Week One: Reflection on Reading - "Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture"

I found this to be a very interesting read, the ideas surrounding indeterminancy and the unknown nature of the future were explained very well. There were a few ideas that stood out which resonated with me about my beliefs of the future and what the role of the architect will be:

One was that, "Function' (Bakema) is libertarian in that the onus placed on the architect is to seek out the existing structure of the community and to allow this structure to develop in positive directions" (Sadler 2005). I believe that the spaces created within the built environment will have to cater for change in order to be sustainable and not become outdated, therefore incorporating the context of the community and allowing the functions of the spaces to change and grow with the needs of the community. This idea is opposed to creating environments which have one purpose and static functions, therefore discouraging flexibility and 'open-endness' of activity.

These ideas were also explained by the concept of Organicism, which "was the byword for managing anarchitecture-in-change, [where, the] proponents of the organic felt, architecture would emulate the continually evolving and growing human communities it served" (Sadler 2005). To me this means that architecture must become organic in it's function, it's growth and in its social interaction. This would be through creating architecture that is ever changing, has multiple uses throughout it's life, is transformable and flexible and most of all, durable. For architecture to be sustainable, it must stand the test of time. This means being physically resistant to change, as well as having the capability of evolving with the needs of society in it's functions and in it's aethetics so it does not become outdated and forgotten.

Finally, the changing nature of society isn't just a natural evolutionary thing, but a desired thing. As archigram's creation of 'open ends' describes "an architecture that expressed its inhabitants' supposed desire for continuous change" (Sadler 2005). It is within the nature of society itself to want to be better and create new things and have new ideas, constantly improving on itself and longing to make new and exciting discoveries.

Reference: Sadler, S., 2005. Beyond Architecture. In. Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. pp90-138.