Architectural opinions

What separates architecture from art? A question with many answers, some would argue that there is no separation, others would oppose that they're the furthest thing from one another. However, my belief is that they are separate but not too dissimilar. In my honest opinion, good architecture takes something from the architect like a painting holds the essence of the painter. Good art requires a piece of the artist. This could come in many forms like the heavy brush strokes of Vincent Van Gogh or Piscasso's love for cubism. In architecture this could be interpreted as they're style of design and scale and to name an architect, Antoni Gaudi has a very unique approach to design and his buildings look much like works of art with there funky curves and edges.  La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi This building is the La Sagrada Familia designed by Antoni Gaudi, this building started construction in 1882 and is stated to be completed in 2026. The cathedral is in my opinio...

Starchitects, what makes a starchitect? A starchitect is an architect who's fame and genius has transcended them into something akin to an idol for the world of architecture.   ~~~ A while back I did a project for my architecture course that was to analyse a building, many of the buildings that my colleagues were given were famous houses designed by big name architects, (to name a couple there was the experimental house by Alvar Aalto and the Esherick house by Louis Khan). However, I was one of the few who was given a building that very few knew about and it was incredibly hard to research. https://www.adjaye.com/work/asem-pa/ The building was called the Asem Pa by David Adjaye who is a phenomenal architect be it decades younger than many of the other architects that were listed in this project (Design: Autopsy). But alas, this unfortunate event fortunately made me wonder about all the smaller architects, who are geniuses but relatively unknown,  no one sees t...

"Cottagecore" is a aesthetic style that has recently become popular on social media. It mimics the aesthetic of a vintage British countryside, as the name would suggest there is a heavy focus in cottages and the life and activities that surround them. Howl's cottage, Howl's moving castle (2004) What is a cottage? To me a cottage is a retreat, a place of relaxation separate to the constraints and strict rules of urban life, it's an escape from the bustling city, a quiet home. It also allows people to be the truest version of themselves offering an escape from the judgement of others. And it would seem like this is a shared idea of a cottage being a hideaway, somewhere to shy away and take a break from whatever is going on in your life, an example of this being Alvar Aalto's experimental house which served as a get away for him and his partner after his first wife died. It is my belief that the idea of a cottage being an escape is closely linked towa...

Trump recently declared that all federal buildings are to be built in a "classical" style. In my opinion, limiting federal buildings "classical" styles is ignorant, Gothic and Georgian are in no way similar but are both listed as classical styles, this shows Trump's ignorance to the story and the connotations of the individual architectural styles that are considered as "classical". https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-gothic-architecture-177720 https://atkeyandco.com/identifying-georgian-victorian-and-edwardian-period-architecture/ “There is style, and there are the styles.” - Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc This statement is contradictory in the sense that it perfectly describes the relation and the differences between the two words. The singular 'style' is used to describe a manner of doing something for example you can have a style of writing or swimming. Then there are 'the styles' the categories of ...

  Architecture and politics I think that it's quite embarrassing that the first female president of the RIBA was elected in 2009 compared to when they were given the power to vote in 1928 and furthermore a whole 30 years after the first female prime minister Margaret Thatcher was elected in 1979. I believe that this goes to show how things can and still are heavily influenced by the past and how old habits can die hard, I mean sexism is still a large issue in todays society which at the time of writing this has been 94 years since women were given the right to vote and sits regrettable for me to say but I do believe that sexism will still be a problem in several lifetimes which really highlights the magnitude of this issue. The toxic mindset that it stems from is something that is taught like most mannerisms, it's a matter of nurture rather than nature, sexism and gender inequality are problems that will sadly persist so long as there are people who believe in them and such va...