Are you an architecture student? If yes, then let me ask you some questions. Do you see parks as picnic spots or as social infrastructure that encourages interaction between the citizens? Do you see museums for their display or their magnificent space frame? Do you see slums as illegal settlements or as an opportunity for low-cost housing?
If your answer is the latter for all the above questions, then you, my friend, are a victim. A victim of being an architecturally (read: socially, aesthetically, geographically, environmentally, etc.) aware person. It may sound exhausting but it’s actually pretty awesome.
But if you are not an architecture student, I’d like to take you through what goes inside the head of a design student. Imagine this: You enter a park. It’s beautiful today but there aren’t many people here. You see some people preferring the right side of the park. You wonder why, and then it strikes you! Of course! there is no shade on the left side. Hmm, maybe some trees with big foliage can help this issue.
Also, this side of the park can be seen from the road pretty easily, a public art piece or a pavilion will attract those on the street and increase the footfall here, and that may eventually increase the safety of this place. That might also invite some street vendors to set up here and then they can earn too! that too in a shaded place. You start imagining a lively park with seamless pedestrian movement and interactive spaces but a tap on your shoulder suddenly breaks your reverie, you blink back to reality and realize you’ve been standing in the way of some people while daydreaming and now they think you’re crazy.
Other than weird looks from strangers, this active imagination is pretty beneficial. It exercises our brain for when we actually get to design for people or communities. It makes our design more human and more practical to survive in real-life conditions. It makes us critique every architecture or public space we come across. Architectural criticism is considered to be very essential in the development of a young designer. Praising an aesthetically beautiful building is very easy, but pointing out functional, structural, or social defects is an expert’s job.
Architectural Criticism
Architectural Criticism is the foundation of architectural education. It is essential while doing case studies, writing architectural reviews, and for general better practice in design. It makes us wear our analytical glasses and observe intricacies that might be overlooked by a common person.
Architectural criticism works on many layers. It’s not just liking or disliking and it definitely doesn’t end after talking about the structure and the design. It also requires us to look at the situation with a moral compass. Is the design inclusive? Does it solve any problems in the neighborhood? Do women feel safe coming here? Is it universally designed? Does it include and cater to the people of lower economic status? Whose interests are being served here?
Questioning is Essential
In a country like India where a huge portion of the development is still undergoing, Questioning and contemplating this rapid development is very necessary. A Building can possibly occupy space for 75-100 years. It’s a limited space being occupied for a long span of time, so critiquing the schemes and upcoming projects make this progress more transparent and better for the masses.
As said by Mike Monteiro, in his book Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It : “Design is a political act. What we choose to design and more importantly, what we choose not to design and, even more importantly, who we exclude from the design process—these are all political acts.” (Monteiro, 2019)
So as architecture students and professionals, it should be one of our primary concerns to be aware of all the architecture projects happening around us, especially if it’s being built for the community or for the welfare of the same. If we don’t speak up, there might be skyscrapers dumped in the middle of the historical parts of the cities or luxury condominiums in a place where homelessness is thriving! Critiquing and analyzing doesn’t make us judgemental, it makes us vigilant, aware, and good designers.
Just imagine if you’d critiqued the fish building’s design before it got built, about how it damages the architectural character of the locality. It might have left us with one less building to make fun of!
Reference
Monteiro, M. and Vivianne Castillo (2019). Ruined by design : how designers destroyed the world, and what we can do to fix it. San Francisco, Ca: Mule Design.
