The Arrogance of Subservience

"Architects are servants, not leaders.  They are not to assert their little egos, but to express the soul of their country and the rhythm of their time.  They are not to assert the delusions of their personal fancy, but to see, the common denominator which will bring their work close to the heart of the masses." - taken from 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand

Architecture is a field that is both authoritarian, and compliant.

The idea that one's design philosophies are worthy enough to be imposed on humanity, is no more than a form of pageantry for the arrogant.  The vocation allows for an individual's creative thought process to be translated into a design, which is then transformed into a living, breathing organism.  This organism - a constructed space - is however, exposed in all of its vulnerable state for the world to experience, critique, and eventually accept.

The sculpting of a space is no more the Architect's will and client's desire, than it is an ethical obligation to society.  The Architect must anticipate, interpret, and transform the needs of the client, to create a product that caresses personal ego, excites the client, and is fitting to the culture of the people in that era of time.

The understanding that 'creativity belongs to no one' is a concept that not many appreciate.  In 'The Fountainhead', Rand states "...there was no such thing as free will, since men's creative impulses were determined, as all else, by the economic structure of the epoch in which they lived."  This idea stems from the concept that a designer's though process has been molded by the consensus of acceptable notions over time.  We gravitate towards ideals that we have been taught to be acceptable.  Our genius rides on the backs of ideologies that have been tried and tested.

...and yet, the inconceivable comes to life in every design that advances just enough in the field to fall clumsily into the category of "innovative."

Quotes from:

Rand, A. (1943) The Fountainhead. London: Penguin Books.

Photo courtesy of:

ARCHI ALTERNATIVE (2011) This Is What We Do [Online] Available from: http://archialternative.com/2011/04/25/this-is-what-we-do/ [Accessed: 23 June 2015]