Theme 2Examine and critique the role, practice and responsibilities of architecture in the context of contemporary discourses of society, politics, culture and economics in both the industrial nations and in the developing world. What synergies do you see developing between these discourses in contemporary debates and how might these benefit future developments in architecture and society? Make reference to particular exemplars in formulating your discussion.

Architecture; the ‘negotiated art form’. The influences on Architecture past, present and future.

Architecture is an art form, which affects us all. Architecture is a form of power in politics, presented as a potential answer to social problems, and in the face of economic recessions and growths, with derelict buildings and new builds respectively.

Discourse between architecture, politics, culture, society and economics are:

Architecture is used to put a political, religious or a ruler’s stamp on an era. Through history development in technology and education supported architectural development, as did power of rulers and resources available.

“Architecture is a negotiated art and highly political, and if you want to make buildings

there is diplomacy required.” - Thom Mayne (1)

Mies van der Rohe and his buildings at 860-880 Lake Shore Drive on Lake Michigan, are Chicagoans’ symbolism of the American democracy, (ironically though Mies signed a motion in support of Hitler in 1934. Not quite the democratic dream that is symbolized in his designs on Chicago banks!) (2)

Park51, in NY is architecture in current political debate. This proposed Islamic center is close to Ground Zero. The proposed build is supported by President Obama and Bill Clinton but a CNN poll conducted in 2010 showed that 2 out of every 3 Americans disagreed with a Mosque being built so close to Ground Zero. (3) (4) The controversy behind this proposal created a challenge to the architectural design of the building, the aim would be to create a ‘platform for meditation of social, cultural, urban and political differences’.(3)

Art is a way activists express their opinions about society while architects can take a more practical approach to social problems; fixing problems with actions and addressing issues

(1) I’m the Designer. My Client’s the Autocrat, Robin Pogrebin (2) The Politics of Architecture, Eve Fineman (3) architecturepolitics.com (4) Newt Gingrich Compares Park51 Project To Quran Burning: Obama Should Tell Imam 'Don't Do It', Huffington Post

(a) Park51 - First images of 'Ground Zero Mosque' (2010 SOMA Architects)

in their designs. Martha Rosler used propaganda to present problems around homelessness, trying to address it in her exhibition ‘If you lived here.’ (1989) (5)

Post war architecture and the erection of the quickly fabricated houses were designed to be a positive social environment. Park Hill, with corridors designed like streets to allow a sense of community, even when situated on the north side of the building and constantly shadowed by the huge mass of concrete. English heritage have now assumed responsibility for the buildings framework, an indication of their importance in social history.

What are the social problems of today? Is Martha Roslers propaganda correct and the social problems she addressed perennial or could there be an end solution?

To understand the connection between 21st century architecture and society Modernism and Cobusier (with his principals in design) can help. Is it about educating society about how to use the buildings architects design or do architects need to design buildings that need no education?

In developing countries, the segregation between rich and poor is seen in architecture, an example is São Paulo, Brazil, where often homes are demolished to make space for new builds. Do architects have a moral duty in society to help those in need?

Adolf Loos in his essay ‘Ornament and Crime’ wrote, ‘As ornament is no longer organically related to our culture, it is also no longer the expression of our culture’ (7)(8). Is this the same in architecture now? Has the economics taken the culture out of architecture? Certainly buildings in this age are being built for speed and lowest cost per m2 than ever before. The education of environmental design helps us to find the most efficient way of designing buildings. New building designs around the globe are homogenous; the culture seems to be lacking in new architecture.

Culture cannot be relied on to help architecture meet the demands of today, the limitations of what can be built would not satisfy the needs. In North China for example, the Yoadong cave dwellings, originally created because of lack of tools to build above ground, so the natives dug caves. These caves are cool in the summer and warm in the winter because of the high thermal mass of the ground (9). This is an example of early culture and vernacular architectures adaptations to recourses and surroundings, but now with the knowledge of materials and recourses China is now home to some of the tallest buildings in the world.

(5) ‘If You Lived Here Still…’, an archive project by Martha Rosler, e-flux (6) The City Cultures Reader - Malcolm Miles, Tim Hall, Iain Borden (7) Andrew Benjamin – Architecture and Culture, (8) Adolf Loos – Ornament and Crime (9) Travel China Now, Cave Dwellings (Yaodong)

(c) Yaodong Cave Dwellings - (Faces of Shaanxi Date between 1994-2003)

(b) São Paulo - 2010: Looking Back (date unknown)

Architects today need to keep up with the changing culture from traditional to hi-tech culture but it is also important to retain traditional culture despite advancing technology. The environment, resources, religion, the wealth of the nation are all factors that create the culture and all need to affect todays architecture. I M Pei decided it was important to keep the culture of Islamic design in the Museum of Islamic art yet putting his modern twist onto it. (10)

The economy also influences architecture. Derelict buildings have been the face of the recent recession and growth of the city skyline suggests the opposite. China, the fastest growing economy in the world, produces 2 billion m2 of new building area a year and uses 40% of the worlds steel and concrete. Many believe that such constant building contributes to their healthy GDP, providing millions of jobs and cheap spaces for businesses. (12) However whether this will be a sustainable answer is questionable. In some places new buildings now remain derelict and others demolished before completion because of lack of demand, e.g. in Vienna Wood Community in Hefei City a building project which was worth 10s of million Yuan. (11)

The economy changes the way architects function. This was seen clearly in the Rockefeller tower built in the great American depression. Architects who were once picky about which projects were suddenly left fighting for employment and the one project still going for them was the Rockefeller tower. ‘Even such Cain-and-Abel types as Raymond Hood, a hard-drinking visionary architect, and John Todd, the authoritarian teetotaler that Rockefeller hired as his chief developer, became good business buddies.’ (Form Follows Finance, The Economist) (13). This, like Chinese rapid building development, was a way to boost the economy in a time of trouble.

Could economics be affecting our pride in buildings? Yes we are building higher than ever before because technology allows but we are also striving to cut the cost of buildings per m2 (14). The change from crafted stone to mass-produced machine made steel has happened in a matter of just over a century thanks to advances in technology; but has our vision of ‘what a building should be’ distorted because of our obsession to save money? What does this mean for our future? Are we slowly losing the individuality of architecture or will the quest for efficiency one-day result in the ‘perfect’ building? One design to suit everyone’s needs? One master plan. Could the greed of today’s economy be the downfall of individuality in architecture and of architectural culture?

(10) Learning From Light: The vision of I.M. Pei (11) China: Proudly Demolishing Buildings Before Completed In Pursuit Of The Glorious Housing Bubble Perpetual Engine, Tyler Durden (12) China’s Roads-to-Subways Construction Spurs Stocks Rally, Jasmine Wang (13) Form Follows Finance, The Economist (14) Construction Industry: Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners, Chris Hodgson

Bibliography

Books

Malcolm Miles, Tim Hall, Iain Borden (2000). The City Cultures Reader. London: Routledge. 119-122.

EssaysAdolf Loos. (1929). Ornament And Crime

DocumentariesLearning From Light: The vision of I.M. Pei 2009, Documentary, Cold River Productions, USA, Directed by Bo Landin and Sterling Van Wagenen

Websites Benjamin, A. (May 2003). Essay: Architecture and Culture. Available: http://architectureau.com/articles/essay-architecture-and-culture/. Last accessed 1st Dec 2012.

Travel China Now. (n/a). Cave Dwellings (Yaodong). Available: http://www.travelchinanow.com/attraction/xian/cave-dwellings-(yaodong)/. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

The Economist. (Nov 6, 2003). Form follows finance. Available: http://www.economist.com/node/2189092. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

The Economist. (Feb 12, 2004). Cultural revolution. Available: http://www.economist.com/node/2430003?zid=293&ah=e50f636873b42369614615ba3c16df4a. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Tyler Durden. (Sep 26th, 2010). China: Proudly Demolishing Buildings Before Completed In Pursuit Of The Glorious Housing Bubble Perpetual Engine. Available: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/china-proudly-demolishing-buildings-completed-pursuit-great-housing-bubble-perpetual-engine. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

e-flux. (Jan 5, 2010). ‘If You Lived Here Still…’, an archive project by Martha Rosler. Available: http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/if-you-lived-here-still…-an-archive-project-by-martha-rosler/. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Architecturepolitics.com. (n/a). Cases. Available: http://architecturepolitics.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Sochacki_Caldwell_Workshop9.jpg. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Huffington Post. (Oct 09, 2010). Newt Gingrich Compares Park51 Project To Quran Burning: Obama Should Tell Imam 'Don't Do It'. Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/10/newt-gingrich-compares-pa_n_711923.html. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Phillip Inman. (Jan 11, 2012). China's skyscraper craze 'may herald economic crash'. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/11/skyscrapers-china-india-recession. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Jasmine Wang. (Sep 07, 2012). China’s Roads-to-Subways Construction Spurs Stocks Rally. Available: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-06/china-approves-plan-to-build-new-roads-to-boost-economy. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Chris Hodgson (Envirowise Construction Specialist). (n/a). Construction Industry: Cutting Costs Without Cutting Corners. Available: http://www.orbuk.org.uk/article/construction-industry-cutting-costs-without-cutting-corners. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Eve Fineman. (2009). The Politics of Architecture. Available: http://thepopulation.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/the-politics-of-architecture/. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Robin Pogrebin. (2008). I’m the Designer. My Client’s the Autocrat. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/arts/design/22pogr.html. Last accessed 2nd Dec 2012.

Fawcett, P. (2012). Cultural Context 3 - Modernism. Lecture. Sheffield Hallam University.

Image citations

(a) First images of 'Ground Zero Mosque' (2010 SOMA Architects). photograph. http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=14867. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2012

(b) Faces of Shaanxi 1994-2003. photograph. http://people.ku.edu/~kennedy1/faces_of_shaanxi.htm. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2012.

(c) 2010, Looking Back (date taken unknown). photograph. http://www.criticaltwenties.in/nationalpolitics/2010-looking-back. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2012