BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (AUGUST 2016) [10 MARKS] NAME: MARK ENG SHANG ID: 0324187 LECTURER: DR. NOR HAYATI TUTORIAL TIME: SYNOPSIS NO: 1 READER TITLE: IN THE CAUSE OF ARCHITECTURE, 1908 AUTHOR: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT
In the cause of Architecture, 1908, is a manifesto authored by Frank Lloyd Wright, in which he discusses his ideals and thoughts on architecture. In this paper, Wright’s thesis on the subject was for nature to be a guide to architecture as a whole, in terms of design, process, site, form, people, and intended use. This was prominent throughout the paper in which he occasionally uses words such as ‘organic’ to describe his directions on the matter. As reference, Wright included his ‘Truths of Architecture to further strengthen these ideals. Furthermore, Wright provided critical analysis on the then current state of architecture, the industry and establishment and how it affects the architects, clients and users of the time. He emphasizes on the importance of character and ‘Principles’ of a practicing architect in search of his ‘style(s)’. He refers to his earlier experiences of his architectural practice, his works, his mentors and mentees and how it influenced his ideals and character as an architect. These principles were the seeds to his future endeavours. In this paper, criticality can be observed as a driving force for Wright’s architecture; to go against the establishment as a means to achieve ‘good architecture’. In terms of urban design, Wrights approach of criticality can and should be very much applauded and used. However, his subjective approach to clients, contractors and consultants, and users may be questionable. In the paper, he states how only a minority possess ‘unspoiled instincts and untainted ideals’ for his form of architecture. It is important to note that while this paper was written in his earlier periods of his architectural practice, before the Great Depression, architecture was yet to become a luxury to the world and was more of a necessity in the eyes of architects and elitists. While there are some truths to the necessity of good taste to good architecture, urban design should cater to the community as a whole no matter their views on the matter. Good architecture suits context, and contexts dictates the study of how culture operates. When an industry necessitates economy, architecture should accommodate affordability. Otherwise, architecture then becomes limited to just the privileged minority and ‘conservators’. Urban design is a community effort which involves all players of the game. A boiling pot of architects, engineers, contractors, clients and users all in to make the perfect broth of which is urban design.