Conclusion

Since starting the course 4 years ago this lecture series has been my most challenging but most insightful series yet, to which I’m hoping will encourage me to read more meaning pieces of literature. There appears to be a consistent thread throughout the various texts in that the value of the architect is always under scrutiny, whether it be from oneself or by the capitalist driven society that we have practiced in for the majority of time. I feel that the story of Faust resonates through the majority of texts at different stages. It is clear that you have to make tough choices in life and it is impossible to satisfy all quarters, do you torment and oppress yourself for the better of others and the greater good or remain selfish, ride the wave of capitalism and go against everything that architecture should stand for? When questioning this notion it's amusing to think that the end result can sometimes equate to the same thing, as seen in the three stories by Dos Passos. Although the overall narrative that is the spine of the discussions may be perceived as slightly depressing in truth, it has in fact reassured me with some of the thoughts and feelings I have had over recent times about the profession. More than once I have questioned my position within architecture even to the point as to whether I want a position within it at all. I have often thought that I have entered this discipline during the wrong time in history, but in fact, it's always been a head fuck. I’m in the right place. I hope that 100 years from now there’s a group of politically stubborn naive bunch of aspiring architects critically reading our time, I guarantee they’ll think it's all over for them too.

USA - by Dos Passos

When reading the Bitter Drink, Architect and Tin Lizzie by Dos Passos I found myself renouncing the text in the way of the great Muhammad Ali, however, we must remember that when reading these powerful stories time has moved on since the beginning of 20th Century. The first story Bitter Drink is about Thorstein Veblen, an exquisitive thinker with an inability to say yes. Veblen, an American Norwegian, was an economist and sociologist known for his witty, non-marxist critique of capitalism. Born into a family of farmers and preachers Veblen had other interests; at his most happiest when reading rather than labouring within the conformed fields of capitalism, he would break the mold of family traditions and become a brilliant unsound eccentric the Carleton College. Veblen would go on to release publications The Theory of Business Enterprise, The Instinct of Workmanship, The Vested Interests and The Common Man, however, Dos Passos appears to suggest that his work was under appreciated which eventually is realised by Veblen’s retreat to solitude, seeing the remainder of days lived within a lonesome shack. Architect Essentially the rise and fall of Frank Lloyd Wright. With Louis Sullivan his mentor and no form of college education FLW would develop his own style of architecture and build suburban dwellings for rich people. The of son a Welsh preacher would become the preacher of blueprints but FLW had bigger plans with his vision for Usonia, a project that envisaged a better future for all. Usonia is never seen to fruition with FLW eventually regressing back to his grandfather's old house in Wisconsin and practicing architecture from a perspective of social care. Again Dos Passos appears to offer his sympathy to a man who gave up himself for the prospect of helping others to only not see his vision materialise and regress to place where he no longer exists. Tin Lizzie The last of the three stories is about Henry Ford and the automobile. Portrayed by Do Passos as Faust the developer is an driven (excuse the pun) individual with a real passion for engines. It's this passion and desire that would lead Ford to develop individually the biggest automobile company in America and revolutionise the way in people travelled. Unlike the previous two texts Dos Passos heavily concentrates on Fords manipulation of the worker and how his greed would be his downfall. But like the other come to same outcome of regression to his farm and living a modest life in comparison to his previous.

Marshall McLuhan - Medium is the message

Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian philosopher of communication theory and professor for the University of Toronto. McLuhan studied media in order to understand what it is that makes us live the way we do as a way of understanding society. He described some medias as hot and cool suggesting that people who worked on radio were more literate to those who work on T.V as the medium controls the way in which people communicate and decides what it of most importance when delivering the message. Further, McLuhan also suggested that changes society in the way we communicate the message, through participation we become unified proposing the concept of a global village...essentially that little thing we call the internet. McLuhan was certainly ahead of his time and it is hard not to agree with the suggestions he makes as they have come to realisation.The global village he talks about has become our leading medium for communication, now living within a global community we are instantly informed and updated with everything that is happening right now. I agree with his elevations of literacy and would like to take it to the next stage and say that the global village breeds highly levels of illiteracy than he could possibly invisage. The emergence of social media’s, smart phones and skype have taken over all else and become our main medium for communication and thus people have become lazy, even to the point where language is de-evolving into abbreviations and and half words that end with a ‘z’. McLuhan talks of advertising as ‘folk art’ and that in 50 years time the advertising of his day will be irrelevant to that time. This is true. Due to the ‘click bait’ culture that has risen in recent times adverts are no longer pieces of choreographed messages attempting to warm into a product, we are now faced with abrasive pop ups that scream at you purchase insurance and put your mortgage on Wayne Rooney to bag his next goal through the legs of an unfortunate soul. The one element McLuhan got wrong in my view was when discussing how to move away from violence he spoke of dialog and from my understanding his predictions of a global village did not include violent communication. The global community of the internet can be a dark place. I feel that the internet as a medium is used to promote various forms of harmful activity, whether it be anything from bullying to peadophillia, trafficking to hate propoganda. We are exposed to this kind of activity everyday that we are logged in whether it be directly or indirectly through media informing you that is happening. As architects we are always taught from day one, choose your medium of communication carefully.

Decline and Fall - by Evelyn Waugh

Architecture from the perspective of a novelist conveyed by a satirical story surrounding a bourgeois family and their British timber tudor estate. Proposed in a typical conservative setting the importance of this story from our perspective is the parody of the architect to whom is commissioned for his rumored genius to modernise the outdated Hampshire estate. Otto Silenus (or Professor Silenus) who is seen as a ‘find’ by estate owner Mrs Beste-Chetwynde is a young progressive architect from Eastern Europe that holds only two completed works to his name, a chewing gum factory and the decor for a cinema-film. The text that follows this insight provides us with the novelists first attempts to portray the architect as a cold and dehumanised modernist. When describing the professors second completed works, “the decor for a cinema-film of great length and complexity of plot - a complexity rendered the more inextricable by the producer’s austere elimination of all human characters”. The language used here seems to be mocking the architect and provides us with how the character of the architect is portrayed. This is emphasised further by the Otto’s proclaim that the only perfect building is a factory because it serves the purpose for machines and not men. His cold analysis is rounded off by his amusing reluctance to include a staircase labelling humans as creatures. The project is complete and Mrs Beste-Chetwynde is delighted with new modernised look and as the story moves forward Mrs B-C wants to marry Otto. Although this is a satirical story this element of the plot runs parallel with what we witnessed in the love story of Faust whereby the lady falls for the powerful maverick. Mrs B-C does not come from a small village but there is nothing to suggest that she does not have a small mind and is clearly attracted to the professor’s creative ability and ‘swag’. Whilst conversing with the illusive Paul, who remains a character of which we only know of his ‘shadow’, the Professor responds to Paul’s questions of “Don't you think she is wonderful?”, he replies, “No. I can't say that I do. If you compare her with other women of her age you will see that the particulars in which she differs from them are infinitesimal compared with the points of similarity. A few millimetres here and a few millimetres there, such variations are inevitable”. I may be wrong, but I’m sure the way it which Otto critiques Mrs B-C is deliberately written in a way to suggest that he is analysing her as if she was old tudor building? Just like in Blackadder the parody of the architect is always the same, a humanless modernist more fascinated by the machine age suggesting the old is nothing more than the forgotten. With this mindset are we moving quick enough towards our search for the alternative and being held back due to a stigma that we carry as architects from the perception of society?

Howl - by Allen Ginsberg

The first poem I was introduced to by Allen Ginsberg was America. Whilst listening to the poet re-sight his emotions via youtube, I remember feeling as though I was sitting in a jazz bar in downtown Brooklyn nursing a brandy during my final hours of a weekend bender wondering where it all gone wrong. With Howl I did the same, I punched in the details, rolled a cigarette and kicked back to the voice of the counterculture generation; only this time I become Hunter S Thompson, gliding through the desert via Route 66 higher than virgin’s christening. This was Howl, to some effect, and ultimately America, the swinging hipsters of the 50’s were on the way out to make room for sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Society was ready to trade communist values for freedom, liberated by narcotics and trippy visions of ‘farrrr out maaaan’, young bohemians had the money and lacked the fear of travel to move against the ‘system’ challenging sexuality and religion along the way. Counterculture played a major role in our journey to modernity, as I have always proclaimed, architecture is not about buildings, it’s people, society and economics that shape our built environment and how we perceive it. The slight madness of this movement broke barriers and trends of thought that has allowed us to move forward to essentially where we are today, diversity, freedom of speech, right to vote, religious acceptance ect ect… Although it would be fair to say the 60’s, albeit care free and liberating, was destructive. Such is Faustism, you have to destroy in order to create.

Mathematics of the Ideal Villa - Colin Rowe

This week our discussion turned to Colin Rowe and his essay Mathematics of the Ideal Villa (1947), a piece of literature that asserted to make direct comparisons between Palladio and Le Corbusier. Rowe is a British born architectural historian and theorist who, looking through the eye of the odd bottle or two, critiqued architecture from a perspective of geometry, logic and structure, steering clear of conceptual thought or meaning. A connoisseur of objects he could be described is an intellect that can switch off very quickly if the conversation becomes unfocused around him and his ‘intelligent’ wit. With regards to the essay I struggle to understand why Rowe is comparing two architects and their works that are essentially in my view uncomparable. Given Rowes appreciation and knowledge for architectural history, with a particular predilection for classical Italian architecture, I can understand the thirst to critique and draw comparisons with one of Palladios finest pieces. This makes sense as much of the architecture produced during the Renaissance was formed around principles of geometrical and structural order. I’m not suggesting that Corbs work has no geometrical or structural order but the architecture of Corb has an underlying sense of virtue and meaning, a set of principles that are inconceivable to Rowe. Although in elevation and section respectively it is apparent the geometries of Villa Malcontenta and Villa at Garches are dimensionally similar, Villa Malcontenta is vertical while Corbs villa is linear. Maybe I’m missing a trick here and just don’t get it. Rowes affiliations with the past would go on to influence many architects including architect and theorist Robert Venturi, who also coined Le Corbusier with his paper ‘Less Is Bore’. The reason I bring Venturi into the equation is I wrote a paper questioning the famous “I can like something less than you”. After studying Venturi’s work and attempting to wrap my nut round Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture I concluded that the heavy talking clever dick was merely playing with irony and personal wit. I just wonder if this trait was also a fragment of Colin Rowe’s architectural personality that managed to continue on to another generation?

Goethe’s Faust: The Tragedy of Development

This week's discussion is Goethe’s Faust, an historical tale containing a rather damning and subliminal viewpoint that leads us onto the topic modernism and modernity. The story is divided into three metamorphosis, The Dreamer, The Lover, The Developer. Metamorphosis One: The Dreamer Faust is a humanist visionary striving to create a work that is of benefit to the human condition, so much with his failure to do so he has become trapped in isolation and psychologically troubled with his efforts that he considers to be junk. Tormented by reclusiveness Faust has removed himself from social and environmental relationships which eventually bring him to the brink suicide. Only at the last minute Faust hears the church bells ring and the angelic choir sing for Easter Sunday, a moment of clarity that brings him fond memories of his childhood rejoicing him with moments of love and desire that he had once lost. Now re-connected with the real world Faust seeks to connect himself with the warmth of life, with real people and the everyday. However, in order to realise his synthesis he must embrace a new order of paradoxes. With the help of Mephistopheles he comes to terms with notions of destruction versus creation and that there must be evil before the birth of creation. The architect at his most purest, a struggling individual striving to create a work for the good of society. A consent psychological battle that, through a lack of opportunity, can begin to be a blurred vision of one's life choices. Like Faust my fate awaits to become someone's else's property, for I, like all young aspiring architects before me, must acquire the help of a Mephisto in order to move forward and stand a chance of surviving in what has become a futile profession within the modern age. Metamorphosis Two: The Lover Faust meets Gretchen, his first moments of lust and love. Gretchen is from a small town and has a small town mentality, compared to Faust she lacks the intelligence to allow herself to question and sense of self belief. Faust however is attracted to her innocence and meek personality. As their relationship transpires Gretchen's love and admiration for Faust leads her to mourn her own lack of intelligence and feels it necessary to become smarter and wiser in order to cope with her new found relationship. This would lead to the demise of their relationship and Gretchen herself. No longer does she possess the innocent and naive qualities that once was attractive, thus Faust leaves Gretchen in search for something new and more exciting for he has conquered his first quest of love developing a thirst for more. Metamorphosis Three: The Developer Finally Faust now becomes the destroyer and creator bringing together his personal synthesis with the reality of social, political and economic forces. Through his experiences Faust is a different and less human conscience individual, beginning is crusade of structural and demographical development driving the age towards a modern revolution. With the help of Mephisto, Faust acquires the coastal region through political bargaining and neglects his traditional moral values through the exploitation of labour forcing workers to manifest his modern visions amongst tretious working conditions. Faust's narcissistic obsessions for modernity is encapsulated furthermore by the manner in which he takes ownership of an old couples land, by removing them from their sanctuary and taking their life. Now within a position of power the architect has become disconnected from the moral obligations of his work. More concerned with using their position to mediate government officials and contractors, convincing everyone that a work of beauty and profound social awareness is on the horizon. Now living in world of Zaharism, the work is to become a product serving only for one's personal portfolio and further enrich one’s capitalist enterprise.