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.
I'm particularly interested in the public role that all buildings play. I believe that we architects should try to go beyond our basic obligations to the public, and our opportunities to do so are many.
Buildings are 'humane' only when they promote peaceful human co-existence.
What is now called 'green architecture' is an opportunistic caricature of a much deeper consideration of the issues related to sustainability that architecture has been engaged with for many years. It was one of the first professions that was deeply concerned with these issues and that had an intellectual response to them.
Modernist buildings exclude dialogue, and the void that they create around themselves is not a public space but a desertification
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.
Most of the wonderful places in the world were not made by architects but by the people.
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