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THE CULTURAL VALUE OF ARCHITECTURE
Good architecture has not only a social but also a cultural value. At best, archi-tecture is an art, a happy synthesis of the demands of technology and function, of climate and site and of social and cultural needs and aspirations. We can, then, experience and enjoy architecture as an art and that experience and enjoy-ment can be on a number of levels. A building may give us practical satisfac-tion in the way it fulfils its purpose, in its arrangement of function, in the efficiency of its services and in the skills evident in its assembly and detail. It may give us aesthetic pleasure in the means by which it achieves its ends, its disposition of form and space, its use of light, texture, material, colour and the quality of its craftsmanship. Or it may engage us intellectually or emotionally in the way it resonates with cultural symbol and meaning.
But architecture has a deeper cultural value. Architecture both shapes and is shaped by the society and place in which it is made. The architecture and buildings of our towns, cities and rural settlements are a repository of our common culture and heritage, they provide continuity and a unique sense of history and tradition. The making of buildings, the act of design and the creation of architecture gives us an opportunity to connect with this past, to assert our present cultural values and to say something about who we are at this time and in this place.
Until quite recently, the techniques and materials available for construction were limited. This, together with cultural norms and tradition, set limits to the built forms and construction details possible. As a consequence, a certain uniformity and thus harmony between buildings and between buildings and their setting was inevitable. These imperatives of local culture and tradition, of geography, topography, climate and indigenous resources have found eloquent expression in Scotland's built heritage. A sense of place, of regionality, has un-selfconsciously and effortlessly been an important part of our architectural past. During this century, however, construction tech-niques and materials have burgeoned. Theories of architecture have argued for a disassociation from the forms and values of the past. All of this has encouraged building design to break free from custom and association. The harmony that has built up over time between buildings and their setting has often been eroded and replaced by a dislocated architecture that looks the same wherever it is built. Such an archi-tecture both debases and devalues our culture.
Architecture inevitably reflects a particular moment in time in terms of taste and technique. Good architecture, however, also reflects that depth of experience that comes from an under-standing of local issues and of the timeless qualities of culture and com-munity. The cultural value of architecture lies in its ability to respond to these deeper sensibilities and to the tangible realities of place and to make connec-tions with and enhance the specifics of culture and location. The challenge for our architecture today is to fuse what is still vital in local tradition with the best of our increasingly global civilisation, to marry them in new ways that meet our modern needs and aspirations.
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| 09,10,11
Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Benson + Forsyth |
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