Wir bauen eine neue Stadt: Architecture’s impact on the everyday life. Celine Lavinia Battolla
Wir bauen eine neue Stadt: Architecture’s impact on the everyday life. Wir bauen eine neue Stadt in german means “We’re building a new city” and its the title of a song performed by the band Palais Schaumburg.
“Architecture deeply engages in the metaphysical question of the self and the world, interiority and exteriority, time and duration, life and death.” 1 With this statement Architect Juhani Pallasmaa introduces an interesting topic of discussion on how Architecture has a major impact on people’s everyday life. This essay will explore how Architecture can influence Bird-eye view of Shenzhen, China. both positively and negatively the lives of human beings whose environment undergoes major changes throughout time. “Architecture is our primary instrument in relating us with space and time, and […] domesticates limitless space and endless time to be tolerated, inhabited and understood by humankind”2. As a matter of fact, when designing, an architect must take into consideration numerous factors, which aren’t only related to the aesthetics of the building, but deal with the building’s function and how it is going to be used. Particularly when building a house, an architect should remember that it will be someone’s home, the place where all their memories will reside. Therefore it is interesting to notice how important architecture is as related to memories, and how these can cause emotions when a place is revisited or thought of. The city of Shenzhen has undergone major changes in the past 30 years: starting out as an agricultural village, it is today one of the most important cities in the world. The Bird-eye view Shenzhen thirty years ago.
impact on its population must have been unimaginable.
Drastic changes like the one aforementioned can become cause of unhappiness and a reason to move elsewhere. But what if this choice can never be made because there is something stopping you from leaving- love, family, etc.? One could argue that the solution could still be to rely on architecture once again: escaping could become an imaginary process, which happens when dreaming or reading. For example, in reading Labyrinth by Jorge Luis Borges, we notice that life and dreams become “leaves of the same book”3, as he affirms that “writing is nothing more than a guided dream”4. Therefore we understand why all the places he describes, being a mere product of imagination, are limitless and have no boundaries. As writer G. K. Chesterton states “The are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds”5. 1
Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths, Preface 4 Jorge Luis Borges, Preface to Dr. Brodie’s Report (El informe de Brodie), 1970 5 Quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton 2 3
The idea that architecture has such a relevant influence on people’s lives and decisions, lead philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre to affirm that architecture could easily become a means of power, since “we shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us”6. This conclusion was also made by the leader of the fascist movement Benito Mussolini, who gathered the most renowned architects to redesign the city of Rome in order to propagandize his regime. Traces of this can be largely found in Palazzo dei Congressi, Rome, Italy. the E.U.R. residential and business district, where we can notice buildings such as the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana and the Palazzo dei Congressi, that are both characterized by a sense of modernity, but at the same time commemorate the ancient Roman Empire, symbolizing the fascist ideology. Moreover one could argue that Architecture should try to have a positive effect on people’s lives, in each and every one of its expressions, but its clear that this can’t happen if architects prioritize their own creativity and beliefs instead of keeping the people in mind. When creating Farnsworth House, for example, Mies van der Rohe created a cornerstone of modernist domestic architecture but didn’t take into account the consequences of some of his design choices on the life of the person living there. For example, there was a complete lack of privacy due to the building’s glass structure, and also, it was unlikely for the owner Palazzo della Civiltà a.k.a. Square Colosseum to be able to explore his own self-expression, due to the Italiana, Rome, Italy, 1943. building’s unorthodox design. According to blind architect Chris Downey the role of an architect is to take into account every aspect of people’s lives, and predict not only what is fit for the client or the city, and moreover, not only what is suitable for the present, but also what will still be a success in the long run. “If you design a city with the blind in mind […] it will be a more inclusive, more equitable, more just city for all” he affirms during his TED talk interview. Whilst the cities we live in today have only started taking into consideration the disabled, a city designed with the blind in mind would consider each and every one of its inhabitants making life easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Then again, doesn’t the beauty of architecture rely on its continuous changes, strive to perfection, and aim to impress? “Architecture is a path of discovery”7 characterized by multiple different approaches. Will an eternally satisfying and perfect architecture ever be uncovered? Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth house, Plano, Illinois (1945-51)
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Quote by Winston Churchill Glenn Murcutt, Thinking Drawing / Working Drawing