week two_article two_blog three

David Harvey­_An Enquiry into the Origins of Social Change

On page 185 Harvey writes, “if this is where the developers are heading, can the philosophers and literary theorists be far behind.” He writes this with regards to the emergence of ‘Deconstructivism’. Such a statement crystallizes a number of interesting questions. What is the true power of architecture? In what sphere(s) of culture and life do have a leading role? Do architects have any control over the general trajectory that culture and cultural production chooses to take, or are we merely responding to social/political/economic factors that we have seemingly little control over and to the needs/desires of clients and developers who have their own underlying agendas? Does architecture lead or follow? Is it not a mechanism for change on a variety of levels? If we think specifically about our own local/regional context, how much influence does architecture truly have? Sometimes it seems the answer is ‘very little’. Perhaps this is because architecture and the work of architects are not valued in our ‘regional culture’ as much as they should be, nor are the services of architects utilized as often as we feel they should be. So the question then becomes how are we as students of architecture to convince mass culture of the inherent social/political/environmental value of architecture in a city and a region which embraces the ‘prairie mentality’: one centered upon thrift, sales, deals, and the cheapest means possible? How do we convince people of architecture’s relevance and importance not only in terms of its ability to create form and define space, but as a method of social, political, and environmental commentary?