“ The mother art is architecture. Without architecture of our own, we have no soul of our civilization ” – once quoted by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Can you imagine a world without huge structures that leave us perplexed? What about the historic monuments that delineate the roots and origin of our civilization? What about your own home that is the most-priced possession that gives a sense of guardianship? Can you imagine a world without all this? The answer is NO!
Imagining a world without architecture is a formidable concept to grasp because architecture shapes our environment and influences how we live. Architecture is more than just the design and planning of buildings: it also includes the design and planning of spaces that lend a hand to various activities, human interactions, and sociocultural expressions.
Every detail surrounding us has an essence of architecture. Without them, humans wouldn’t have guardianship – a place to shelter in, a place that keeps them safe and secure.
Imagining a world without architecture is like imagining a thriving city turned into a windswept green landscape with only trees and sky. Would you see people around these areas? – one can barely see anyone around such areas as one cannot sustain in such barren lands without any places of shelter. After a long – tiring and busy workday, what if you land in derelict areas with no provision of food and shelter? – You will simmer down on the grass, shivering in the cold longing for a comforting place of shelter.
Would humans have survived without architecture?
The desire for a comfortable place to live can be traced back to the time when humans lived in caves. They were struck by the surpassing contrast between light and shadow and desired to interlace them together. That is when they realized that architecture gives meaning to light and shadow, as well as their synchrony. These natural shelters offered humans better protection against bad weather but not against wild animals.
Architecture as a Historic Narrator
The history of architecture is almost as long and as complex as the history of humanity.
Architecture has proven to be many things – comfortable, elegant, modern, brutal, indexical, and vernacular but one of its most intriguing characteristics is its ability to reflect the spirit of the time, in a way that may be even more significant than what we see with art. The parallelism of architectural history to human history is supported by its strong material companionship, which serves as the best physical evidence of societal change.
Without using words, simply looking at buildings built in different places at different times would help us understand the evolution of architecture and our past. It embodied human actions in architecture, and this was further clarified by the persistent effort to protect some of the built heritage while deciding to let the rest fade and decay.
Architecture as Spatial Recital
Mark Wigley in an exclusive conversation with Emmanuel Olunkwa once stated,
“Architecture is not about the well-being of humans at all. It doesn’t simply house the human; it remakes the human.”
Architecture has touched the human mind – health and function evoking a specific kind of atmosphere. It is adaptable to the point where it can control every aspect in the quantity and manner that best suits everyone. It not only works to solve functional and structural requirements but expresses human feelings to greater heights.
The Yad Vashem in Jerusalem is the epitome of the heart-wrenching history of the Jewish holocaust, preserving the past and imparting its meaning to future generations. People follow the meandering path of galleries, back and forth through cracks in the central corridor’s concrete, through a series of dark and tall spaces punctured by narrow slits of light that represent hope.
Indistinguishably, the Jewish Museum in Berlin takes us through three stages of a Jewish prisoner’s life: continuity, exile, and death. The horrifying aftermath of the past can’t help but linger in the depths of the massive voids enclosing the corridors.
Similarly, the Cellular Jail – also known as the Kaala Paani, is the beating heart of dark tourism in the Andamans. The imposing structure was built by the British during their colonial rule and served as a prison for Indian freedom fighters. The jail’s harrowing history, tales of torture, and inhumane conditions serve as a haunting reminder of the sacrifices made by great people like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the fight for independence. The cellular jail is now a national memorial, attracting visitors who want to understand past struggles and pay tribute to those who suffered.
Human existence would be very different if architecture did not exist. Architecture is an essential part of human life, shaping how we interact with our surroundings and with one another. We would not have built environments that provided shelter, safety, and comfort if architecture did not exist.
Every piece of architecture, whether it’s an ancestral home, an abandoned town, or a historical marvel has a story to tell.
Architecture enabled humans to go beyond their wildest dreams. It is more than just a setup or a small thing that is a part of human life – it is what makes human life possible and livable. There will be no life if architecture does not exist. It represents how people perceive themselves and their surroundings, how people wonder about the creation and existence of the great architectural marvels around us.
After all, as Jean Nouvel says – “ Each new situation requires a new architecture. ”
References :
- BGW Architects. How architecture affects human behavior. [ online ]
Available at: How Architecture Affects Human Behavior | BGW Architects (bgw-architects.com) - Ana Maria Ghinita. 2016. How buildings influence society and how society is influenced by buildings.
[ online ]
Available at: How buildings influence society and how society is influenced by buildings – an introduction | LinkedIn - Richard Roger in conversation with Dezeen. 2014. Architects have a “ Responsibility to society. ”
[ online ]
Available at: Richard Rogers interview: Architects have a “responsibility to society” | Architecture | Dezeen – YouTube - Widewalls. The history of Architecture in a nutshell. [ online ]
Available at: The History of Architecture in a Nutshell | Widewalls - WikiArquitectura. Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum. [ online ]
Available at: ✅ Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum – Data, Photos & Plans – WikiArquitectura - Safdie Architects. Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum. [ online ]
Available at: Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum (safdiearchitects.com) - Srijan Garg. 2023. Untold Stories: Dark tourism in Andamans! [ online ]
Available at: Untold Stories: Dark Tourism in Andamans! | MyTravaly
