When we were people inert to the art and architecture that is woven through our life, we simply assumed a space to be empty or occupied, even though it may have a character behind the veils of its simplistic appearance.
A simple temple’s entrance may serve as a spot for important community decisions as well as a space for gossip. The various facades then created by the people, let it become an identity for a particular or diverse functional activity that allows it to evolve into a part of daily life.
Perception of one, Identity for all
The perception one carries towards an urban space allows them to idealize it further affecting their cultural, social, and political lifestyle. When the community utilizes urban spaces for a particular purpose or function, that space has contributed to making history, whether significant or non-significant.
Culture specifically doesn’t have to be associated with only religion or community but can also be rooted in the ideas or beliefs within an individual’s mind. These ideas then can evolve into powerful structures or can simply be a barren land. These ideas become the identity of that particular urban space because of the impact of our culture.
The Change
Once a person is exposed to what architecture creates, one’s thinking methodology and comprehensive power may change completely. What one saw as just the enthusiasm people have during festivals in narrow streets and gullies, now see the solutions and implementations they can create to obtain a bigger space for more social gatherings and safer environments.
Similarly, in medieval times, a king built city squares for power establishment but in the end, it was utilized by the citizens for their activities and to host major festivals or celebrations as well. The aspect which made these spaces special was the connection it had with every individual.
The Evolving Sanctity of an Iconic Space
Historical moments shape these spaces and subconsciously, people always associate with them because of the usage of space. For example, a simple barren ground or Maidaan is utilized during several monumental national events like the Chief Minister’s swearing-in ceremony to the basic organization of a Ram Lila enactment.
Even now, the Maidaan is used by the “people” to voice their demands and opinions. These spaces brought together the community because of the impact culture had over an individual’s mind and how it changed the notions and thoughts one’s mind creates.
The Current Trend and its outcome
Now, in the millennial age, due to globalization and industrialization, urban spaces have lost the true meaning and succumbed to being merely an area. While individual identity is important to one but so is its purpose and value.
Due to the urban sprawl and its so-called development, spaces with identities have been mass-produced skyscrapers leading to soulless experiences and monotonous lifestyles. Malls and shopping complexes that were meant for commercial uses have now also started catering to recreational and social needs. Parks and gardens have been forgotten by many and are rarely occupied by a vast cultural group.
The fast-paced life has made us forget the sanctity these spaces carry as well as eradicated the impact they can create. Individualism has lost the ability to establish itself but now establishes urban factories for insignificant activities.
People have now become inert to cultural, social, and urban evolution and establishments because of their lost identities. They are unable to identify themselves with any routine hence lacking a vital connection with urban spaces.
The positive outcome out of this enhancement of our thinking due to architecture is that we now know or at least have an idea of what could work for a person or a community and what wouldn’t. Architecture has helped us in catering to the needs and necessities by questioning the very reason for the existence of everything. It has allowed us to look into the daily activities of a community to recognize and realize their lifestyle and why it has such a special place in their lives.
Architecture has accentuated our mind and soul with the delicate nuances it possesses that overwhelm us with the urge to provide and nurture our environment while also protecting it from others as well as ourselves.
