Architecture is the representative of art, science, and society as one. It builds our cities, determines how we decide to live, and reflects our values from a cultural perspective. Sometimes the interaction between all these things can be complex and, at times, strained. This paper attempts to look at intricate but often straining relationships that architecture has with society, the environment, technology, and history. These dynamics give us a much better understanding of when and how architecture fulfils or implicates human experiences and how it needs to forge through the inherent tensions within the practice.
1: Architecture and Society
Architecture can be said to occupy a central position in the design-shaping of social interactions and community life. Public spaces are thus designed to create space for gatherings and foster a sense of belonging. In the same breath, architected designs may have elements that reproduce the social inequalities. For instance, any urban designing decision may lead to gentrification—and eviction of certain other, more often more marginalised communities by new, now upscale developments (Smith, 2006). A bad record related to the second point is the incapacity of poor people because accessibility problems within buildings and other public spaces marginalised people with disabilities, pointing doubtless to issues around authentic inclusive design practices (Imrie & Hall, 2001).
One really very striking example of the social impact of architecture is the High Line in New York City—a park built on a former elevated railway line. The project revived a once-neglected space and drew visitors, which brought some business opportunities to the fore at the local level. But it also gentrified the land, pushing long-term residents away. As illustrated by Lindner in 2015, this point can be summed up to mean the double-edged character of architectural interventions: emancipation but also collateral damages.
Diller says she is pleased with the success of the High Line, but claims that more regulation could have been put in place to control its impact. (Hobson & Hobson, 2019)
2: Architecture and The Environment
Architecture and the environment are one of the salient points that have derived significant importance in the present era. The argument is that with buildings consuming a lions’ share of global energy requirements and resultant greenhouse gases, the focus currently rests on sustainable designs (United Nations Environment Programme, 2020). Improvement in the sustainability performance applies to materials like cross-laminated timber and recycled concrete that serves to lower the carbon footprint of the construction.
However, the emergence of conflicts comes when urban development does not go hand in hand with environmental conservation. For instance, it can not be that if people are moving closer to that river out of attraction to its beautiful sceneries, then now they change it by attempting to put up houses and bridges in an attempt to display their ‘modernization’. Developmental pressure and ecological sustainability, therefore, have to be balanced by architects if they must ensure that their designs are in tune with the natural setting and not at loggerheads with it.
One classic example of the successful application of sustainability in architecture is the Bosco Verticale in Milan, Italy. The twin residential towers in the middle of Milan have thousands of trees and plants that help in air purification and prevent urban heating, according to Boeri in 2015. In contrast, there are also multiple environmental flaws in architecture, leading to increased energy inefficiency and pollution.
3: Architecture and Technology
New technologies have also totally revolutionised the field of architectural design and construction. In them, digital tools such as BIM and 3D printing reproduce any complex structure in an easy way and facilitate any building process ((Kensek & Noble, 2014). However, all of these changes are happening so rapidly that it is getting difficult to keep pace with them.
This can foster overdependence on technology and degrade traditional craftsmanship and skills in the making process. More importantly, the integration of technologies in architecture must be accompanied by several ethical issues. For example, smart building introduces human rights concerns related to the privacy of individuals interacting with it and even likely causes of surveillance (Graham & Wood, 2003). There is also a need for architects to deal with this so that technology makes human experience better and not worse.
The Edge in Amsterdam is a smart building at the edge of technology where energy efficiency and occupant comfort are used. However, bankruptcy of highly ambitious technological ventures—for example, the London Garden Bridge, showing signals of financial and technical complications—proves that some case studies can go hugely wrong.
4: Architecture and History
Architectural heritage plays a great role in saving cultural identity and educating future generations. However, it is sometimes really difficult to maintain such structures when taking into account the modern context. It is very tricky to balance the genuineness of a historical building and the modern uses that need to be housed within one.
Conflicts may arise whenever modern developments are made that may overshadow or even destroy historical sites. For example, building skyscrapers near historical sites may change their visual context of existence and alter their meaning according to Pendlebury in 2009. The architects have to combine tradition and modernity in their designs so that tradition is saved but modernity is not necessarily ignored either.
But good examples of this from action can be cited with the adaptive reuse of industrial buildings for new uses, such as London’s Tate Modern, as described by Sudjic in 2000. But considering the weight of legacy and history in the case of projects like the Berlin Wall demolition, it could be said that the issue considered might have been one high in overall significance, perhaps the reason for this complexity in balance between heritage and urban development.
Conclusion
The relation of architecture to the various contexts in which it exists overall is complex and has multiple dimensions. For the reason that architecture can raise human experience and resolve existing problems, at the same time, it can underpin social inequality, environmental degradation, and technological overreach. What will follow is the complex dynamics that explain the relations of architecture to society, the environment, technology, and history, so we can understand this in full: both its potential and its limits.
In the future, architects should realise a balanced attitude in their multidimensional discipline. Embracing the principles of sustainability, inclusivity, responsible technology, and historical heritage, architecture can steer the turning challenges of the 21st century and contribute to the making of a fairer, more sustainable future.
Reference:
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Graham, S., & Wood, D. (2003). Digitising surveillance: Categorization, space, inequality. Critical Social Policy, 23(2), 227-248.
Imrie, R., & Hall, P. (2001). Inclusive design: Designing and developing accessible environments. Routledge.
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Hobson, B., & Hobson, B. (2019, January 17). Architects can help to manage gentrification caused by projects like the High Line, says Liz Diller. Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/27/elizabeth-diller-interview-riba-architects-learn-lessons-high-line-manage-gentrification/
Stamp, E. (2020, March 2). How the Architecture Industry Is Reacting to Climate Change. Architectural Digest. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/climate-change-design-architecture
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