Quote:
Originally Posted by malec
Unless you're designing a prison, if the people occupying the building hate being in it, then the design isn't good, period!
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actually I was planning on staying out of this argument because it tends to go no where, but you commented on something that I wanted to continue with. This is what architecture is about, an architect should be aware of how much natural light is reaching places within and around a building. They should also be aware of how people move through it and use the space. Good architecture should be an intervention on a site at that specific moment in time, thus allowing the user to manipulate the architecture to meet their demands as the times change and different needs arise.
Honesty in design is also an important aspect which is something that usually plagues most starchitects because they are usually more into applying their name or style to a design. Here in Portland, one of my favorite office buildings is a very simple design that allows the tenants to use each floor plate how they feel fit and give them plenty of natural light with floor to ceiling windows without being just another glass building. Across the street from it is Micheal Graves's Portland Building which is the complete opposite in design with tiny windows that forces its tenants to rely on manmade lighting and is poorly laid out when it comes to working with the street and surrounding area, thus making the building a pain to deal with. Now between the two buildings, most people know about the Portland Building, but the building across the street is often forgotten about, not because it isnt good, but because it works well enough for people not to be forced to pay attention to it, allowing people to focus more on what is going on in their lives than the architecture.
Architecture should be about enhancing one's life and making people more aware of aspects within their lives, not say "look at me, I was designed by someone who thinks they are important." Architecture should be about reflecting it region and the people within that region, not the ideals of an architect that isnt from that region. Ideals within design and architecture should be locally grown and designed by people who are influenced by the city on a daily basis. I would understand to design a building better in Portland than I would in Phoenix.
With this said, no one building will be liked by anyone, this goes with art. I am a bigger fan of art from 1900 to present because I feel I can relate to it more because movements that happened within the art community have more of a relation to my life than things that happened 500 years ago. But someone else is going to say that they dont understand modern art and it shouldnt be considered art.