Well, this is probably my last post from Europe, at least for a while. Next week look for a new segment to begin when I start to post the “photo of the day”. I have seen a lot more than I have written about here, and have taken thousands of photos, so I will begin to post my favorites over the coming weeks.
There are also a number of other lessons learned and other threads that have been important throughout this process. I will mention a few here, but need to continue to expand on these in the future as well.
THE STATE OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY
I have been reading a book edited by Bernard Tschumi that is titled “the State of Architecture at the beginning of the 21st century”. I am not yet finished with the book, and I am also not claiming to have much insight as to the direction we are going in architecture at this particular time, but the general questions of ‘where are we at?’ And ‘where are we going?’ have been in the back of my mind as I have been travelling. Some of the overall themse of this book are globalization, war, technology and the urban environment. I have begin to see a number of these themes reflected in some of the projects I have been looking at, and I hope to expand on this a bit more in the future.
AIRS DE PARIS
There is a fairly interesting exhibit currently at the Center Pompidou called “Airs de Paris”. This exhibit features work by artists, architects, interior designers and landscape designers, all exploring themes of urban life, both local and global, but using Paris as the context for inspiration. The exhibit takes its name from a Marcel Duchamp work from 1919 that is part of the Center Pompidou’s permanent collection. I think the issues of living in cities, and the urban environment, have been an important part of a number of the projects that I have been researching as well. As the world becomes increasingly urban, a question that should surely be on the minds of architects is how to we create urban environments that are livable, reflective of culture, sustainable, and address the nature of urban living in the 21st century.
SUSTAINABILITY
It should be no surprise that the issues of sustainability have been on my mind, especially as I was travelling in Germany during the G8 summit. I think one of the most meaningful buildings that I saw this trip was the Free University Library by Foster. As important as I think it is for architecture to be based on ideas, Fosters library, and its holistically sustainable approach, left me feeling that this building had substantially more depth to it than some of the other projects that I saw, because of the moral and ethical undercurrents of being sustainable in today’s world. I just felt this building had a greater purpose, and for me this became a meaningful model of what architecture should be about.
TAKING RISKS
This could be read on a lot of levels. Certainly, leaving my family for four weeks seemed like a bit of a risk. Architecturally speaking, many of the projects I saw intentionally challenged preconceptions about what architecture should be, and they are better off because of it. I think it is important for all of us in creative endeavors to remember to take risks. I think the quote by Zaha Hadid, when asked about the level of uncertainty in a project’s outcome, sums it up nicely. “Without that level of uncertainty and journey into an unknown territory, you can’t progress.”
That’s all for now. I hope you have enjoyed the posts and analysis. I have learned a lot from this experience, and I am sure I will continue to benefit from this for quite some time.
There are also a number of other lessons learned and other threads that have been important throughout this process. I will mention a few here, but need to continue to expand on these in the future as well.
THE STATE OF ARCHITECTURE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY
I have been reading a book edited by Bernard Tschumi that is titled “the State of Architecture at the beginning of the 21st century”. I am not yet finished with the book, and I am also not claiming to have much insight as to the direction we are going in architecture at this particular time, but the general questions of ‘where are we at?’ And ‘where are we going?’ have been in the back of my mind as I have been travelling. Some of the overall themse of this book are globalization, war, technology and the urban environment. I have begin to see a number of these themes reflected in some of the projects I have been looking at, and I hope to expand on this a bit more in the future.
AIRS DE PARIS
There is a fairly interesting exhibit currently at the Center Pompidou called “Airs de Paris”. This exhibit features work by artists, architects, interior designers and landscape designers, all exploring themes of urban life, both local and global, but using Paris as the context for inspiration. The exhibit takes its name from a Marcel Duchamp work from 1919 that is part of the Center Pompidou’s permanent collection. I think the issues of living in cities, and the urban environment, have been an important part of a number of the projects that I have been researching as well. As the world becomes increasingly urban, a question that should surely be on the minds of architects is how to we create urban environments that are livable, reflective of culture, sustainable, and address the nature of urban living in the 21st century.
SUSTAINABILITY
It should be no surprise that the issues of sustainability have been on my mind, especially as I was travelling in Germany during the G8 summit. I think one of the most meaningful buildings that I saw this trip was the Free University Library by Foster. As important as I think it is for architecture to be based on ideas, Fosters library, and its holistically sustainable approach, left me feeling that this building had substantially more depth to it than some of the other projects that I saw, because of the moral and ethical undercurrents of being sustainable in today’s world. I just felt this building had a greater purpose, and for me this became a meaningful model of what architecture should be about.
TAKING RISKS
This could be read on a lot of levels. Certainly, leaving my family for four weeks seemed like a bit of a risk. Architecturally speaking, many of the projects I saw intentionally challenged preconceptions about what architecture should be, and they are better off because of it. I think it is important for all of us in creative endeavors to remember to take risks. I think the quote by Zaha Hadid, when asked about the level of uncertainty in a project’s outcome, sums it up nicely. “Without that level of uncertainty and journey into an unknown territory, you can’t progress.”
That’s all for now. I hope you have enjoyed the posts and analysis. I have learned a lot from this experience, and I am sure I will continue to benefit from this for quite some time.
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