Dreamhome or hell hole?
An attempt to fathom what good architecture means with the help of science and philosophy.
The connections between humans and their built environment have not yet been fully explored. And yet, various scientific and philosophical currents are concerned with the effect of architecture and consequently, with the question of what constitutes good architecture.
Art is a matter of debate. And architecture even more so. A misstep is not only widely visible but also here to stay. The question of taste inevitably arises when we perceive architecture as a form of art and consider it primarily from an aesthetic point of view. In 2012, the German newspaper Die Zeit wrote a highly engaging article on the subject: “Whenever experts discuss planning and building, it is above all the technical and quantifiable aspects of architecture that are ventilated. (…) And yet, in the end, architecture is not something that arises from regulations and structural grids. It can only be described, and this is the crux of the matter, as an aesthetic experience, as the art of feeling, of sensuality, in short, as a question of taste.”
In the search for answers, all roads lead to Rome. The Ten Books on Architecture by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio date back to the 1st century BC and are the oldest surviving testimonies to the art of architecture. The right proportions played a major role in the ancient striving for stability and aesthetics. Vitruvius thus identified three fundamental principles that are still generally regarded as signs of good architecture today:
- Functionality refers to how the object is used. A residential building must differ in many ways from an office building, a museum or a gymnasium to be habitable or at least homely.
- Structure is a necessary security component and concerns the technical part of the architecture.
- Aesthetics conveys the sensuality, the character of a building. In Maslow’s pyramid of needs, the house as a physical object serves the basic human desire for security. It is the aesthetic component that represents individual needs such as appreciation, recognition, prestige, and status.
However, the way we value each factor is subjective. For example, some people prefer a ground floor apartment to a penthouse so that they have to climb fewer stairs or it does not get as hot during summertime (Author’s note: European homes are not usually equipped with air conditioning). Others consider the floor plan to be more important than the surface and therefore rent the smaller 4-room apartment instead of the larger loft.
“One of the great beauties of architecture is that each time, it is like life starting all over again.”
— Renzo Piano, Italian senator and architect
Data indicate objectivity. In real estate valuation, data is already being used to enable more impersonal assessments of buildings. The Swiss start-up Archilyse leads by example, promising “to make the quality of architecture and real estate digitally and objectively measurable, comparable and understandable for everyone” on its website. The company combines geodata such as city models with building data to create a digital 3D model, which is then measured against more than 100 quality factors such as sunlight, noise, views, and distances to specific points — e.g. the travel time to the nearest railway station.
Data answers our questions surrounding human well-being with building biology criteria. If, for example, the optimal division of office space has to be determined so that all users feel comfortable, measurable factors such as sunlight, room climate, pollutant concentration or noise level are of importance indeed. However, physiological aspects do not provide any information about our personal preferences. Data does not explain why we prefer the bungalow over the country house or why we detest the flat roof of our neighbor’s house…
China was already looking into the question of good architecture 3,500 years ago and managed to find a precise answer: good architecture is synonymous with good energy. The harmony theory Feng Shui deals with the influences of nature and the environment on people and their behavior. Raymond Lo, Vice President of the International Feng Shui Association explained it to the Guardian as follows: “Feng shui tells us where the good and bad energy is as well as how to maximize the benefit of the prosperous energy and reduce the negative energy.”
To this day, the influences of Feng Shui can be felt and seen in Asian metropolises such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Still, buildings are often built according to Feng Shui principles notably to conduct the flow of energy in the best possible way.
Feng Shui follows a clear set of rules and divides buildings or parts thereof into good and bad whereby the spatial environment plays a central role. Ideally, Feng Shui helps you determine the location of your future home. Furthermore, the design is subject to clear guidelines: Various optical factors must be taken into account to increase a sense of well-being, from the entrance area to the façade to the floor plan.
Meanwhile, science relies on psychological and sociological factors in its attempt to examine good architecture. Architectural psychology has been investigating the effects of the built environment on our psyche and behavior for several decades. This discipline is based on various paradigms of psychology and combines them with technical elements of architecture such as spatial planning or urban development, following the insight that, firstly, human behavior is determined by the individual perception of the world and, secondly, human reactions to the built environment are not always, but frequently, due to unconscious processes.
“Architecture is really about well-being. I think that people want to feel good in a space… On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.”
— Zaha Hadid, Iraqi architect and designer
Colors exemplify this well. Ever wondered why they are used in therapy as well as for torture? Because for biological reasons, we react strongly to color stimuli. Tough we react similarly to the external stimulus and visually recognize colors the same way, we perceive them differently depending on the context, fashion, trends, cultural meaning, symbolism or even personal relationships.
The Austrian Institute for Residential and Architectural Psychology (IWAP) describes the ultimate goal of architectural psychology as “philanthropic design of built space”, whereby design refers to the satisfaction of needs instead of aesthetics. These needs describe the overall, often unconscious requirements that correspond to human nature, such as the desire for protection and control, cognitive stimulation, self-determination or activity and rest. In simple terms, good architecture intends to fulfill human demands.
As of late, architecture has been increasingly viewed through the glasses of sociology. The architectural sociology that emerged in the noughties investigates the relationship and interaction between the built environment and society. Looking back in time, the mutual influence is evident. Let’s take Le Corbusier as an example. As one of the most influential, albeit controversial architects of the 20th century, he described the house as a “machine for living” in the 1920s. His buildings were based solely on the principle of economy; functionality and utility were preferred over design, and the location was dismissed as irrelevant. His architecture corresponded to his authoritarian understanding of society and was met with great approval in the fascistic Europe of the time.
Architectural sociology regards architecture as an expression of society and its creations therefore as status symbols. As the discipline is still very young, it has not yet provided any systematic indications of what constitutes good architecture, but it is likely to deal with interesting questions in the future. After all, trend researchers are forecasting a renunciation of universally valid status symbols such as the classic family home. Mankind is believed to prefer being something over having something in the future — we will focus on the stamps in the passport rather than the passport itself. And so, it is for us to remain curious about the influence the future with all its changes will have on architecture and our built environment.
Die Zeit, by the way, concludes its analysis with the words: “Immanuel Kant spoke of a sensus communis, of a feeling for what connects many people. Only an architect with such a sensus will be able to measure how his buildings are received, what considerations they take into account, what conventions they are supposed to negate”.
“The best architecture (…) is a social condenser, an atmospheric cauldron, a visual delight. It is a spirit lifter, an educator, a calming influence, a home.”
— Paul Keskeys, Content Director of Architizer, on the reason why we love great architecture
