Architecture Is

The first architect who really captured my interest, and influenced my choice to study the field was Buckminster Fuller.  My visual response was triggered by an exhibition on his life's work I saw a couple of years ago at the Whitney in New York entitled, Starting With the Universe.  The image, which is a matrix of screenshots taken from Ray and Charles Eames Powers of Ten video, is an expression of what I value most about the architectural education, and what aspect of Architecture I find most interesting, which is the ability to simultaneously work at different scales within a cohesive whole.

Architecture Is...

  the exploration and implementation of interventions into space relating to human use.  Central to its purpose, architecture is defined by its ability to synthesize disparate and often competing factors in numerous fields, realms, and scales, into a cohesive whole.  Exemplary architecture challenges its users to explore and define new relationships between both each other, and their environment through a thoughtful engagement of the human body and imagination.  The nature of space is an important element in influencing the way we as a society interact with one another, thus positioning architecture as an influential actor within society.


Believing this has led me to question the nature of our society's civic architecture.  How does our democracy manifest itself in space?  What are the spaces of our civic engagement?  Why are we as a society so ambivalent, passive, and apathetic when it comes to participating and engaging in government?  Is watching CSPAN really the best way to participate in a democratic society?  The Greeks had the Pnyx, what do we have?