The answer is no easier to come up with today as it was on
that distant September day thirty years ago in a small classroom on the second
floor of Syracuse University’s beautifully neo-Classical Sloane Hall. I remember several of us sputtering a few
random, nonsensical responses that may have captured some tiny aspect of the
definition, but totally missing out on Professor Korman’s bigger point. His response to us was that there is no easy,
singular definition to the term “architecture.”
And that was the point.
It would be the responsibility of each of us as we grew into
our professional roles, to find our way to a definition on our own terms. I know that may sound like some New Age mumbo
jumbo, but that wasn’t what he was aiming for.
Architecture obviously does have some very tangible aspects. The buildings all around you, for starters…
DUH! But it is the bigger idea that
we’re trying to get at here.
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the great British architectural
historian famously said, “A bicycle shed is a building, Lincoln Cathedral is
architecture!” Like Supreme Court
Justice Potter Stewart famously said about pornography, “I can’t define it, but
I know it when I see it!” So there! I’ll bet you never thought someone could
relate architecture to pornography, but I just did!!
 |
| Bicycle Shed |
 |
| Lincoln Cathedral |
I digress. What is
architecture? It’s actually quite
simple. Architecture is power. There you have it. All done.
Good night and drive home safely.
Wait, what? You want
more than that? All right, all right,
I’ll explain.
What Sir Nikolaus was getting at above with his bicycle shed
comment was that buildings are literally all around us and the vast majority
are inert, functional and anonymous.
They are not architecture. In
order to rise to the level of “architecture,” a building must be elevated in
its design to encompass a measure of beauty, style and most importantly, an
idea.
An idea? What the
heck is that supposed to mean?
Boy, you ask a lot of questions. OK, the idea of a building is primarily its
meaning or purpose. But not strictly
purpose in a functional way, like for instance, the literal purpose of a
hospital is to have a place to treat sick or injured people. But purpose in more of a long term sense,
more along the lines of what the building represents, most specifically what it
represents to those who built it.
And that’s where “power” comes back into play. Architecture is power because the greatest
works of architecture through the ages were built by the powerful. And the powerful wanted you to know that they
were powerful. They told us that through
their buildings. Many forms of
expression are quite temporary, but architecture, if done right, can survive
for thousands of years. And it is also
the most expensive form of expression.
Can you think of a more permanent and pronounced form of bragging?
That’s what great buildings are. They are a means to show off, not just to
your contemporaries, but to your progeny and their progeny and so on, for
generations to come. How do we know
this? Just look briefly at who built the
greatest surviving structures in history in every single age.
If you look back as far as the Roman Empire, what do we see
still standing? The Colosseum, the Roman
Forum, some amazing temples, etc. These
buildings were built by emperors, who obviously possessed the most power in
their day. If you move into the middle
ages, what buildings do you see still standing that are the most
impressive? I would say the cathedrals
of western Europe. And who built
those? Times up. The Church did. And who had the most power during the middle
ages? The Church!
In more recent times, you’ll see that architecture during
the Renaissance and the periods up until the modern era was dominated by the
monarchies, and that is evident from the elaborate castles and palaces you see
spread across the European landscape.
And the current era?
Who builds the most elaborate and expensive buildings today? If you travel to any major city in the US or
anywhere around the world for that matter, you will see urban landscapes
dominated by skyscrapers built primarily by major corporations, the power
centers in today’s world.
Architecture is about power, pure and simple. This is not meant as self-agrandizement…
well, just a little bit, but not much.
But in reality, architecture costs money, and great architecture tends
to cost a lot of money. And as we all
know, money is power. So, the next time
you’re wandering down a city street anywhere there are large and nicely
designed buildings, think about the message that the owners are sending. What are they trying to tell you, across the
ages, about who they are (were), what their values are (were) and what was most
important to them in their lifetime.
Buildings can speak volumes, literally!
And remember, don’t stop looking up.
