A profound design process eventually makes the patron, the architect, and every occasional visitor in the building a slightly better human being.
Interpretation
A well-thought-out design process enhances the character of everyone connected to the building.
Juhani Pallasmaa's quote emphasizes that a profound design process in architecture goes beyond mere aesthetics; it has the power to improve the essence of those who interact with the built environment. This improvement manifests in various ways, potentially promoting empathy, inspiration, and a heightened sense of responsibility, ultimately enriching the human experience within that space.
In practice
In a presentation about the impact of architecture on community well-being, one can use this quote to illustrate how thoughtful design enhances human connections.
Gravity is measured by the bottom of the foot; we trace the density and texture of the ground through our soles. Standing barefoot on a smooth glacial rock by the sea at sunset, and sensing the warmth of the sun-heated stone through one's soles, is an extraordinarily healing experience, making one part of the eternal cycle of nature. One senses the slow breathing of the earth.
Who’s afraid of the big, bad buildings? Everyone, because there are so many things about gigantism that we just don’t know. The gamble of triumph or tragedy at this scale — and ultimately it is a gamble — demands an extraordinary payoff. The trade center towers could be the start of a new skyscraper age or the biggest tombstones in the world.
I would like to use architecture to create bonds between people who live in cities, and even use it to recover the communities that used to exist in every single city.
We try to make buildings last long and be resilient but also be not so idiosyncratic that they can't change.
Modern buildings of our time are so huge that one must group them. Often the space between these buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.
If architecture is going to nudge, cajole, and inspire a community to challenge the status quo into making responsible changes, it will take the subversive leadership of academics and practitioners who keep reminding students of the profession’s responsibilities.
Architects today tend to depreciate themselves, to regard themselves as no more than just ordinary citizens without the power to reform the future.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.