Human existence without architecture is quite an absurd thing to think of. Ever since evolution has advanced, Architecture has been an integral part of structuring the fundamental aspects of any society. Architecture and Human Civilisation are something which is directly proportional to the evolution of the world. Architecture in its most rudimentary form provides people with a sense of security. Elements of our nature are metaphors of architecture, like the trees housing the birds, and the caves sheltering the animals. It is from nature, that man has developed a certain sense of identifying the needs for a society, with built form as dwellings. Architecture today has gone beyond just the primary requirements of functional dwellings. Currently, architecture encompasses the character, culture, aesthetics, development, and technology of a particular location serving as an identity for the place. Let’s indulge in this imagination where humanity has somehow shrugged off the shackles of architectural conformity, and think what it would be like to be in such a world.
Imagining The Architecture-Free World
No towering skyscrapers casting shadows over busy streets, No cottages and residential buildings accommodating people, No streets and roads forcing people to travel in a rough landscape. No Hospitals, schools and marketplaces in a structured form. No religious centres for people to gather and worship. Absence of culturally significant places to house anything. Humans not being able to maintain or preserve artefacts and history. Civilisations would start and end, but a lack of structures would lead to compromise in preservation. Every aspect of human existence today would have been impacted, without architecture. It would be about finding ourselves amidst a landscape where nature reigns supreme and discovering living life in the outdoors.
Embracing The Outdoors As The Dwelling
Imagining life in the outdoors, surely some parts of it would have been fun, Like sleeping under the sky watching the stars, surely there’s the mosquitoes part, but maybe nature and human beings would have found solutions to that as well, or would the solution have led us to a dwelling only? It’s a food for thought. Living and embracing the outdoors would have become an instinct ingrained into civilisation, Living life would be out in the open with certain parts concealed in a fashion one can only imagine. Different societies and different climatic regions adopt various ways to embrace the outdoors and create safe spaces for themselves.
The Utter Chaos Of Our Routine Life
Our daily routine in life would have been chaotic, forcing us to create spaces for different dwellings, and needs. From the basic needs of a house to creating spaces for social dwellings, every little aspect of our daily life would have been impacted and led us to only think about dwellings. Running our imagination wild those dwellings might have been in various forms, for different needs like a tree house, or like the early man living in the caves, and all of this would again lead to the need for the evolution of architecture.
Unconventional Creativity
Amid the chaos and absurdity, humans are also resilient and extremely resourceful creatures. In such a world, Vernacular dwellings would have thrived. Native Housing modules, based on the climatic needs of the location would be existent if there was no thought given to the architecture of a locality. Without the confines of traditional architecture, creativity would have flourished in unimaginable ways. There might not be a need for bricks and mortar when you can fashion homes out of repurposed materials like giant LEGO blocks, plastics, recycled shipping containers, corrugated papers and tubes. These possibilities are endless but also bizarre.
The Quest For Identity
In all this, the one missing part of the complexity of architecture is identity and a sense of culture. Each society in the world is known for its identity, focussed ideally on its architecture. This would not have been prevalent had no thought was gone into dwellings. If the structures were all temporary and were only made to cater for the basic needs, there would not have been a sense of identification of a place. Man has evolved and advanced so much in life, yet the most important aspect of a dwelling would have remained a question.
Architecture is so prevalent in every form of human existence that it feels impossible to imagine a life without it. Humans without architecture, will not help lead us to thrive as a society and develop.The architecture of a place impacts every aspect of life which include physical, mental, and societal aspects. Human beings are threaded into society with our structures, and our daily function is based upon it. Structures and dwellings will always be a non-negotiable answer for the civilisation to thrive, develop and exist. Thoughtfulness, Timelessness and creativity of a design are what architects should look for. The basic needs of man have always been “Food Clothing and Shelter”. Hence this integral part will always remain dominant in the facet of the human race.
