“Architecture is human” – Duo Dickinson
Take a moment to pause and see around yourself. You may be reading this sitting in a chair inside your studio, or you might be all cozy in your bed right now, or maybe you are in a cafe sipping that tasty coffee. Take a moment to look around and think about what kind of spaces surround you. Did it ever cross your mind that if the spaces around you did not exist like they do, what would the world look like? What is architecture anyway?
Fundamental element in nature
Architecture’s roots can be traced back to the very existence of humanity. A building is essential to life. Why? Because shelter. Even if human-built architecture ceases to exist today, the architecture will still live in nature – a rabbit’s burrow, a hive, an ant hill, and a spider web.
So, is there any possibility of the existence of human lives without the existence of architecture? Every life on earth requires protection in the form of shelter. Humans are no different. Human architecture goes back to the Paleolithic period when early humans lived in caves.
However, what distinguishes human architecture the most from everything else is a man’s design motivations beyond instinct. What started as a means of necessity and survival quickly changed and evolved alongside humans. Not only did people realize the potential of creating spaces, but they also started to associate their emotions with it. They were able to find solutions to their challenges. Architecture can be perceived as a series of trial and error, an accumulation of challenges faced by humanity in time.
Built and Unbuilt
What is fascinating to ponder upon is the fact that, first you design the outcomes of architecture, then the architecture defines how you act in that space. Imagining a world without architecture is like imagining a world without humanity. Architecture is what gives life to its people, just like how people give life to architecture.
Over the years, architecture has evolved to be more than just providing a mere shelter. And people have always been associating meanings with the spaces they built; this is also why they tend to emphasize the aesthetics of the architecture as well. The play of light and shadow, and the scale proportions, create a powerful impact on an individual’s perception. Temples are a strong example of this around the world. No wonder why architecture has been so influential in creating hierarchies within communities.
Spaces as we experience them today play an important role in everyone’s life, tell stories, build hierarchies, and show the beauty of the area. So, humans’ motivation beyond just survival has led to architecture where it is today; a mix of primary reasons, aesthetic values, and challenges of the time. And it is ever-evolving.
Timeless existence
Have you ever visited an old place, maybe your old grandmother’s home, and suddenly started to feel nostalgic? Every corner and every nook in the house suddenly reminds you of so many memories in that place. You also notice cracks on the walls which weren’t there before and it feels like the building has been growing old too. Suddenly, the home feels alive to you. Maybe a little sad as well. Like it is stuck in time. The memories and that time never left.
Maybe Architecture is timeless. It exists in the time which has passed and it exists in the time which is now and it will continue to exist in the time that is to come yet. It is like a container of time and memories. Like a time machine that takes you on a time travel the minute you take a step in. You can either be reliving memories of the past or imagining the future yourself in that space. This is the power of architecture.
The spaces that we built grow with people. They become a significant part of people’s lives. Today, we have designed spaces for various uses. Spaces that act like a platform for humans to perform on and then record the actions in time forever. Moreover, architecture helps people to navigate through space and connect with other people around the world.
Bridging us all
But there is still more to built spaces than shelter or beauty – cultural essence. Humans are social animals as Aristotle says it. They live and thrive in groups. Society and culture are mere byproducts of it. People give shape to their communal living and architecture allows them to do so. Architecture has the power to bridge this gap and influence people’s lives. The earliest signs of properly planned urban architecture were found in the ancient cities – Harappa and Mohenjo daro. Not only were they built upon grid block patterns, but they had proper roads and sewage systems, and buildings were made out of brick that were several stories high.
Indus Valley civilization is gone but their architecture remains to tell the stories of them. People can relate to the people in the past. It can truly be said that architecture is a form of storytelling. Architecture speaks of our existence. It is a true reflection of people in any community.
People are constantly engraving their journey in the spaces they navigate within. This gives the architecture its unique characteristics. Go anywhere in any corner of the world, you will find architecture there telling stories of the people living in it. A wooden structure, with sloping roofs and sliding doors will make you think of Asia, or more precisely, Japan.
Architecture and people are more closely connected than we might think. It is there whether we notice it or not. It is our existence and it is proof of our existence in time. The possibility of human existence without architecture is exactly as much as the possibility of life on Earth without oxygen.
