How Architecture Got Ahold of Me

A recent campaign by Architecture for Humanity inspired me to remember why I love architecture.  I love architecture most for the emotions it can illicit, the potential of new technologies it possesses to improve human life, and the amount of human effort and artistry that goes into it.

As a child, I remember first thinking I’d be an architect when I became interested in the design of houses.  I’d occasionally tour the model homes of new housing developments with my mom and her friend, and I’d look through new homes guides and the real estate section of the paper to examine the floor plans that were sometimes included in the ads.  I even remember regularly watching a show put on by Long & Foster (local realtors) that was some kind of precursor to HGTV’s House Hunters. The show would feature some of the homes they were listing.

While today I wouldn’t really consider suburban tract homes to be Architecture (with capital A), they were a fascinating entry into the intersection of design, market forces, and technology.  It was – and still is- exciting for me to see different configurations of spaces that reflect different ways people live.  I remember being excited to learn what “in-law suites” and “spa tubs” were.  I was introduced not only to a new vocabulary, but features and types of rooms that didn’t exist in my parents’ 1950’s era suburban home.  It provoked me to think about how I might want to live, given a reason to leave the wonderful home I already occupied.

I still do this mental exercise when I visit exciting new buildings or watch them on TV.  I wonder, “Would I want to live here, work here, vacation here?” And I’m still particular about vocabulary.  I inwardly cringe every time I hear someone describe any large window a “bay window,” any curved stairway “spiral”, and any high ceiling “vaulted.”

As I got older, I decided on architecture as a career because it combined my love of art with love of people and would provide a way for me to be artistic while making a secure living. (Only later did I find out while it is more secure than freelance artistry, it is hardly a secure profession.  Layoffs are common as the market changes.)   In high school, I learned drafting skills and the basics of room design.   I also learned that although I might enjoy looking at residential designs, I did not enjoy creating them.  One particular kitchen redesign competition in my senior year taught me that.

It was in college that I really discovered what Architecture (with a capital A) is.  My mind was blown when in our first year, my professors asked the students not to configure rooms in functional layouts, but to understand how design elements evoke movement, calm, excitement and other moods or states.  I can still recall how impressed I was with how well some my fellow students succeeded in these tasks.  As I learned about the work of great architects, I was even more impressed with how they did these on a large scale.

In college, I was also introduced to architectural theory, which is a part of my studies now.  (In a forthcoming post, I will talk about the path that led to an eventual intersection of my appreciation for architectural theory and my love of theology.) Although not initially drawn to theory, I gradually came to appreciate the exercise of sustained reflection on why and how we make certain choices in the built environment.  Today, I use theological and religious concepts to discuss our architectural decisions.