We live an age where the aesthetic principles of the
past are deemed to have lost their relevance and authority. It is timely, therefore, to review
those principles to discover in what ways they can speak anew to our time. As a building designer having a keen
appreciation for tradition-based architecture, I believe a study of the
principles underlying the aesthetics of architectural design is more relevant
than ever before. Ours is an age
of short-lived architecture generally lacking a sense of permanence. It is an age that is not building for
the future perhaps because the future appears so bleak. It is an age in which speculative
development is driving architectural design more than any great movement from
within the architectural profession itself. Contributing to this situation are the industry
professionals, the gate keepers so to speak, who have systematically rejected
the idea that such principles are relevant to architectural design. They have adopted a design philosophy
that places a premium on creativity but with no real unifying theory to guide
that creativity. The loss of
objective criteria by which architecture may be properly judged diminishes all
architecture as a result. My
desire is to present principles to practitioners and students of architecture
to establish a common basis for critical analysis.
Of equal concern to me is the
ongoing trend among the world’s societies of adopting a culturally void
architecture. Societies do this to
the detriment of their own culture and the impoverishment of world culture as a
collective whole. It is disturbing
to visit foreign lands and find that the general architecture of new buildings
strongly resembles the character of our own. Variety and diversity, not uniformity, should be the goal.
Professionals and scholars of
our time have not addressed this growing dilemma of architectural
uniformity. In fact, they appear
to be endorsing it by their silence.
There is a need for a statement of theory that is relevant for today
that speaks to the contemporary needs of divergent cultures. A new sense of inspiration and
direction is needed within the professional community for the design of retail,
commercial, religious, and governmental structures. These are the buildings that form the core fabric of our
societies and impact the daily lives of our citizens.
While these principles may
seem self-evident to some or irrelevant to others, it is important that they be
acknowledged and taught as part of the standard academic curriculum. There can be no success in architecture
or in city building without some coherent underlying unity of thought about the
design process. It is relevant to
this discussion to ask why is it that some buildings endear themselves to a
society more than others.
Likewise, why is it that such buildings are more often older than
new? The answer to these questions
can be found in five principles.
I also wish to address the
two subjects most frequently ignored by contemporary architectural critics and
academics - tradition and ornament. Their
relevance has been marginalized yet their absence in our architecture
impoverishes our cities and our world culture. Tradition and ornament need not be seen as a threat to be
avoided. Rather, they are a continuation
of a culture’s heart and soul.
These are the elements that distinguish one people from another. Architecture without these two
foundational members becomes anti-cultural, void of collective memory, and
transient in nature. The
traditions of a culture have an important role in any architecture that seeks
to speak to its time and place.
Likewise, ornament is the voice of architecture that speaks of the
natural creative expression of a people.
By stripping architecture of ornament, our buildings are robbed of that
which enriches visually and culturally.
Only when modern practice is reconciled with these two elements of
design will we be able to continue our long journey of creating a living classicism
for all peoples.
Through this discussion, it
will be seen that the principles of design are culturally neutral and more
pervasive than any single culture from our collective past. The principles that
lead to excellence in architecture are just as relevant to the buildings of
Asia as they are to the buildings of the West. Furthermore, no one culture can claim architectural
perfection as its own. This is a
conceit whose time has come to an end.
The principles of aesthetics presented herein are found in the
architecture of all the nations and peoples of the world. All can achieve its perfection and many
do.
The important issue of architectural aesthetics
deserves to be considered in an unbiased way by academics and professionals
alike. To anyone concerned with
architectural aesthetics, these principles offer a guide to achieve the
tripartite goal of “strength, usefulness, and beauty” as first voiced by
Vitruvius two thousand years ago.
The act of building well is of paramount concern to every society
because of the lasting legacy it creates for generations to come.
