Partly Why I Enjoy Architecture

When I think of culture I think of food, clothing, movies, music, artwork, religion, literature, architecture etc. I look forward to designing buildings for the city that I live in because those buildings will be my contribution to the culture. Those buildings will be my representation or voice.

I think every person would benefit from finding some way, big or small, to contribute to their culture. If you are not contributing, can you really say that it is yours? It becomes flipped and people start being subjected to a culture that they had nothing to do with creating. As Americans we are probably the guiltiest. We have realized that a lot of our culture is lame and we have become excellent at pushing it away and criticizing it. Rather than criticizing it, let us take the responsibility to make an influence and start producing a better culture between us. If we do this it will change entire communities and give the individual a sense of place.

 I will note that there are wonderful subcultures within the states and many people subscribe to these cultures rather than being subjected. But why just subscribe to the magazine when you could write an article? 

Capitalism

            Today in Urban History and Theory we were discussing the transition from feudal cities to trading cities. There are many benefits to this transition but I was bothered because our teachers were failing to point out the large drawbacks. The feudal cities were simple but there was the caste system in place. It was nearly impossible for anyone to move up a class. A trading society is capitalistic where people have relatively equal chances of success, which is nice. One large downfall is that capitalism is a system based on competition where people are selfishly motivated. It is survival of the fittest with a bow on it. Correction, it is not survival of the fittest; we have graduated from competing for survival. Now we have chosen to compete for security and comfort. It could be called money for the fittest.   If you look at nature and if you view humans as merely sophisticated beasts than capitalism appears to be the perfect system.

But the reality is that we are not merely beasts but rather we are human. In one of my literature classes at Cal Poly we studied Humanism to some extent. We concluded that what makes us human is our ability to sacrifice for someone outside of our kin (I understand that this is debatable but it is compelling). Today’s Urban History lecture expanded upon my concept of what sets us apart from animals. Unlike animals we have the potential to escape the existing system powered by competition, which is incredible! It is unlikely, but it is possible. What if there was a society that was powered by love. It sounds totally idealist/ridiculous and I would argue that it would require some divine intervention. It also sounds socialist/communist, which has had horrendous outcomes in the past and present. I am not saying that we should abolish the existing competitive system, but the fact that we have the choice to, is in part what makes us human. It reminds me of the book/movie Into The Wild; that was a young man who disagreed with and refused to participate in the system. He rejected the security and comfort that comes with capitalism because it comes at too high a price.

One last point: It may appear that we have graduated from the system of survival of the fittest but even this is untrue. It has shifted from who is the fittest man to which country has the fittest military. I will say again, as humans we have the ability to reject competition and choose peace.   

Water Harvesting

I have been incredibly impressed by these very old and beautiful ways to collect water. Im making a vow never to detail a cheap metal gutter on any by designs. Here are some examples:

Gender in Urban Spaces

We had another interesting lecture today on gender and urban public spaces; focusing on how men and women use public spaces differently. One of the key points that stood out to me was that women here in India will not go out in public unless they have a specific purpose to be out. Apparently, people here assume the worst when they see a woman loitering in public. And I got the impression that socializing did not count as a valid purpose or reason to be out. Our teacher said that women will go to pick up their children half an hour early from school just so they could socialize with each other. Another point was that men tend to take the most direct or interesting routes to their destinations, while women are very conscientious about taking the safest route. Our class discussed and concluded that we can design safer and more comfortable spaces but ultimately architecture cannot fix larger social issues.

After the class I asked my friend Gunjan if sexual harassment was a big problem here and she said, ‘Yes, less so here in Ahmedabad, but it’s particularly bad in New Dehli.’ I also asked her if there is a lot of social pressure for women to behave properly and again she said ‘yes but that it is far worse in other parts of India.’

In light of my previous post it really concerns me that Indian women can be judged just for going out into public spaces. Ideally public spaces can unite people, teach social respect and tolerance, and give people ownership of their city. But a space is not public when half the population is discouraged from going there. I suppose we can design the space and then pray for courageous women to challenge social constraints and for everyone else to become more tolerant.

Suresh!

I already admire the more theoretical approach to architecture here in India. The other day in studio we were discussing why we need public spaces in cities. We talked about how the existing urban structure enables people to separate themselves for the sake of privacy. Public spaces break up this rigid structure and unite varying people with a shared experience and memory. It is in the public spaces that people will learn social respect and tolerance. When there is a lack of respect or tolerance, a public space can also serve as venue to speak out against injustice and exemplify love.

            Citizens also claim ownership of their city when they occupy and use public spaces. It is made apparent that the city belongs to all of the citizens equally which is desperately needed in the Indian society.

            I just spent the weekend in Mumbai on a field trip with my studio and it was incredible! The students here are like family and they readily adopted Thomas Kaylyn and I. Our new Indian nicknames are Ramesh, Mira, and Suresh respectively. We visited many beautiful places in Mumbai and one night we turned a regular bar into a dance club, which was a ton of fun. Some guy told me that he had connections in bollywood and he thought that I could be a star so that’s good. Its nice to know I have options ;)

            I’m praising God for this incredible opportunity and experience. I still have moments where it hits me that I’m in freakin’ India!!! Can’t wait for what’s to come.       

Made a Blogg!!

I leave in 3 DAYS!!!  :) :)