essay: social responsibility of architect

8/11/2019 Essay: Social Responsibility of Architect

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Social Responsibility of Architects | Liliani Saputri 100173

Over the course of the semester, we have seen a number of different attitudes towards the social role

of architecture. Choose two different authors or architects, and compare their different

understandings of the social role of architecture. You may use both texts and buildings as necessary to

illustrate your chosen authors'/architects' position on this topic.

This essay aims to describe the different attitudes towards the social role of architects. As the socialattitude of architecture is a huge topic, I will focus on the social responsibility aspect of the role of

architects. Firstly, in this essay I will describe Fouriers and Shigeru Bans understanding towards their

social responsibilitys roles. Next, I will compare both definition to gain more understanding towards it.

FOURIER

Fourier came about the idea of socialism because he recognize the source of the problem in the world is

poverty.1He believes that socialism is the answer to eradicate poverty. He wants to eliminate poverty

such that harmony can be achieved. Hence, this is his definition of the social role in architecture, to

bring harmony into the society.

Fouriers method of establishing harmony in the society is by creating communal living called

phalansteries. This communal living is created by combining people regardless of their economic status.

This was mentioned in his writing Socialism is not what ought to be, but what will be naturally,

rationally, and without revolution as soon as our passions are realized socially.2Phalansteries will be a

society where people work together for the community. It will accommodate each individual passions

and talents creating happiness and self-fulfillment in the society.3Having similarities will enabled the

community to unite and harmonize among each other easily.4This community will be consisted of 810

men and 810 women to enabled infinite social, aesthetic, and sexual encounters which humankind

would regain its equilibrium.5Fourier also mentioned that to achieve harmony in the community, people

should constantly have the opportunity to switch jobs to produce the best result.6

In the Giraffe and Anti-Giraffe: Charles Fouriers Artistic Thinking, Lars Bang Larsen mentioned that

Fourier's idea to create this harmonized community is very theoretical, and it is impossible to be

realized. As he wrote, "If one wants a social aesthetic, then this is it: all that Fouriers philosophical

system talks about is the social, yet it can never be socialized, never become one with society, never

become operational or ameliorative.7 However, several projects were developed to create these

phalansteries community, most of them are failures except Familistre (Social Palace) by Jean-Baptiste

Andr Godin.

1(Shelley 2009)

2(Larsen 2010)

3(Condorcet 2012)

4Ibid

5(Larsen 2010)

6(Condorcet 2012)

7(Larsen 2010)


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This family lodging inspired by Fourier, housing 1000 working class people in 300 apartments.8Godins

aims to build this family lodging is to improve the living condition of the factory workers and to prove

the value of his companys unity.9 There is no social hierarchy in this family lodging.10 The workers,

engineers, and factory owner live in the same building.

SHIGERU BAN

Shigeru Ban is a Japanese architect, famous for his work with recycled cardboard tubes for emergency

relief projects. He was profiled in the Time Magazine as innovators in the field of architecture. He is also

a Pritzker Architecture Prize winner in 2014 for his dedication for the humanitarian projects. As

published in TED Talks, Shigeru Ban said, I was very disappointed at my profession as an

architect, because we are not helping, we are not working for society, but we are working for privileged

people, rich people, government, and developers. They have money and power. So they hire us to

visualize their power and money by making monumental architecture. So I was very disappointed that

we are not working for society, even though there are so many people who lost their houses by natural

disasters. But there are no architects working there because we are too busy working for privileged

people. So I thought, even as architects, we can be involved in the reconstruction of temporary

housing. We can make it better. So that is why I started working in disaster areas.11

Hence, Shigeru

Bans definition of the social role of architect is to help people in need.

Shigeru Ban has been working in the humanitarian project for 20 years. One of the example of his

humanitarian project is Paper Church in Japan. In 1995, there was an earthquake in Kobe, Japan. The

church was destroyed by the earthquake and he proposed to rebuild it as it was beloved by the society.12

This construction of the new church is very important for the refugees as a symbol of hope after the

occurrence of the disaster.

Another example of Shigeru Bans humanitarian project is the emergency shelter in Northern Japan in2011.13The spatial quality of the shelter was very poor such that the people suffer mentally by living

there. Thus, Shigeru went there to create an improvement to the shelter by building partitions such that

the refugees can have privacy.

COMPARISON

Fouriersdefinition of the social role of architect is to bring harmony into the society. While, Shigeru

Bans definition is to help people in need.However, if we look into the overall perspective, Shigeru Ban

and Fourier shares the common aim which is to work for the society.

8(Family Lodging in Guise n.d.)

9(Condorcet 2012)

10(Family Lodging in Guise n.d.)

11(Ban 2013)

12Ibid

13Ibid


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In my opinion, this is the most important part of being architect. There will be thousands-or millions

ways in achieving this aim (to work for the society), but it will be up to us to define how to do it.

Fouriers method of creating Phalansteries to eradicate poverty is his way of working for the society.

Meanwhile, Shigeru Bans method of helping people in the disaster areas is his own definition of

working for the society. Hence, the question is how we define working for the society?

References

2013. Shigeru Ban: Emergency shelters made from paper.Performed by Shigeru Ban.

Condorcet, Espace Scolaire. 2012. European Cultural Heritage.5 7. Accessed 4 28, 2014.

http://europeanculturalheritage-eurodiv.blogspot.sg/2012/05/familistere-in-guise-france.html.

n.d. Family Lodging in Guise.

Larsen, Lars Baang. 2010. "Giraffe and Anti-Giraffe: Charles Fourier's Artistic Thinking." 10.

Shelley. 2009. Utopian Worlds. Accessed 04 29, 2014.

http://utopianworlds.pbworks.com/w/page/7536373/Charles%20Fourier%20Description.

essay: social responsibility of architect

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