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.
The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines - so they should go as far as possible from home to build their first buildings.
I don't know why people hire architects and then tell them what to do.
Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power. Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their power and money by making monumental architecture. I love to make monuments, too, but I thought perhaps we can use our experience and knowledge more for the general public, even for those who have lost their houses in natural disasters.
Whoβs afraid of the big, bad buildings? Everyone, because there are so many things about gigantism that we just donβt know. The gamble of triumph or tragedy at this scale β and ultimately it is a gamble β demands an extraordinary payoff. The trade center towers could be the start of a new skyscraper age or the biggest tombstones in the world.
People can inhabit anything. And they can be miserable in anything and ecstatic in anything. More and more I think that architecture has nothing to do with it. Of course, that's both liberating and alarming.
Why should we build very large spaces when they are not necessary? We can design halls spanning several kilometres and covering a whole city, but we have to ask, what does it really make? What does society really need?
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