Issues:

Architecture is the natural human response to the biological need for shelter and security from the environment. Humans rely on one another for protection and survival, and therefore tended to gather. Once agriculture enabled a settled lifestyle, cities began to emerge. When the invention of the automobile allowed for greater mobility, the initial city settlements surrounded by the agricultural support fields gave way to a new type of habitat- suburbia. I am a firm believer in the need for the social structure, culture and economic support that the city provides. I am a fan of the city and the mass culture it produces. I am not a fan of the architecture within it. I think that people accept the prevailing conditions, whether they be conducive or prohibitive to daily function. The problem with modern architecture is the near obsession with function. The first thing we do as designers is label spaces and design for the normal functions to take place within. This has standardized architecture. In some ways this has been useful- as far as economy and ease of construction. It's been reduced to a kit of parts fit inside equally standardized facades that may have no relation to the organization within. Here we can see the basis of the skyscraper and the McMansion in this one foul move. All of this has been supported by the government imposed regulations and codes. Yet, some of the greatest spaces have been created spontaneously- with little or no consideration of specific function. The original city was filled with reason and charm without the superimposition of a set of rules dictating standardization and functionality. It was intuitive. It is the architect's job to actively question set spatial assumptions. Are these standardized forms the best we can do? What can be done differently and why would we do it? What benefit would it produce? Our intuition can be put to the test designing literally outside the box. I think it's our job to question everything from our social structure, living conditions, and cultural norms. Architecture can not solve everything, but it is one link in the chain towards a better way of life.