does anyone care about architecture?

Cafe Society
41

I feel that a lot of architects no longer care about the art of architecture. They design monstrosities without any concern to the environment they are being placed in. They build things to such a large scale that it dwarfs and overwhelms the person who has to go to it. They often do not provide anything aesthetically pleasing to the comminity, but rather looks like something that was plopped down where it would fit. They do not provide anything visually pleasing for pedestrians to look at and many buildings have exhaust vents blowing onto the sidewalk or just an ugly blank wall making people want to aviod it.

In my opinion architecture has been dead for many years. Everything is designed around the car with no thought of the community, its history and durability. Also everything looks the same, you can go from a suburb in Maine to one Lubbock and essentially see the same thing. Many times, especially here in Houston of late, many old, unique and interesting buildings that define the community they were in are being demolished to put up large boxes for well-to-do people to live in and are kicking out the inhabitants who have lived there for years.

I feel the best architects these days are Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Unfortunately their vision keeps getting interrupted by old car-centric ideals and interests, which deserve to be thrown in the junk pile with rest of the garbage that came about during the 20th century. They generally care about integrating architecture into a community rather than keep making the same mistakes that have been made since post World War 2.

42

You guys are freakin’ me out! I’m about to quit my job so I can go to graduate school to get a Masters in Architecture! Yikes!

43

Zap_Rowsdower,

you forget that architects very often, unless a HUGE name, have little input in the final design.

may I introduce you to an old saying: Money Talks.

The client has the purse strings and therefore has final say.

case in point:

My old firm designed a train station here in town.

clinet wants a clean modern look.
design 1: a beautiful modernist design.

rejected. The commitee decides, no, it wants something more 'historical.

design 2:
We make a design that is more historical.
rejected. Client does not like the price tag of ‘historical’ buildings.

design 3:many of the decorative elemants are eliminated.

rejected. Client know wants something more “cowtown”.

design 4: Longhorn emblems added throughout. accepted, but with major revisions. The flooring is replaced with cheaper materials. The staircase feature is removed. A cheaper looking staircase is added. Canopy section in back is removed. Murals eliminated. Brick switched to a cheaper version. Brick patterning removed entirely. Resulting design looks nothing like designs 1-4.

do you not see how, in order to make a living, most architects have zero say in the end design?

Look, for example, at the new symphony hall going up in LA. TEN YEARS it has been in the works. By a big name, no less (Frank Gheary). Ten years of trying to fund it. This, in a city where you have many millionaires. The end result has also been changed from the architect’s vision.

another thing that affects design is the Accessibility codes. By law, we must comply with accesibility laws. This means that often things have to be modified to accomidate handicapped people, like it or not. A janitor’s room, for example, must have a clear turning area in case a wheelchair janitor is ever hired. The forementioned trainstaion has one breakroom. The counters must be accessible…therefore, It caters to someone with a reach of 4’ instead of a man at 6’0". Complying with code often results in major modifications. Most clients will not have two of the same feature if one will suffice.

and I don’t think architecture is dead. lol, haven’t they been saying that since time immemorial?!

It is very much alive. It’s not hard to find. really. Look at all the architecture magazines to find examples. It is easy to look back and say that architecture was alive (insert era of choice). There is as much going on now as there was in the modernist eras. Not everyone lived in a designed home. Not all buildings were ‘architectural’ back then.

Is it sad that historical buildings are being knocked down? yes. The firm where I work now often does renovations of old buildings for modern use. I enjoy it very much. It can be a nightmare at times, but overall fulfilling.

You must remember that it was Corb who said that architecture needs to be a machine for living. MANY of the modernists prescribed to the notion that buildings MUST be knocked down every 20 years or so in order to remain new.

and Obidiah, if we are freaking you out. sorry. but obviously you aren’t doing your homework if this is all news to you. Go into architecture if it’s a passion. By all means I recommend it. But just don’t be surprised upon graduation, is all.

44

Having grown up a mile or so downhill from
The NCAR mesa labs, I agree.

That is all :stuck_out_tongue:

45

If any of you boys are unattached & childless you should consider a stint in Europe or in Aisa if Architectural work is as depressing as it seems (from your posts) in the US.

And PII insurance for a sole practitioner in the UK (up to £250,000 cover, enough for small projects, refurbs & houses) is only about £700.00, so starting up on your own has little initial costs.
Only problem is breaking into the market & getting your first job.
The obvious benefit is you have complete design control.

OK, a code / regs conversion course may be needed, but good design is universal.

46

you had to make janitor’s closets ADA, ** Bad News Baboon ** ? that’s insane! our code consultants have never made us go that far. i think ADA is a good thing, but really, they take it a little too far sometimes.

and as i said, i’m pretty new in this game, i’m 25 and just 2 years out of college, but it seems to me that architecture is on an upswing as far as creativity goes. if you look at what architects were doing in the 80’s, and compare that with today, it’s pretty obvious. don’t get me wrong, there was some great work being done (meier, gehry, moore, gwathmey), but postmodernism was the overriding movement and it got stale quick. but, it’s just an opinion, and a lot of my architectural criticisms are based on my personal taste, and i don’t care for most architects involved in postmodernism.

and regarding the client you mentioned, that’s a big problem. owners think that going to an architect is like going to the supermarket. they want it historical enough to make it “fit”, but modern enough to make it cheap. clients should go to architects like they’d go to an artist. if the client knows exactly what he wants, what’s the point of an architect? but it’s as much the architect’s fault as it is the client’s.

as far as i can tell, the firm i’m starting for next week informs its clients as to the work they do before anything starts. so if they want a victorian knock-off they can go find someone who’ll do that, because this firm won’t. i think that’s the way to go, and it makes for better architecture all around. if more firms took a stand and forced clients to open their minds, we wouldn’t have to discuss the “death of architecture.” sure it’s hard, and not necessarily good for business, but if you care passionately about the art of architecture you know it’s the right thing to do.

47

Bad News Baboon: I don’t want to turn this into a long side debate, so I will try to keep my response short.

First, thanks for reading my follow-up post. It does seem that my intent was still not clear, even to me. After discussing it with my wife, I think this is a better way to phrase it.

You can be anything without having a passion for it. But you don’t become one of the really good ones that way. Some people have a passion for the cachet of a profession, without a passion for the profession itself, or you can do it just because you think you are capable of it, without loving it.

Every profession has those people. Doctors, writers, architects … but the passion makes a difference in the results. I can’t imagine a really good doctor who didn’t care about the health of their family, even if they don’t want to be the actual person taking care of them. It would be bizarre.

Similarly odd if a good architect didn’t care about their house. Not that they would necessarily want to design and build the thing themselves, just that is seems mighty odd not to be involved somehow, not to invest in the process; odd to choose exclusively on price-per-square-foot.

And in either case (doctor or architect), it would make me jumpy to have that person be the professional dealing with my problems (health or home). It isn’t even hypocricy on their part, necessarily - perhaps a lack of comprehension? Regardless, I just wouldn’t want a person who doesn’t have a passion for the job to be the one doing the job. Maybe some other poor shmuck gets stuck with them, but I’d find someone else, myself.

I think that downbylaw understood what I was trying to say:

So when I said that “if architects don’t care about where they live they shouldn’t be architects” I mean that if an architect has no interest in shaping/creating/designing the space that they live or work in, then they lack the passion that I would expect of an architect. And mack I don’t expect them to design their own buildings in the city, but if they just slap up some cubicles in a tenant fitout building, I’m not going to respect them.

As an aside. Bad News Baboon - be careful about assumptions yourself. I have been in the “real world” for the last 13 years since I got my Engineering degree. I have been an intern/drafter for three years and also doing some design work. Before that I was a computer programmer for eight years (big career change there).
I’m getting my architectural degree (graduate June 8) from Drexel University, one of only two accredited schools with a part-time program. All of the students work full-time in the field in some manner. And all of my professors are practicing architects. More focus on the practical then other programs, from what I have heard.
I live with my wife and two kids in a small town (college town) where I can walk to the main street, fulfilling my personal beliefs about residential and urban design.
I’m glad that I can still sound naive and young, considering how old I feel somedays :smiley:

And yes, Ando is amazing.