The Architect and the God Complex

Erin Gilbert-Williams

“Early in life I had to choose between arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change.”Frank Lloyd Wright

Compiled by Raudsepp, Eugene. The World's Best Thoughts on Life & Living. New York: Penguin, 1981. From

http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/architects_and_architecture_quotes.html

Signs of a prideful architect

“Every great architect is — necessarily — a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age.”Frank Lloyd Wright

Wright, Frank Llyod. The Future of Architecture. University of Verginia: New American Library, 1970.

Signs of a prideful architect

Society needs a good image of itself. That is the job of the architect.Walter Gropius

Signs of a prideful architect

Robertson, Connie ed. Dictionary of Quotations: Third Edition, Newly Revised. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, Ltd, 1998. 158. From http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/architects_and_architecture_quotes.html

Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space.Mies van der Rohe (1923)

Watkin, David. Morality and Architecture Revisited. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1977. From http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/architects_and_architecture_quotes.html

Signs of a prideful architect

Why we love them

Frank Gehry, Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, Californiahttp://www.metropolismag.com/pov/tag/frank-gehry

Why we love them

Friedman, Mildred S., Lavin, Sylvia. Frank Gehry: The Houses. New York:Rizzoli, 2009.

Sylvia Lavin and Mildred S. Friedman in their book Frank Gehry: The Houses praise his innovation in design and the his use of material. They have described him as ‘groundbreaking.’

Why we love them

Daniel Libskind, Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, Essex, United Kingdomhttp://www.archiscene.net/firms/studio-daniel-libeskind/page/2/

Why we love them

http://www.ted.com/speakers/daniel_libeskind.html

With the use of socially media, people all over the web have praised Libeskind. A website that promotes speakers, TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, refers Libeskind as a renaissance man.

Why we love them

Frank Lloyd Wright, Guggenheim, New York, New Yorkhttp://diydilettante.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/diy-design-a-house-like-frank-lloyd-wright/

Why we love them

Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, 2012http://gowright.org/research/about-frank-lloyd-wright.html

The preservation trust for Frank Lloyd Wright claims that Wright developed an ‘American’ style. “Every structure he created was informed by his belief that beautifully designed buildings make a difference in our lives.”

What architects are missing

Reality sometimes gets in the way of the ideal plan. Pruitt-Igoe, for example, was intended to serve whites and blacks. Black families in particular were being re-locate to the city in order to rid the city of the poorer areas. While the architects had intended a nice environment, parks, trash disposal, elevators, and a homey like environment, the financial needs and racial tensions of the time were overlooked. Ultimately reality outweighed the ideal.

http://www.pruitt-igoe.com/

ITDG met with woman from the Maasai tribe in Kenya to help them develop a home that could meet the need for an increase in stationary families. The Maasai have traditionally been nomadic, but due to the change of land ownership, they have had to develop more permanent residences. The woman of the tribe were the primary decision makers. Through meetings, ITDG learned that families needed a more space that could easily be maintained. The people of the Maasai, after having experimented with several solutions offered by ITDG, decided that a type of cement reinforced with chicken wire was the best solution for them. Space and windows were enlarged, disease decreased, and water collectors developed.

How architecture is changing

Architecture for Humanity. Design Like You Give a Damn:Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises. New York: Metropolis, 2006. 141-145.

Bayview Village is a rural village that consisted primarily of poor black families. RBGC Architecture, Research and Urbanism worked with the community, the Nature Conservancy, and the NAACP to re-develop the community and the homes. They used a systematic approach, and the project took many years but was intended to meet multiple needs of the community

How architecture is changing

Architecture for Humanity. Design Like You Give a Damn:Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises. Interview with Maurice D. Cox. New York: Metropolis, 2006. 155-163.