. Great architecture need not only be that of great expense and longevity.
We as architects, owners and developers, need to try things and push the envelop. However, we also must remember building costs, schedules, the owner's real need, the coummity's needs, building science, and long term (or short term) care in our design. Good design must fit the needs of the owner and the community and each other's long term plans. Form always follows function. The key to good desgin is to understand the real function. Not all good archtiecture needs to be a Taj Mahal.
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David Hauseman AIA
The Hauseman Group, Inc.
Atlanta GA
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