A Personal View of Architecture

By Sufiyanu Momoh

Coming into college to study architecture I had the impression that architecture was all about creativity in design, bringing out inner thought of design to reality and the view of the public. It did not take me long to realize that architecture as an occupation expands way beyond that. I personally feel architects could be regarded as artists but architecture as an occupation requires way more than that Realizing that designing a building with the aim at it being built goes way beyond it just looking really fancy.

   A lot of people outside the occupation would think an architect’s job is just about drawing floor plans. This leads me to thinking architecture as a profession was more about creativity in three major areas. our response to reality with our design. Economical manipulation within our budget and finally creating our selling points. One of the major things that distinguishes an architect from an artist is the scale of our products. Architects design things at such a large scale that not every single design can be brought to reality. Which brings me to mentioning that an architect is not only responsible for designing the looks of the building but also responsible for designing how the structure is going to be built and how it stands. This is part of the things that separate an architect from a designer.

    Secondly a good architect is one that can think for a good design which is highly feasible at a very low cost. This is usually done by putting a lot of thoughts into the construction method and materials put into it. Personally I feel like architect is way deeper than the looks. The best architecture to me are the once that represent the saying “less is more” ludwig mies van der rohe. Simplicity is best, the most simply things could end up being the most amazing things in design. These designs might have required a whole lot thoughts before getting to that one solution that cost a whole lot less due to its simplicity in construction and solution of materials used. This further applies to how sustainable the structure is and how much it can save your in the long run. As an architect I feel like every client wants the best for their money’s worth. The more money you can save the client the more amazing things you can do with extra money on the budget.  the st Louis arch is an example of the structure that looks very simple or perhaps very simple because of the simple shape. But the thought of applying the concept of a very stable structure such as the arch to make an architecture lard mark of that size is amazing.

    Finally Ill touch on what I call the selling point. The public eye doesn’t see a lot of things that we architect focus taking time out to design a structure that functions and works very well at a very low cost and focusing on certain things that would probably catch the public eye seems to be the most admired architecture. But another thing that makes a great architect is being able to pick the selling points that would definitely sell. “You have to sell the selling point” said maja horst

  the aqua tower Chicago designed by studio gang architects is one structure that amazes as it has great selling points with a very simple structure. This building is literally a tall rectangular building with extruding curvy balcony which serves as a selling point from both the out because of the wavy aquatic look it gives the structure and the inside because of the view the clients get from this balconies.