Why did I become an architect?

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“When I think about why I chose to study architecture I cannot think about any specific moment when my experience of the built space made me think architecture was my future. Instead, I have very clear into my mind a series of atmospheres that I loved – and love – to live. I love rainy days, they make me happy. I know that most people would think thit is controversial, because a rainy day is grey, cold and humid; but I love rainy days because they give the space around us a certain kaleidoscope of smells. The music of rain hitting the ground, the buildings, the windows; the sense of warmth and the kindness of the taste of a cup of tea when looking at a thunderstorm from the inside of my house give me the impression I can grasp more of the whole around me. A rainy day represent for me a celebration of senses and suddenly I feel rooted to the place where I’m standing. I love rainy days because they make me feel. I decided to study architecture because I have always been crafty. I love building objects myself, it requires skills, creativity and logic. Logic. I always loved the order of math. Math, at the very core of its understanding, is the closest we have to a definition of cosmos - from the Latinized form of Greek kosmos “order, good order, orderly arrangement,” a word with several main senses rooted in those notions: the verb kosmein meant generally “to dispose, prepare,” but especially “to order and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array;” also “to establish (a government or regime);” “to deck, adorn, equip, dress” (especially of women) [Etymonline. com, 2016] - that cosmos that the Ancient Greeks tried to grasp with their harmonious aesthetic understanding. Math is both science and art. Due to this, during the first years of architecture studies, my attention was very much focused on the technical aspects of the building. A building worked when it was fulfilling certain numerical requirements. This thirst for technical knowledge led me to move from mostly theory-oriented studies, typical of Italian education, to the more pragmatic, knowledge-based way of teaching design of Aalborg University. Surprisingly, the more my knowledge of performance-aideddesign is growing, the more my interest toward the intangible character of the spaces and places we create increases. I have realized how certain buildings that I have visited make me feel like those rainy days, and how, some others, are very far away from exiting my sensory reach.”

from Chiambretto, Alessia and Kronborg Trillingsgaard, Asta. Deafspace Individuality+Integration, An Extension Of Gallaudet University, Washington DC, USA. Aalborg, 2016.


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