My+Own+definition+of+Architecture



To start with, I have always thought that asking what architecture is, it's equal to asking for the humans' own will, their essence. That's because the art of building was always accompanying the humans through their very own journey throughout the time, masked as their unavoidable necessity of shelter against the hazardous and unpredictable environment they live in, so it is deeply rooted into the humans essence and thus, it's very notable part of them.

Now, the fact that the humans' essence has deeply rooted inside of it the necessities of shelter and comfort, is the reason of the existence of Architecture; therefore, Architecture exists because the humans needs it to fulfill their desires and necessities. so, it must be a well-configured answer to this desires.

Perhaps it's for this kind of reasoning that Louis I. Kahn expressed that «not all buildings are Architecture». In fact, it's possible that Architecture's essence has been degenerating slowly upon the pass of time along with its real interpretation, only to be seen as a whim of people with a high acquisitive power. There are also people who say that to make Architecture, is the same that making a painting or a sculpture. But there are also some people that being too functionalist think that architecture is the same as engineering. I'm convinced that architecture is more than that.

Regarding the level of knowledge, someone who is an architect must be well-educated with a good general culture. A student must learn mechanics, arts, sociology, and human psychology. Architecture is a discipline that requires hard work because it covers various fields of knowledge. But the result always points to the same direction.

This direction we're talking about is to create habitable places and spaces rich in dynamism and fluidity, in which the human being feels comfortable and where he can fully develop himself. Architecture is not a place that restrains man, like a caged animal, being static by obligation, when his very own nature requires him to be active, or idle, when he needs to.

Finally, Architecture, in my opinion, must leave us touched, it must capture its essence in our mind in an emotional way, filled by a pure meaning, like a soul-soothing melody that invites and influences us in what we do, how we recall or anticipate it and how it let us flow freely and in peace.