May 15, 2008

Authentic architecture addresses social and economic differences

RAIC Corner

Andrew Wach

In a world that has accepted the concept of globalization, it is now necessary to consider whether the notion of an authentic architecture continues to be valid.

The world has adapted many of what have become the archetypes of design, the tall glass office building, the shopping mall, the franchise store, the residential development, the low-end motel, the high-end hotel. to the point that it is difficult to tell by architecture alone the regional context a project may have.

The answer in a majority of cases is that there is no regional context.

This implies that an authentic architecture is no longer a valid ambition within the notion of globalization. We can modify the prototype to suit the context but the prototype remains ubiquitous.

There are of course differences, in a specific context— the projects can be bigger, more expensive and provide a cultural hint to their location — but in the end they presuppose that we are in fact all the same.

The shopping centre assumes that we all shop in a similar manner in a similar store for similar goods regardless of our national context. It is unlikely that we can escape this homogeneity of architecture, architecture in many ways is driven by the economic mandate of development.

Further, statement architecture insists on attempting to be a visionary architecture, that is an architecture about the architect rather than an architecture within a social context.

This is true when we are limited in our view and our understanding of the range of social need and further, this view leaves little room within a culture for an authentic architecture although I would suggest that it is both reasonable and necessary to pursue an authentic architecture that is socially and culturally representative.

The definition of an authentic architecture may need to be broadened from its current “form based” model to a social based understanding. We may consider this social based understanding of an authentic architecture by considering it a form of social mediation. Within a social system mediation acts as a means to balance the real and perceived inequities of that social system.

Consider universal health care. This social institution, accepted in many countries, allows for equal access to medical care across all economic levels. Health care can be considered to mediate economic differences within a social system. All members of a society accepting universal health care are treated equally within the system. Within these terms, architecture can be considered a form of social mediation. We should not expect our inner city schools to be less considered in design than those in our affluent neighbourhoods, or our hospitals and clinics to be less considered of health care needs in one neighbourhood as compared to another.

Education, health care and housing are considered a social right in our society and, as a consequence, the architecture of these rights should be mediated across the economic spectrum. There must be a social balance and an architectural balance.

As further example, sustainable design considers the prudent management of our societies’ natural resources — an asset to be shared across the economic spectrum, hence sustainable design is a form of authentic architecture because it mediates across social boundaries.

When architecture works to create this social balance it becomes authentic where authentic means relating to a responsible mode of human life. An authentic architecture can then be considered to be that architecture that effectively mediates the social and economic differences within a social system.

It is, in part, what the architecture of the everyday means.

The architecture of the everyday can be considered a form of social mediation and thereby an authentic form of architecture since it must represent the social values and context of the time it exists within.

Andrew Wach, FRAIC, is regional director of the RAIC for Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

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