Two Things [3]

1.

In a time when significant social shifts are taking place at an increasingly faster pace, the stagnation of politics and policy and the frustration with the decision making process make room for bottom-up acts, resilience and bold initiatives. Do architects have the instruments to make their own stand, in the light of so many examples of social activism? Will the power of architecture disrupt the status quo? Should Architecture take a role in criticizing political habits that influence the built environment and social life? What role can architects and creatives play, in reconsidering these political agendas? Can it reveal the hopes, power struggle and the elements culture of our society?

2.

“Architecture is politics”. In highlighting the structural relationship between social and political sides, and revealing the power that is embodied in it and specifically the monumental architecture that is formed by the political powers, I believe that architecture can improve and engage the greater community. Given the important role of the profession in shaping the built environment and urban life, have we forgotten that architecture and architectural education should, through their cultural contexts, inform the concepts of health and quality of life? Frank Lloyd Wright once said “The mother art is Architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization”.