Architecture

Thanks to iTunes U, I've been getting a lot of lectures for free, and some of the most fascinating ones have been about architecture. It's a fascinating subject, no doubt, but these lectures, which have served as a sort of introduction, have opened my eyes.

Architecture can, and is many things. Buildings can be metaphors for and commentary on social problems, on politics, on relationships, on art, on structure on culture ...on just about anything. It also has its own specialised language, just like any other discipline, and can cross over sometimes into urban planning and interior design - just fascinating. What is also fascinating is the depth of meaning that can be hidden behind the buildings themselves, though that such meaning is only accessible to those in the know only, who know how to speak the language, seems somewhat elitist. In this aspect, I think it's quite similar to art, where sometimes only very few people can claim to know what the artist was thinking.

I hope my fascination doesn't turn into some "knowledge of rules and particulars and limited knowledge of colour and form" that Emerson warns against in his essay, The Poet. That's just shallow, and if I do end up doing that, then I'd only be acquiring a new dimension in order to show off.

What the lectures have sparked in me are ideas of different living spaces, and design elements, and a deeper appreciation of both. I've also for some reason also got some ideas of different houses I want to design (and maybe one day build...who knows?), but what's fascinating is that I imagine these to be different depending on the environment in which they are placed - no house is perfect for every environment, and so I have (for now) three different environments, for which I have three different kinds of house in mind. Maybe I'll post the specifics later, if I'm happy with how they look on paper, but for now I'm happy to open my mind to a new discipline.

I also have a comment to make on a deeper level - in studying architecture, as I am now, and in studying other subjects as diverse as philosophy, and programming...well..I think its possible to draw the best elements out of all disciplines, and that's what I hope to do.