What should Architecture be?

What should architecture be? What should I be as an architect? The class discussion about Le Corbusier required that I define something for myself!

The more I learn about how to be a better person, the more I believe everything I do should relate back to the same thing. When my family traveled in Italy in 2014 we took an 11 o’clock taxi ride to our hotel outside of Venice. The three miles was something like 30 euros, a rip-off, of course. My mother was upset and when she demanded an explanation the cab driver simply handed over his laminated ‘terms and conditions’ sheet. My family then decided that we all needed terms and conditions of ourselves and that declaration has been with me ever since.

So, with the task inspired by Le Corbusier from an architect’s perspective and my belief that all things in life relate, I’ve drafted the following.

I must try to write every day. Language relates my actions to my beliefs. Sometimes not until I write, do I fully understand what I think.

Help others.

Reading and writing influence my work.

Everything is better with a good cup of coffee.

Authentic experiences must evolve.

In architecture, there exist inner and outer forces, meaning that there is the way people want to use a space, and the conditions of the site, culture and area in which the project exists. I’ve started a chain letter to a colleague that describes how I start a project, and I believe the next step to understanding the conditions of project is to evaluate the materials with which one is to be working with. Then, the structure, something holds up and together a project, and then the infill may be allowed to be more fluid.

Homes are for eating, cleaning, sleeping. Beyond the home there is work, social interactions, and commerce, everyone sharing their work. I need to develop my thoughts architecture beyond the home.

All things great or distressing become better when they are shared with someone else.

Live life how you believe you should be living. (What you identify with, you become. – from the Deepak Chopra meditations.)

What are your ‘rules’ of life?