let me first tell that I am a product of two different cultures. Born in the US of A and having roots in Indonesia, I am a blend of great qualities of both the cultures. I have imbibed discipline and hard work from the west and the love and regard for the family from Indonesia.
I have now come to a phase of my life, wherein I will have to make a choice of some career. When discussed parents suggested accounting. I thought it little boring. Since I was good at drawing, I wanted to give it a try. When I joined a course for improving my drawing talent, I was surprised to note that most of the boys in my class were from the architecture schools. They told me that their study deals with much of drawing and designing.
. I felt it amusing. A glance towards the various things that surrounds me, most of it is a product of some architecture. Architect is the one who shapes the things. That is quite a thing and would be a right choice as a career.
I am interested in the subject there are innumerable opportunities in the field. More than all this there is ample opportunity for a man like me to make a lasting statement through my works.
Architects are involved I creating shelters or abodes. Generally they are for humans. In many cases they would shelter gods. Why so In case of Pyramids of Egypt, they have created beautiful structures for the dead.
Architecture takes into account three main factors. Primary concern is utility. Second comes the factor of durability. Last and the most important factor in architecture is beauty. Probably this last factor distinguishes the person who creates a piece of architecture from the others. This fact is more challenging and provides lot of scope for a creative mind.
Before dwelling into the details of architecture as a subject of study, let me consider a few points that may be of interest. Almost all the man made structures are linear in nature. But, the natural creations are spherical in nature. Consider any thing from a drop of water to the shape of living and non living beings. They are all shaped in non liner fashion.
Probably, through architecture man has been posing a challenge to the nature itself. Since he chose to be different from nature, he has been experimenting with shapes, material and placement of these in a particular order.
Let me not go into the details about the choice of material and their durability in a structure. Right from the ancient times wherein people lived in caves to the most modern structure like Burj Khalifa of Dubai, one thing is common. It is the creative mind of man that has made them. While the cave man opted to beautify his caves through paintings, the modern man thinks of his creativity in terms of technology.
Architecture has created larger foot prints in the past. It may do so in the future too. Architectural monuments bear testimony to the culture of the place where they are created. Most of the monuments that tell us of the past are also religious in nature.
What I have observed is that those which have lasted long are those which are nearer to natures creation. They are either circular or semicircular. It was more so in the east. All such structures were created as symbols of religion. They were also centres of learning and promotion of philosophy pertaining to that religion.
But in the west, the architectural activities marked the urban centres as we see in the case of pyramids of Egypt. So also, we find palaces in Persia ( current Iraq ). Most such monuments have survived the fury of nature. But it is painful to note that most monuments were destroyed due to human vandalism..
This major difference has deeper undertones. Normally the structures are replicated when they are aesthetically pleasing and durable. That is why monuments in the east are almost similar, with a few changes here and there. Experimenting appears to be the mainstay of western architecture.. This applies mostly to the recent civilizations like America and some parts of Europe.
May be there was a need to be different and move away from nature. While renaissance provided insight into the inner content , industrial revolution stressed on form. Due to industrial revolution urbanisation was rampant in the west. There was need for accommodating a larger group of people in limited space.
This probably made our designers to go against the nature. Instead of spherical, conicl structures, they opted for the linear ones. In this endeavour they were amply supported by the scientific developments. They were able to find new materials which were stronger and durable than the materials used in the olden days.
As the structures went higher up there was also the necessity of using light but strong materials. These structures .constitute the dominant features of any western city. So also we find such structures in eastern cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore. This is because either they are industrial cities or commercial centres. They have limited space and abundant population.
This is a time where we are considering the colonisation of Moon. It may appear more fascinating. But should we not consider our flaws before trying to leap. High rises may be advocated considering their utility. But we should consider whether they are aesthetic and cost wise feasible.
The recent economic crisis in Dubai due to the construction of Burj Khalifa should be considered much more seriously. It simply implies that there is a tendency to create structure just to claim an achievement. In this process, we are creating structures in our city, which are an eye sore.
However strongly the westerners advocate the high rise apartments, the eastern mind feels alienated. Being more agrarian and rural in their mental make up, the easterners feel that they should always be rooted. Living in an apartment disconnects from the ground.
Whenever one goes to an architect, he always wishes to accommodate all his knowledge of gadgets and garish designs. In this process the customer will have to exceed his limits of spending. However the finance system is such that they voluntarily offer monies to you for overspending. In the end the customer has a garishly designed house with lots and lots of gadgetry. They also will be a cause of recurring expenditure. But he has one solace, he is totally different from others.
Should we not consider these things as the major flaws in our architectural development
It is said that House is not Home
To make a house is simple. But to create a home it requires lot of talent and deeper understanding of the requirements of individuals. In this era of urban planning, wherein mass production of habitats would be the order, it would be a daunting task to create homes. Because the whole population is for houses and not homes.
In such an atmosphere, awakening the people about the aesthetics of home, so that they will be able to live a more meaningful life .would be certainly a challenge. I like suh challenges and that is why Architecture would be a perfect career for me.
The career is both an opportunity and challenge. Opportunity will be for my creative talent and the challenges will be to respond to new and different situations.
I have now come to a phase of my life, wherein I will have to make a choice of some career. When discussed parents suggested accounting. I thought it little boring. Since I was good at drawing, I wanted to give it a try. When I joined a course for improving my drawing talent, I was surprised to note that most of the boys in my class were from the architecture schools. They told me that their study deals with much of drawing and designing.
. I felt it amusing. A glance towards the various things that surrounds me, most of it is a product of some architecture. Architect is the one who shapes the things. That is quite a thing and would be a right choice as a career.
I am interested in the subject there are innumerable opportunities in the field. More than all this there is ample opportunity for a man like me to make a lasting statement through my works.
Architects are involved I creating shelters or abodes. Generally they are for humans. In many cases they would shelter gods. Why so In case of Pyramids of Egypt, they have created beautiful structures for the dead.
Architecture takes into account three main factors. Primary concern is utility. Second comes the factor of durability. Last and the most important factor in architecture is beauty. Probably this last factor distinguishes the person who creates a piece of architecture from the others. This fact is more challenging and provides lot of scope for a creative mind.
Before dwelling into the details of architecture as a subject of study, let me consider a few points that may be of interest. Almost all the man made structures are linear in nature. But, the natural creations are spherical in nature. Consider any thing from a drop of water to the shape of living and non living beings. They are all shaped in non liner fashion.
Probably, through architecture man has been posing a challenge to the nature itself. Since he chose to be different from nature, he has been experimenting with shapes, material and placement of these in a particular order.
Let me not go into the details about the choice of material and their durability in a structure. Right from the ancient times wherein people lived in caves to the most modern structure like Burj Khalifa of Dubai, one thing is common. It is the creative mind of man that has made them. While the cave man opted to beautify his caves through paintings, the modern man thinks of his creativity in terms of technology.
Architecture has created larger foot prints in the past. It may do so in the future too. Architectural monuments bear testimony to the culture of the place where they are created. Most of the monuments that tell us of the past are also religious in nature.
What I have observed is that those which have lasted long are those which are nearer to natures creation. They are either circular or semicircular. It was more so in the east. All such structures were created as symbols of religion. They were also centres of learning and promotion of philosophy pertaining to that religion.
But in the west, the architectural activities marked the urban centres as we see in the case of pyramids of Egypt. So also, we find palaces in Persia ( current Iraq ). Most such monuments have survived the fury of nature. But it is painful to note that most monuments were destroyed due to human vandalism..
This major difference has deeper undertones. Normally the structures are replicated when they are aesthetically pleasing and durable. That is why monuments in the east are almost similar, with a few changes here and there. Experimenting appears to be the mainstay of western architecture.. This applies mostly to the recent civilizations like America and some parts of Europe.
May be there was a need to be different and move away from nature. While renaissance provided insight into the inner content , industrial revolution stressed on form. Due to industrial revolution urbanisation was rampant in the west. There was need for accommodating a larger group of people in limited space.
This probably made our designers to go against the nature. Instead of spherical, conicl structures, they opted for the linear ones. In this endeavour they were amply supported by the scientific developments. They were able to find new materials which were stronger and durable than the materials used in the olden days.
As the structures went higher up there was also the necessity of using light but strong materials. These structures .constitute the dominant features of any western city. So also we find such structures in eastern cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore. This is because either they are industrial cities or commercial centres. They have limited space and abundant population.
This is a time where we are considering the colonisation of Moon. It may appear more fascinating. But should we not consider our flaws before trying to leap. High rises may be advocated considering their utility. But we should consider whether they are aesthetic and cost wise feasible.
The recent economic crisis in Dubai due to the construction of Burj Khalifa should be considered much more seriously. It simply implies that there is a tendency to create structure just to claim an achievement. In this process, we are creating structures in our city, which are an eye sore.
However strongly the westerners advocate the high rise apartments, the eastern mind feels alienated. Being more agrarian and rural in their mental make up, the easterners feel that they should always be rooted. Living in an apartment disconnects from the ground.
Whenever one goes to an architect, he always wishes to accommodate all his knowledge of gadgets and garish designs. In this process the customer will have to exceed his limits of spending. However the finance system is such that they voluntarily offer monies to you for overspending. In the end the customer has a garishly designed house with lots and lots of gadgetry. They also will be a cause of recurring expenditure. But he has one solace, he is totally different from others.
Should we not consider these things as the major flaws in our architectural development
It is said that House is not Home
To make a house is simple. But to create a home it requires lot of talent and deeper understanding of the requirements of individuals. In this era of urban planning, wherein mass production of habitats would be the order, it would be a daunting task to create homes. Because the whole population is for houses and not homes.
In such an atmosphere, awakening the people about the aesthetics of home, so that they will be able to live a more meaningful life .would be certainly a challenge. I like suh challenges and that is why Architecture would be a perfect career for me.
The career is both an opportunity and challenge. Opportunity will be for my creative talent and the challenges will be to respond to new and different situations.
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