Why Architecture Matters-Part 2

Architecture is much more than a parade of various types of buildings to be ogled like models strutting down the runway. From highways to high rise, schools to subways, bridges to beautiful parks, architecture reflects our values and our vision and in turn it shapes just about everything we do.

You can ignore a piece of sculpture or a painting hung on the walls of an art institute or gallery, but architecture is the inescapable art. The art of architecture is based on the idea that it affects every one there fore it should be understandable by every one.
Architecture can be analyzed a fine art and a social art, placing buildings in the context of the politics, of the economics, and the cultural forces that shape them.

Architecture is set of consistent but flexible principles rather than rigid ideology and a desire to impose it on everyone else. Quality in architecture is such an issue that buildings are well crafted as well as well designed; in utility so that buildings serve their inhabitants both functionally and spiritually; in authenticity, so that buildings are rooted in reality and not fantasy; in continuity, so that buildings engage in civilised dialogue rather than ignoring one another.

The power of architecture is to create genuine places rather than generic cityscapes and that architecture should be adorn human activity rather than direct it.

In the profession of architecture, there is premium on architectural innovation- not only because it has the capacity to elevate construction to the level of art, but also because it can enrich and expand human possibilities. While it is naive to except that better buildings will make better people, it is equally foolish to ignore the subtle yet significant impact that the built environment has on our visions and thus our actions.

In architecture, the choices we make in creating that external world speak volumes about our inner values.

We look to the art of architecture to clarify the human conditions and to express the spirit of the times. Yet it is equally important that architecture engage contemporary problems and process rather that merely comment on them or on itself.
Every building is s new piece of the evolving city, a new layer of the ever changing urban collage. This collective work of art forms an unflinching record of who we are and what we do. It connects us in tie and space to those who went before us even as it represents our legacy - for better or for worse- to those who come after.
And that is why architecture matters!