At the end of our annual reader survey we asked you, dear readers, a hard question: “What is architecture?”
Some replies were brutally honest and comically sarcastic, while others referenced the work of past architects or wrote in emojis. 😂 Someone wrote in, “Design, Bitches!” while another person called architecture the G.O.A.T., and still another played it cool: “Nice try. not answering this question.”
Here are the most poetic, insightful, and witty answers from the 400-plus responses:
Creating space for a community to live in & thrive for generations.
Forms brought together in light and darkness
Architecture is anything that circumscribes the hearth.
Architecture is a way of humans solving our needs to live securely, safely, and comfortably by keeping ourselves from the harshness and harms (dangerous climate) of our environment (aka Earth).
Whatever the architect says it is…
Thinking about making buildings. May sound oversimplistic, but that’s it!
Creatively imagined built spaces and sculptural edifices to solve problems and stir the soul.
Architecture, to me, is making order and beauty out of chaos, so that we as humans can live comfortably, restfully, and at peace with one another.
It is the art and technique of designing and building and, at its best, is an expression of our ethics and our values.
The Art of Space
Haha, great question. Short answer: everything. But where is the good architecture?!
The art and science to endeavor to better the built environment for current and future generations in view of the multiple challenges it faces
An intentional scaffold for human life to unfold
Design, Bitches!
Es un arte en movimiento 👷💫, es un espacio infinito y habitable con una sensación que se transforma.
Architecture and interior design work together to produce a more meaningful experience for the end users. Architecture should also be contextual, relevant, inclusive, community-based, and collaborative.
Imagination turned into reality for better living
The practice of architecture is an ever-evolving intellectual discipline that explores not just the built form but also the values, meanings, and culture behind design, beginning with concepts, philosophies, and context.
What I do
Architecture is life.
From a camo’d cave to earthen roofed condos
The creation of new spaces and places that should be fully inclusive, welcoming, and usable by all potential users, without the need for adaptation or special features (like ramps, platform, lifts, etc.)
Solving problems
That which dignifies human enjoyment of life
Architecture is like pornography. You know it when you see it.
I am reading Vitruvius again. Do you know he proposes architects, along with everything else, need to know about music? That they are able to tune stringed instruments? Well, it’s true. I am a terrible musician. I sing off-key. I don’t even understand what a “key” is. Does this make me a bad architect? Vitruvius would say YES. Don’t tell the Architectural Review Board.
Cultural interventions in our communities that teach us to be healthier, more equitable, and responsible environmentally
Architecture ranges from humble shelters to monumental public spaces, and from minimal cabins to futuristic megastructures. It spans everything from ancient ruins to modern smart buildings.
Balancing art, function, inspiration, materials, and budget to create built environments that advance the state of human civilization.
Painting with light; really big Legos
Art that you live in
From 50 BCE: Utilitatis, Firmitatis, Venustatis plus “on time and at the right price.”
The built environment in which we live. Interior and exterior, living and stationary. It can be boring or can excite the senses (preferred). It has purpose.
A better question would be to ask what isn’t architecture.
The heart and soul of what we are as a civilization. The canvas upon which we paint our lives.
How you design something that fits into the surrounding environment. I am a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright.
When art means engineering and they build something that history will remember forever
Robert Venturi posits that the wall is more than just a barrier or a structural element. It is the spatial record of the complex interplay between interior program and exterior context. The wall becomes the site where the inherent complexities and contradictions of life and the building’s function are resolved and expressed architecturally.
The creative design of space used to shape and contribute to people’s lives
The resolution of forces and energies in the designed environment. The intent shaping the designs and the experience of those using the environment.
The careful design, consideration, and stewardship of the built environment that positively impacts the ecological and social conditions of all beings. (All else is or will soon be garbage that will need to be reconsidered someday by thoughtful architects.)
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