Theory, Research, Ideas, Impact.
Theory, Research, Ideas, Impact.
Theory.
Ecology
“Design what defines humans as a species, design based on what we are and how we function. Do not force an operation that does not naturally occur, that contradicts appropriate instinctual function, thus negating optimal program. Design to showcase mankind’s distinction in the animal world, shown by intellectual organization. We do not operate as any other beings, why design for the manners of another? We differentiate on the level of order and the anticipation of the future. This is what defines us, this is what we undertake as the dominant kind in this epoch run by humanity.
Why disguise a natural given material such as wood and stone for excessive wants of a society overwrought with selfish tendencies that take what nature is, for granted. Added features that create a disconnect with the natural are an unnecessary component of the original function of the building. Using earthly given material while reducing an impact on the resources we need to survive are at the core of what I believe.
"Nature is as much a part of human lives as the dwellings we exist in. Why tarnish the natural beauty of the land by creating a building that has such a clash with its surroundings. This day in age conservation and sustainability are the wants and needs of the public. The components in which we build our structures with must be more then newly manufactured and altered materials. They must reflect our roots and mental capacity to associate the buildings we utilize as what they are . . . buildings.”
-Samuel S. Drucker
I think green buildings are extremely important but it's only part of the equation. A lot of people think that if I put a green building everything is going to be fine, but actually it's not just the green buildings we need, but green businesses, green governments, green economics. We have to extend the greening of buildings to our business and our lifestyles - that is the most important thing to do next.
-Ken Yeang
Detail, Ruins, Science
"In pure architecture the smallest detail should have a meaning or serve a purpose."
–Augustus W. N. Pugin
"I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing."
–Tadao Ando
"Design is where science and art break even."
–Mieke Gerritzen
Culture
“Architecture is the petrification of culture.”
-Jean Nouvel
“There is hope in honest error, none in the icy perfections of the mere stylist.”
-Charles Rennie Mackintosh
“The nature of space reflects what it wants to be.”
-Louis Khan
Light
“Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.”
- Le Corbusier
“The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building.”
-Louis Khan
Shadow
"Architecture is the interplay of light and shadow."
-I.M. Pei
"And so it has come to be that beauty lies rather in the dim shadows than in the object that casts them."
-Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
"I sense Light as the giver of all presences, and material as spent Light. What is made by Light casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light."
-Louis Khan
Metaphysics
“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”
–Frank Gehry.
Health
“The architecture of the hospital must be the agent and instrument of cure”.
-Michael Foucault
“Bad architecture is a form of psychological failure that impacts how we feel and function.”
-Alain de Botton
"The first gesture of an architect is to draw a perimeter; in other words, to separate the microclimate from the macro space outside. This in itself is a sacred act. Architecture in itself conveys this idea of limiting space. It’s a limit between the finite and the infinite. From this point of view, all architecture is sacred."
– Mario Botta