This article unravels the truth and lies of architecture and the role of an architect. The article is composed in the form of a story. The story tells the honest nature of architecture and how it plays an important role in shaping the lives of living creations around it. When aspiring architects venture into the real world after graduating from college, there lies a choice. The choice of choosing the right. Choice of adhering to the truth or falling to the lies. This article may give these budding architects the gist of reality and its relativity with architecture.
Nature of Architecture
The world exists. Nature exists, which includes all living and nonliving creations. Some have blessed abilities like the presence of mind and intellect. Others who lack these unique abilities exist freely in surviving nature. But, the ones who possess those defining minds start constructing their independent creativities. Creation within an existing creation.
Spider web
Structurally complicated porous Anthills, extraordinarily dimensioned Honeycombs, intricately weaved nests of flying weavers, and intelligent and functional webs of spiders are some of these unique creations that help the respective species to thrive in this world. True to their identity, true to their surroundings, true to their function, and true to their existence. These creations make the world a diverse shelter of nature.
This natural architecture sticks to the truth of nature.
But, there exists the smartest creation, the one who got its self-acclaimed title of the most intelligent species of nature.
The human.
Human Intelligence, Imagination and Architecture
Humans have unique abilities. Some may say they are the gifted ones. Because of these abilities, humans venture to mark their unique Identity in nature.
Imagination!
Imagination
Imagination is the root cause of every human aspiration and wherever and whenever the human imagination unifies with intelligence, it causes sensation. The by-products of these sensations are diverse. Also, they are categorized based on forms, functions, and their performances. Architecture is also an artistic baby of this marriage of imagination and intelligence. Maybe Architecture is one of the fields where human experiments the most. Like other species’ live Architecture, human Architecture was also true to its nature, surroundings, function, and existence. But, the truth started to evolve with the changing times and changing minds. Human imagination and intelligence knew no boundaries; rapid experimentation shifted the perspectives, values, and nature of Architecture over time.
Allegory of Imaginary Cave (Plato’s Cave)
Humans got more and more power through their innovations and they started claiming power over nature. In this period, humans’ Intelligence and Imagination started constructing these caves of humans.
World within a world.
Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” explained
The constructed cave was full of humans. One may call these communities. These communities were structured in the cave as such, they were getting more and more disconnected from nature. Humans living in these communities were aware of this fact at first. But then, the Architects constructing the caves started projecting the reflections. The reflections contained a whole different world. A new world that incorporated humans.
Only humans! Or sometimes maybe some profitable variants.
Humans in these communities started believing these projections, as they possessed all the necessities. Rather, it had the essence of modernity. The projections that Architects were imposing were based on their principles, values, and understandings. But, these projections started becoming the truths of the architecture of the new cave world. The only light source from which this all was getting projected was a promise of the betterment of humans. Communities that were first aware of this play of projections, over time, started memorizing these as the truth of their existence.
Allegory of the cave
This shows the power of human Imagination and Intelligence.
But, these communities forgot this was the only byproduct of their imagination and intelligence, which lacked the sense of outside nature. They forgot the existence of the outside world, by accepting the mere projections of architects as the truth of their existence.
Identity Crisis of Architects
There always comes this time, when the cave starts to shatter. Maybe the imaginary, innovative projections start to turn into devastating lies, which shake the existence of communities to present the truth of their lives. This is the point where the role of an architect becomes the crucial profile of human existence. Because only architects have the power to decide the future of their existence.
Lies
If the architect chooses to strengthen the imaginary caves of these blind communities, it only ends up piling more and more lie projections in these caves of imagination.
But, only if the architect chooses to align with the order of nature, by redirecting their focus on the outside world. Lies projected in the cave crumble and the truth of the outside nature welcomes the honest human existence.
Scrutiny
You may wonder, if the caves are bad or if these caves are just an expression of imagination. philosophically, these caves are imaginary, but in reality they seem just as real as the outside world.
Currently, Architecture is constructed by turning a blind eye to the outside world and the nature within which it exists. Humans as architects are in such a hurry to imbibe their perspectives on this world, they are falling deep in the lies of their imaginations. The nature within it exists is not aligned with the rapid innovation of current architecture.
Truth of architecture is aligned with the truth of nature, rather to the truth of the entire world. Other than this, all are lies. Because however appealing the lies look, ultimately the truth unfolds itself in front of the world.
And, this is called the nature of Nature.
The natural flow of architecture must be restored within time, as it does not matter how pleasing the lies seem. As long as it doesn’t respect the pace of natural truth, it is going to crumble in the course of time.
Architecture
Architecture conveys its truth through lies. Lies that could provide us a peek of the reality of the world and our role in it. Hence, whenever the opportunity comes to bear the weight of responsibilities as an architect, choose the truth muddled in lies. This will lead you to the honest truth of Architecture.
