The Current Personal Ontology of ‘Architect’
Background
Architects are still perceived as people who only produce drawings.
They are asked to ‘design plans' of buildings for clients.
This is however only a small part of their professional abilities.
The following historical descriptions identify the nature of the ‘Architect.’ and so can assist in creating a personal view of the ontology of ‘Architect.’
The Ancient Architect
This is the ancient form of the definition in the 'uiTRuuii de Architectura’ unknown author. Referred to as 'Vitruvius'.
[1] Architecti est scientia pluribus disciplinis et variis eruditionibus ornata, cuius iudicio probantur omnia quae ab ceteris artibus perficiuntur. Opera ea nascitur et fabrica et ratiocinatione. Fabrica est continuata ac trita usus meditatio, quae manibus perficitur e materia cuiuscumque generis opus est ad propositum deformationis. Ratiocinatio autem est. quae res fabricatas sollertiae ac rationis proportione demonstrare atque explicare potest.
Architecture is the science of many disciplines were decorated with much and varied learning, and his judgment the esteem of all things that are from the other arts are completed. The works of those things is born and practice and theory. Device is the continuous and regular exercise of employment, which is the work of the hands of any necessary material according to the design of a drawing is completed. The reasoning is. demonstrate and explain the productions of dexterity on the principles which the proportion.
Source: UiTRuuii De Architectura : Liber I The works of the chief builders: Book 1
Interpretation. Architecture is a multi-disciplinary science involving Practical and Theoretical work.
[18] Cum ergo talia ingenia ab naturali sollertia non passim cunctis gentibus sed paucis viris habere concedatur, officium vero architecti omnibus eruditionibus debeat esse exercitatum, et ratio propter amplitudinem rei permittat non iuxta necessitatem summas sed etiam mediocris scientias habere disciplinarum, peto....
When, therefore, such talents due to natural capacity is not vouchsafed at random to entire nations, but only a few men to have the permission is given, all the teachings of the office of the architects, however, ought to be practiced, and the reason for the necessity of the palms of her, according to the account of the extent of the thing it does not allow to have the sciences disciplines but also average,....
Source: UiTRuuii De Architectura : Liber I The works of the chief builders: Book 1
Interpretation. The Architect should be aware of the sciences and their consequences whilst not being the actual practitioner of them all.
The Modern Architect
This is what Architects also do as described by Umberto Eco in ' FUNCTION AND SIGN: THE SEMIOTICS OF ARCHITECTURE SEMIOTICS AND ARCHITECTURE '
'From the point of view of common sense, this means that to produce the new architecture Le Corbusier was obliged, before thinking like an architect, to think like a sociologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, an ideologist, etc., and we will return to that shortly. But first we night consider the peculiarity of
the phenomenon from the semiotic point of view.'
Source:P16 FUNCTION AND SIGN: THE SEMIOTICS OF ARCHITECTURE SEMIOTICS AND ARCHITECTURE Umberto Eco
'So the architect,; in practice, is continually obliged to be something other than an architect. Time and again he is forced to become something of a sociologist, a psychologist, an anthropologist a semiotician ... And that he can rely in this to some extent or teamwork - that is, on having experts in the various fields working with him - does not change the situation very much, even if teamwork makes it seem less a mater of guesswork. Forced to find forms that will give form to systems over which ,he has no power, forced to articulate a language that has always to express something external to it - we said there were possibilities of the poetic function and self-reflexivness in architecture, but the fact remains that because of its very nature (and even though it has traditionally been understood as a matter of pure 'arrangement' regarding only its own forrns) these can never 'take over' in it, as they can in other types of discourse, such as in poetry, painting or music - the architect finds himself obliged in his work to think in, terns of the totality, and this he must do no matter how much he may seem to have become a technician, a specialist, someone intent on specific operations rather than general questions.'
Source: P18 FUNCTION AND SIGN: THE SEMIOTICS OF ARCHITECTURE SEMIOTICS AND ARCHITECTURE Umberto Eco
Definition for a Post 2020 Depletion World:
The term ‘Architect’ is currently one of general use in the everyday language of our society.
Actual Architects preserve the professional use of the title through their professional bodies and the Acts of Parliament covering their professional status.
Context is changing. If depletion continues then energy, resources, environment, technology, manufacturing, production, transport, retailing, employment and administration will all change.
The term ‘Architect’ must therefore vary its original meaning in relation to its new contextual roles.
The RIBA has addressed this question in 'The Future for Architects?' publication, and in the recent Plan of Work in 2013.
These are also leading to the clarification of the current overlapping roles associated with the term Architect.
Conclusions
Architects have abilities that can.
Observe, analyze and record new requirements and new functions of the world.
Confirm current and future connections between needs, values, qualities, appreciations of beauty, cultures, and societies through description of requirements, functions, artifact, creation, contextual symbols, signs, metaphor, analogy, ontology, semantics, syntactics, drawn and written documents.
Catalogue the results in context and raise for discussion all changes.
Re-test all findings constantly in context.
If economically possible and the need remains analyze the creation of the needs functions as a form.
If the form is built already and the need no longer remains or the functions have changed analyze the recycling of the form.
Architects by their actual nature, will carry out one of their roles and self check their own context.
Ian K Whittaker
Websites:
https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles
Email: iankwhittaker@gmail.com
12/01/2014
14/10/2020
1009 words over 2 pages