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Qingyun Ma's 4 Principles of Contemporary Architecture

08/13/08 @ 12:19:59 pm, Categories: Architects, 202 words

I told you in the last post about the article my uncle sent to me by LA Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez.

The article was about Qingyun Ma, the dean of architecture at USC.

I wanted to share with you what he thinks are the most important principles of contemporary architecture:

1. Architecture is more about ideas than materials.

2. Ideas should not be inscribed in stone forever.

3. The idea has to be beautiful.

4. Architecture has to be for others.

I want to talk about #4 a little bit.

Designing architecture for others means to consider the people whose lives with be lived within and without our buildings, the people who will use these buildings today, and the generations who will continue to be stuck with our buildings in the future.

Please note that

1: the developer’s cookie cutter suburban sprawl house, forcing its inhabitants into automobile dependency, by separated them from work, school, and play, and

2: the starchitect’s enormous ego monument that is callous to neighboring buildings and their inhabitants

are not architecture for others. So don’t do it. Embrace the holistic approach when you design. Think of the people who will be using your buildings – and their physical, mental, and emotional health – first.

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