We spend our entire lives hearing about art, cinema and music, but where has architecture disappeared to? Once featured in mainstream newspapers, architecture’s popularity amongst the masses has taken a dive. It could be time that the world of architecture considers investing more time in communicating with the communities they serve.

Falling in Love with Architecture

Despite being the most necessary pursuit in the history of mankind, it seems like architecture has not reached great popularity amongst the masses. I bet most couldn’t name at least five architects if asked to, an assumption I make because I was one of said people. Despite my lifelong love for art, I never stopped to consider the world of architecture. That was until I visited the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen and was left breathless by Christian Lemmerz’s Todesfigur (Death Figure) standing on the first landing of a marble staircase. The clouds gloom overhead shone through diagonal light panels, which formed the roof above it. The interplay of light, color and the statue’s harrowing meaning left me aghast. Suddenly I realized the importance of architecture, not just for art, but for our perception of the world.

Cultivating Architecture as an Interest

Despite architecture being a fundamental pillar of society, it seems like most people don’t know much about it. This interest can be quite difficult to cultivate for a number of reasons. The completion of an architectural project is a drawn out process due to the sheer number of parties involved, such as clients, contractors, engineers etc. This lack of immediacy, unlike other forms of art, makes it so that engaging with architecture requires more patience and dedication. Social media could be considered a viable option for better communication with the public. Yet it is uncommon to stumble upon architects connecting with communities through vertical, short-form content. Architecture’s position in the market makes it so that architects have to be a lot more careful with their online personas. An architect’s reputation is fundamental to attracting clients that can afford their services, making one wrong move fatal to their career. 

What is an Architect?

In the 1940s the term Starchitect was introduced to describe some architects’ celebrity status amongst the general public, but since then it has become difficult to point out many modern day architects that are labeled with such a term. Architecture has long been an insulated form of art, with the profession becoming more and more disconnected from the public. A public that has long misunderstood the profession as the construction of monumental landmarks and impossibly tall, luxurious skyscrapers. A crater of anonymity forms between the architect and the public when this misconception is not cleared up. Despite all its nuances, the main purpose of architecture is to provide shelter for all and to design spaces.

The practice of architecture is the most delightful of all pursuits. Also, next to agriculture, it is the most necessary to man. One must eat, one must have shelter. Next to religious worship itself, it is the spiritual handmaiden of our deepest convictions.

Philip Johnson

Architecture’s Reputation

Architects have suffered exclusion from their own environment, not only at the hands of this communication crisis, but to architecture’s reputation for being elitist. It is true that architecture requires money and, as with every other profession, there are going to be professionals which tend to have more arrogant attitudes than others. Nonetheless, it seems like this reputation does not only depend on architects, but on other parties that work with them. Architect Peter Raisbeck speaks on his own experience as an architect in his article from 2017: 

“They (Builders) will make out that architects are design orientated wankers who know nothing about construction. (…) In fact contractors are more likely to blame the architect if the building has been actually designed.” 

The primary issue continues to be communication. Architects are viewed as arrogant by the public not because they directly interact with them, but because of what they hear.

Should architects be doing the job?

Over various forums, architecture students have shared their own professors’ opinions on the subject, where many state that it is not the architect’s job to communicate with the general public. Supposing this to be true, the fact remains that the effective communication of architecture is impossible without the architects’ participation. Whether direct or indirect, architects have to share their ideas, processes and any evaluations ex post in order for other parties to mold them into comprehensible pieces of information. Architecture critic Kate Wagner stated the following: 

Architects used to be concerned about the perception of their buildings, and frankly, I feel like they are not anymore.

Although it is not necessarily the architect’s job to be more accessible to the public, it is still fundamental that they seek meaningful connections with the communities they serve, even through mediators. 

Why Should You Care About Architecture?

Architecture is the lost language of time. Every book in our libraries, every painting we hang on our walls, every drawer filled with love letters says more about us than words ever could. Our own homes are testaments to architecture’s relevance in our lives. This applies to the rest of the world. The temples of Agrigento conjure up tales of worshipped deities and myths lost to time. The weathering of its pillars becomes ornamental, imperfections only seem to enrich, rather than impoverish. With a little effort, we can start to train our perceptions to register more than just what is immediately presented to us. Such knowledge can only enrich our vision of the world, making us appreciate it even in its simplest of forms. Architecture is not because of, but in spite of. It is the art of compromise, making its products that much more awe-inspiring.

_{Featured by Giulia Delnegro}