“The physical environment that we construct is as much a social phenomenon as it is a physical one” - Harold Proshansky
The significance of a built environment
Shelter is one of the primary needs of mankind apart from food water and air. A need to protect one- self from the harsh effects of the natural surroundings called in for the necessity of a shelter, a roof above one’s head. What started as a need slowly began to emerge as a social status symbol. The house would speak of the status of the owner. The inevitability flourished into a culmination of activities and spaces.
Buildings began to be viewed as works of art, as technical achievements, as the wallpaper of urban spaces and as a behavioural and cultural phenomenon. Architectural and urban spaces turned into containers to accommodate, separate, structure and organize, facilitate, heighten and even celebrate human spatial behaviour. The built environment was not just physical. It started to have a psychological, social and cultural significance to it.
Many styles and philosophies later, scores of architects and visionaries past, the built environment gradually underwent its series of development; of changes pertaining to region, climate, culture, tradition and technological and socio-economic aspects. Architects were driven by the objective to create a customized paradise on earth
The effects of space
Space and all that is enclosed within it is much more significant in the lives of human beings than it actually appears to be. Everyday lives human beings are influenced by the space that they occupy, more than just the technical, aesthetic or semiotic interpretation that is suggested. Space plays an important role in bringing people together and simultaneously keeping them apart. This character is critical in defining various social relationships. Space is the vital essence of a basic and universal form of communication.
Architecture helps to organize and structure space, and its interiors and the objects that enclose and inhabit these spaces can facilitate or inhibit one’s activities by the way it is systemized. Space can be considered as a language that “...is not heard or seen directly and certainly not written down ...” (The Language of Space by Bryan Lawson). Hence it gets a little attention in a formal sense. However it is this language that is utilised all throughout the lives of the mankind as one move about in space and relates to each other. Consequently it is only when this language is abused in some way or the other, that its presence is noticed.
Each individual demands a certain amount of space in public. The behavioural patterns if the individuals are greatly determined by the limits of space defined by one-self. While designing public spaces, the designer usually faces the challenge in organizing the spaces in such a way that this personalized spatial limits of each individual is not encroached. Any event of such a situation of intrusion would result in variations in the behavioural patterns of man.
This phenomenon is exemplified by queues in public spaces. The queue is the most obvious form of conventionalized behaviour that is triggered by signal from the designed environment. The rope barriers sometimes used to form queues in public spaces are hardly able to contain a crowd physically and yet, without them the crowd would probably push and shove in a chaotic and possibly aggressive manner. Civilization and culture has developed in such a manner that it enables man to be remarkably co-operative even in the most competitive situations. However, by removing all sorts of restraints from the environment, his behaviour drastically regresses.
“Architecture is the art of how to waste spaces” quotes Philip Johnson of the New York Times. However, this rather wry quotation nicely summarizes the fact that human beings often need space to guide them how to behave. Of course, good architecture does not actually waste space; it is just that space is often needed in order to prepare the social human being for a change of mood, to establish relationships and to suggest or invite appropriate behaviour. In fact, architecture creates settings which organize one’s lives activities and relationships. In good architecture, space does this for man without him actually realizing it and hence the possibility of ridicule that such space is wasted!
The great Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger has shown an extraordinary high awareness of the language of space not only in his buildings but also through his writings. In his opinion, it is important that architects watch what people do, because ultimately spaces are being designed for the people. Architecture can never be complete without the people using it. As much as architecture influences people’s lives, the crowd that uses the space and the built environment also influences its organization.
Architecture and quality of life - a public opinion
A recent survey conducted in September 2009, by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), London revealed that nearly nine out of ten people believe that better quality of buildings and public spaces improve their quality of life. As a society the mankind faces three main crises - an age of austerity, a short time to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions, and social pessimism. The strongest response to all these can come only through changes to the built environment. The current risk is that public spending cuts to non-statutory council services, like parks management and maintenance, lead to places becoming dirtier and shabbier, with key targets like community safety and obesity being missed as a result. Richard Simmons, CABE chief executive, had cited that
it was vital that people who made critical decisions about public spending appreciated exactly what the public wants and values since the quality of buildings and places affect everyone, every day. More than eight out of ten people said that they were interested in the look and feel of buildings and public spaces. Only three per cent of the population didn’t believe that the quality of buildings and public space had an impact on their health and wellbeing. Men and women agreed equally that better quality buildings and public space improved their quality of life. And ethnic background seemed to make little difference to people’s interest in buildings and places. But older people tend to be more interested in how the built environment looked and felt to use than younger people; while those approaching retirement age were more than a fifth more engaged than people aged 16-24.
Architecture: Culture’s contribution to sustainable development
Citing about the architectural quality in urban and rural environments, it is essential to note that architecture is the fundamental feature of the culture and fabric of life of each and every country. The cultural activities and creative industries, including architecture, play a critical role in boosting innovation and technology and are key engines of sustainable growth in the future.
To bring about a continuous improvement in the quality of life for both the current and future generations, sustainable communities which are able to manage and use the resources efficiently and to tap the ecological and social innovation potential of the economy, ensuring prosperity, environmental protection and social cohesion are to be created. Underling the importance of a building culture, an integrated urban development approach has to be adopted which covers the economic, social, ecological and cultural aspects if towns and cities, on the basis of co-operation between the different tiers of administrative and political responsibility and between public and private sector actors.
Architecture, as a discipline involving cultural creation and innovation, including a technological component, provides a remarkable illustration of what culture can contribute to sustainable development, in view of its impact on the cultural dimension of towns and cities, as well as in the economy, social cohesion and the environment. Architecture is also an example of the cross-cutting nature of culture, being affected by a number of public policies and not just cultural policies.
It is important to note that the cities and towns of today face major challenges like demographic change and its implications for urban sprawl, environmental issues and climate change mitigation, maintaining social cohesion, particularly against a background of economic and cultural change and the protection and development of architectural and cultural heritage. The way to respond to such challenges is by means of sustainable urban development, a creative, integrated approach under which culture, economics, social affairs and the environment play an equally important role.
Here, it is important to know what sustainable development really means. By sustainable development, it means paying particular attention to architectural quality and diversity as aspects of cultural diversity a, to heritage conservation and enhancement and to the individual identity of natural or urban landscapes. It also implies the social responsibility of contributing to the management of projects to use and convert land and buildings, in particular industrial wasteland, control energy resources in the context of climate change and reduce pollution. Sustainable development also stresses upon reflecting, through innovative approaches to architecture and urban planning, developments in population life styles, particularly issues of mobility and demographic change, as well as objectives of social cohesion, social mix, intercultural dialogue and civic involvement. Sustainable development also encourages high quality architectural creation as an economic stimulus and tourist attraction for towns and cities.
Architecture can play an integrating and innovative role in implementing sustainable urban development in particular by reconciling the somewhat differing requirements of building and landscape conservation and contemporary creation or of inhabitant’s legitimate aspirations and controlling urban sprawl. Architecture can also help by contributing, by its diversity, quality and creativity, to the urban populations cultural enrichment and quality of life and to the economic, commercial and tourism-related vibrancy if towns and cities, in particular, by serving as a breeding ground for small and medium-sized businesses.
Sustainable development, lastly, provides an opportunity for creation, innovation and renewal of architectural styles and the re-appropriation and re-interpretation of traditional practice.
The Architect’s contribution
The Architect is to be driven by the aim to improve the quality of life. It is as important as expressing himself in the most radical and comprehendible way, to create a piece of ingenuity which rightly considers the surrounding environment, the culture, traditions, technology and above all the lifestyle of the users.
Prof. B.V. Doshi speaking on the constants and variables of architecture emphasised on the need to develop a synthesis between these two sets of criteria. The first was related to the basic human needs, spiritual values and traditions, while the other was concerned with changing patterns of life due to social, economic and technological development. The role of an architect is to guide the process of development, promote conservation of relevant heritage, evolve a new synthesis, meet the functional needs of the clients, users and community, innovate new methods of construction and aim for excellence in architecture.
Christopher Alexander in his book The Pattern Language cited that the best architecture is not art but a means of supporting aliveness and is produced by ordinary people trying to improve their quality of life. His designs were driven by achieving goals of comfort, ease, legibility, sociability, pleasure, mental health, opportunities for both solitude and participation in family and community life.
In India certain architects have set very high standards of architectural creativity. Examples include Achyut Kanvinde with concern for quality and excellence, Laurie Baker with his down to earth approach in addressing the needs of the common citizen, with appropriate and yet innovative architecture, Charles Correa who has designed for pavement dwellers, low cost housing to planning for new cities, Raj Rewal with his research in historic architecture of hot-dry climate and applying these findings in developing a new synthesis in Contemporary Architecture.
Architects are also engaged with education preparing new generations of architects to face the challenge of changing time, to guide the process of change towards the goal of excellence in architecture. So finally, it is on the architect to chart out one's own role in a given context in bringing about a positive change in the quality of life of man.
