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Six Simple and Hard Questions About What Architects Do Today and Where Their Profession Might Go Tomorrow: And Your View Is .... |
| posted by duncan on Monday, 21. March 2005, 16:51 in topic: duncans corner (umbrella) |
109 Provisional Attempts to Address Six Simple and Hard Questions About What Architects Do Today and Where Their Profession Might Go Tomorrow is the name of the special edition of Hunch 6/7 on the question: "What will the architect enact tomorrow?"
it was put together by the Berlage Institute (an architectural laboratory)
In the introductory article Roemer van Toorn analyzes the positions contemporary architecture is taking, the issues it deals with or denies, and the positions it could take in the future.
109 of the big names of "architecture" have answered the 6 questions, now its (y)our turn
please give your answers to the 6 questions below
and keep further discussion which arises from peoples "6 answers" here
the questions:
1- What is an architect in today's society?
2- Define "innovative architect"
3- How should one practice architecture?
4- What are the architect's responsibilities?
5- What or where is architecture's laboratory?
6- How can architecture be taught today?
duncan, Wednesday, 6. December 2006, 13:53
1- What is an architect in today's society?
1- someone who gives a fuck about things and does something to improve things about them, often necessary to work with others to do this. most people i consider doing real architectural work today are not officially "architects", yet many if not most of those that are officially "architects" that i know today are not attempting to create "real architecture"; they design buildings that get built with little attitude to what is the point of their "architecture".
An example of this "real architecture" is Makabras Can Ricart illegal occupation in Barcelona, which has just got the backing from the UN commisioner for housing, Miloon Kothari (A little piece of magic; toward a truly participative architecture - easa.antville.org )
2- Define "innovative architect"
2- someone who constantly thinks of new ways of looking at the world, who attempts to understand the reality of others, who seeks their story, who tries to work with others to improve situations both local and global. someone who experiments, someone who dreams, someone who has hope. In essence it is a spiritual attitude which drives innovation; a passion for life, living and wish for that to remain so.
someone who tries...
someone who asks others their views and invites them to attempt to make their dreams realities
3- How should one practice architecture?
3 - engage with those around them who are attempting to build a better reality, those who dream of things being better, those that try to turn their dreams into reality. learn the official ways things work so as to see the faults and from that attempt to improve the mechanisms. come from things from all sides, all levels.
as gandhi said "you have to be the example of change that you want to see in the world"
4- What are the architect's responsibilities?
4 - If us humans are still around in 5000 years I think young children will be asking their mothers "mam, why were people so silly then?". So silly back then in the oil age, when humans nearly put an end to things.
if the present way the world is working is allowed to continue then life ends for our species; humans. Also the planet itself, our sacred and beatiful home, mother earth, Gaia, is being destroyed by the way humans now live in this cancerous way; take, take, take, exploit, destroy....
a paradigm shift in the western worldview has happened, people are waking up and remembering what was known thousands of years ago; life is sacred, life is a pleasure, life is a miracle, all aspects of living are special.
practically speaking; trying to find out how to live sustainably, happily, healthily. not just in a closed ghetto, but that that is the reality for all.
self, family, community, place, story of existence. to respect, try to understand and to work with all of these levels. to find pleasure and thorough enjoyment in the short act of living and working with and in all of these levels. Fun, creativity, play and humour are essential components in this system.
5- What or where is architecture's laboratory?
5- self, family, community, place, story of existence.
self;
thinking and feeling, being yourself, understanding, being open to change, risking, attempting to learn, wishing to experience, co-operate with others, co-exist.
family;
biological as well as species, all interconnected, must learn how to understand, work with and co-exist with the wider comunity. which is quite easy, all is required is an open attitude to understanding
community;
where one is; home (for some they dont have this), a place, a room, building, its outside area, neighbourhood, town, surrounding environment (streams, seas, rivers, mountains, forests, deserts, forests, villages, towns, cities)earth. Satish Kumar has some fine views about this...
story of existence;
human history, the human world of ideas; philosophies, religions, politics, stories, books, forums, internet....
an ever changing beautiful odd story
bottom line; we are alive in a funny universe, now we are alive, in the future we will be dead, we have the oportunity to live and to really feel alive, if we choose to, it costs nothing to attempt this, its simply an attitude to existence
6- How can architecture be taught today?
6- inside and outside of the "architectural world"
"architecture" will continue to be "taught" in schools, the "world of architecture" will continue to do as it has done for so long....BUT the game has changed, for perhaps the first time, the OTHERS now have the chance to learn about "architecture" and more importantly, to PARTICIPATE in the "real architecture" that has always been happening but for so long repressed and put down.
simply speaking; the people of the world now are in a position to work together to construct the way they want the world to be in a truly participative democratic way whereas before the powerful few controled, dictated and forced their own way, normally for exploitation and profit.
technology and commmunication systems are helping in this open dialogue - the internet is only a tool that can facilitate the real world dialogue of people talking with and listening to each other, and from that taking their dreams and ideas to realities.
the largest volunteer system on the planet today, indymedia, is a fine example of this new way of communicating. Social Forums are a fine way to see how civil society are organising themselves to meet, listen, learn, work from points in space and time.
having the "world of architecure" participate in the real world is desirable, this means the walls of safety, security, enclousure that have been carefully built up aruond the that "world of architecure" have to be pulled down. this can happen from those outside doing just that or by those outside creating systems to make those tucked up inside aware of the world outside and from that having those inside pull down the walls. intrique, cooking, carnival can all help in this process; when those can no longer resist the temptation to join those on the outside.
thankfully this is already happening...
allez les pirates
viva MAKABRA
rossport abu
zmitser, Wednesday, 10. January 2007, 07:51
1. The architect in a modern society is the person, capable to do an elite architecture. If the architecture is made typical and banal - that this person not architect, but handicraftsman.2. The innovative architect is first of all the professional doctor who treats problems modern the post-modernity of the society.
3. I think, that it is very important to spend constant experiments in each concrete locus of a society, to study a concrete locus, to try to understand as it works, what problems tests also what tablets are necessary.
4. The architect should explore, give idea, the concept, to develop the living policy of a society.
5. Locus of a society. These places are not closed, and opened and constantly changing in space and time. This locus can take place or can be virtual (as well as a society).
6. It is necessary to recognize, that real calls of a society will be always ahead of the curriculum of architectural school. It is necessary to learn to look at architecture not narrowly, and it is global as on the main instrument of steady development.
dwsmith, Friday, 12. January 2007, 19:21
What is an architect in today’s society? The architect (as in good architect) identifies himself beset between the prostitutes and the acolytes of the image, all of whom are a necessary part of the equation expressing the soul of a society; Bataille’s glib condescension is acknowledged.
Define innovative architect.
One who trusts society.
How should one practice architecture?
Silently, almost invisibly; with as much grit as possible.
What are the architect’s responsibilities?
Architecture.
What or where is architecture’s laboratory?
There are over 6 billion laboratories (and counting). All tests are subjective. No results conclusive.
How can architecture be taught today?
As one practices. And it should never even begin to resemble anything like a method.
jurnalism, Sunday, 14. January 2007, 06:48
The 109 A's on 6 Q's special edition is a "legendary" edition of Hunch. Although not all the stories are useful, they are fun to read... nice addition to an EASAians bookshelf. The great thing is the fact it shows the pluriformity of the contemporary high-profile arkworld from the inside...when from the outside this arkworld sometimes (/to some people) seems to be a dogmatic style-maffia. It shows that contemporary (the HUNCH 6/7 is a bit older but still contemporary) architecture (the academic category) is actually produced by real individuals with real brains. The sacrifices that have to made because of style have a lot to do with contemporary image society demanding style.. not so much on the bad morale in the ark world itself.
The drawing above (by Duncan himself?) is perhaps correct in the sense that there seems to be a wall around the arkworld, which in fact is not so surprising for a bunch of people doing the same stuff and having similar educations (have u ever been invited to voice your opinion at a molecular-scientist's meeting?)... the drawing is perhaps incorrect when it comes to the suggestion of distroying houses and trees. Its still the planners and developers being in charge of that allright.
I would say the walls of the ark world should not come down. Im daydreaming of the day they (the walls) consolidate planning and development. Hence, the fighting (by means of nonsense assets like crazy stylish/conceptual designs of buildings) over the acquisition of projects will seize to an acceptable level and the arkworld can focus more on quality in architecture. Real quality is academic! The potential is certainly there and the HUNCH 6/7 confirms that.
Ok. Hmm.. im making a point here which im not even sure i wanna make... It just kinda slipped out..
Let's keep it off-the-record, aight?
Cheers
Jurrien
duncan, Wednesday, 31. January 2007, 20:32
hi jurnalism, thanks for input
perhaps we will get your own 6 answers ??????
the drawing is by me,
regards "have u ever been invited to voice your opinion at a molecular-scientist's meeting"
yes
not in a "molec science" meeting or at "ark" meeting: but where there is common ground: life itself - have had many expereinces at talks, debates, workshops with scientists of all sorts.
just an hour ago i bumped into a friend who i met through a temporary hacklab we both worked out of during the makabra occupation : hes deep into chaos theory in science and has taken micro and molec organisation systems as model for human interaction systems : hes also a clown, as am i.
have you read much of Fritjof Capra´s work: quantum physicist > systems theory > eco communities > biology
he wrote a fine piece that we included about global civil society : www.fritjofcapra.net
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A word of caution, some of the videos capture some brutal scenes, but i would recomend the film shot from a helicopter, though it focuses only around the town hall it gives an indication just how many people were in the city yesterday/last night. Consider that this is one of four screens that were erected.
news.bbc.co.uk
by chris - manchester @ 2008-05-15 14:48
Bad Buzz. Its a pain to lose a years work. I hope most people had files backed up externally. Its going to be interesting to see what will replace it.
by paddy_roche @ 2008-05-15 14:32
It's hard to imagine how many problems this is causing!
I hope you did a backup and had your models elsewhere.
I just had a lecture with Axel Killian from TU delft yesterday and after hearing about the fire I told him about it. He thought I was joking, and I felt like it was a joke. So we found pictures on flickr and he saw his office burning. Quite sureal.
Good luck! And se you in CPH erasmus students!
by nikolaj_dk @ 2008-05-15 14:25
well for most neutrals the game was dull, but late on justice was done with the Russians coming out on top.
Which left just a couple of questions, what would happen to the city now there were 150,000 (estimates keep rising) pissed up pissed off Rangers fans who essentially couldn't move due to sheer weight of numbers?
Today Manchester isn't quite the city it was. Personally I think it was handled well by the city and the mess/clean up is only to be expected for such numbers.
again here are some links to vids/pics and comment:
news.bbc.co.uk
news.uk.msn.com
www.telegraph.co.uk
news.sky.com
www.independent.co.uk
www.itv.com
by chris - manchester @ 2008-05-15 13:06
sorry guys. you did have a spectacular school..!
by kotryna_lt @ 2008-05-14 20:14
couldn't help it, but i trust in your ability to forgive me for the small little stab at ye ;)
i also am looking forward to a couple of weeks of nice
entertainment and sportsmanship and may the better team win,
both tonight and at the tournament and while i am not much of an UEFA fan, i do look forward for the CL final next week.
enjoy the night!
by sennahoj @ 2008-05-14 20:11
while I know the blog is not technically (most definately) the place for me to emphasise my football (religious) beliefs, I can't help but rise to the bait.
For me the only important European football match takes place on 21st May in Moscow. I, like most other United fans, live in the knowledge that United > England. As a pure football fan I can say Croatia did me a favour, it means this summer I can enjoy the games for what they are without distraction.
For the record my money is on Holland, but then again it has been since about Euro...
by chris - manchester @ 2008-05-14 20:01
while you still can ;)
i'll be having a beer or two during the
European Cup next month, cheering for my team,
that are actually playing...
by sennahoj @ 2008-05-14 19:20
Hi Ronan it's Ana Lukic from Macedonia.
We'll organize everything with our NC if we are coming as guests; i am intresed in the prize of the apartments you are renting in leterrfrack..how many peple are sharing it and the prize per night, and of course if there's still place available.
thank you in advance,
Ana
by ana lukich @ 2008-05-14 18:25
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
www.itv.com
www.iht.com
I think I'll be heading out amongst it all tonight. There was talk the council underestimated the interest and attendance. Should be interesting to find out how the city is coping with the influx of such numbers into a few key parts of teh city centre.
by chris - manchester @ 2008-05-14 16:04
in topic: off topic
Here is a link to BBC videos covering the cities build up to the UEFA cup final tonight. Its the second time in 7 years a major European final has been held in the city, but its fair to say that with the 100,000+ Rangers fans expected (today's wave started flooding in about 4am and promptly began the drinking session of a life time) it is a more rowdy affair then the all (classic) Italian European cup final at Old Traffod. Good luck to both Rangers and Zenit, here's to football and good natured banter!
news.bbc.co.uk
by chris - manchester @ 2008-05-14 15:45
Just saw it on our schools web. Hope everybody got out...
We will prepare for a Dutch erasmus invasion!
by sigurd-dk @ 2008-05-14 13:24
this is horrible, I am so sorry
by tikog @ 2008-05-14 10:29
this is a disaster,
I’ve spent some times there
Helping for a diploma
Watching a eclipse at the last floor balcony
Meeting old friends
Parting of course
So many perfect memories vanishing
the bouwkunde is gathering place for european architects
The easa1982 take place there, remenber it , new easians
As dunk said, be kind to yourself, be strong, be brave, be united,
by jerome @ 2008-05-13 22:41
sorry to see this happen. any ideas how it started. am sure along with the building is lots and lots of really important stuff belonging to students and i imagine that the stress of this loss will really hurt some people. look out for each other, expect that this will be very hard for people to get over. go for a walk, go to nature, take break, invite others for a stroll by a stream. be gentle....
time helps...
by duncan @ 2008-05-13 20:55
Seems we are now the 'generation before the fire'... building is now completely lost... its now 8pm and still burning: soon its gonna be the 12hr of fire. I think there's gonna be a lot of Dutch Erasmus students next year..
by jurnalism @ 2008-05-13 20:21
in topic: architecture
and we dutch take everything very serious.
so today the faculty of architecture of the TU Delft burnt down. life's a bitch.
www.dumpert.nl
by das-horst @ 2008-05-13 18:27
It seems that the Revolution is well and truly underway...
(Careful now, that has always been a fully loaded word) Judging by whats going on in the US these days, its seems that the eco-revolution has truly taken off with a Bang...
From this years upcoming USGBC GREEN BUILD EXPO
to
"George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Robert F Kennedy Jnr, and Al Gore, and the call for A NEW AMERICAN REVOLUTION"
Which was the front cover of Vanity Fair's recent GREEN Issue
In it (or possibly another edition, not sure, as don't read the mag myself) there is the following 6 page interview with Bill McDonough:
Industrial Revolution,...
by duncan @ 2008-05-13 18:04
Wow, it looks really bad, hopefully nobody's hurt
Did you leave a cigarette lit Marten!
by ronan_mc @ 2008-05-13 16:59
shit! not a good way to finish the year...and not the first fire there either...I remember the pavilion went up in smokee not too long ago, ouch
by conor @ 2008-05-13 16:48
Well done SF - this result was a hard-fought one and deserves a hearty bout of cross border congratulation.
by hugo_irl @ 2008-05-12 15:18
We just got news from our Dept. of Foreign Affairs that they will grant free visas to our guests to attend easa008!
not only will this be of financial benefit to our guests but the accompanying support of the Dept. will be very useful should any problems arise. they will send us an official letter which we will scan and issue to all of our guests to add to their application documents. they will obviously inform the embassies/consulates directly too.
once we receive this letter we will begin to issue our letters of invitation, along with any other important information regarding...
by irish_sean @ 2008-05-12 12:54
yes, you are right.
I double checked every information available on the net about these issues and it resulted to me that our embassy is in Athens.
Can you please give me a hint about what visa category it's better to apply for ? At this step of the processing, this would be the most important information.
thanks,
Klejdi* :-)
PS. I used the name of the character of a wonderful book "Odin Modvalsen" when I signed up and have no chance to set it to my real name...
by odin modvalsen @ 2008-05-11 01:19
No, there is not an Irish embassy in Skopje. The one for the Macedonian citizens is in Bratislava, so we're going to send our documents there. I think you should ask in your ministry of foreign affairs in which country's Irish embassy you should apply for visa, I think it's not just any country..
Cheers :)
by nevenka_mkd @ 2008-05-10 17:53
Hello,
I think we're neighbors down here...do you have any irish embassy in skopje ? Tirana doesn't have one and to get the visa one has to apply at the closest irish embassy - I think..I mean, people here apply through the Irish Emb. in Athens - Greece.
An embassy in Skopje would be a really good reason to make a 3-day trip back in Macedonia, as I often visit there.
Where do you get your visas from ?
cheers
by odin modvalsen @ 2008-05-06 23:20