Architecture just like fine arts is considered as something that performs only decorative functions. It is important for beauty and esthetics, but does it really matters for us? Would we be able to live without architecture and how would that change the quality of our lives?
Beauty and esthetics is not a necessity. If we look at Maslow’s pyramid, we can clearly see that it is on the very top and things on the top are those we don’t really need for normal existence. So the short answer would be – no, architecture doesn’t matter to the whole society together. But if it’s so, why do we still invest so much money to make our houses, parks and whole cities beautiful?
First of all, we must understand that architecture is not really only about beauty. Architects’ job also includes projecting the resources used for buildings or other objects. Every building must have a form, color and other aspects. Even if it is very simple, still it is some kind of design and there must be someone who creates it. That means we need architects and architecture just to have any kind of buildings at all. The same refers to landscape architecture. It still needs some planning, even if it’s very simple.
Another question is about the specific, complicated designs. As we all know, we doesn’t use architects only for basic creation of buildings or other objects. Some people even pay thousands of euros only for the design itself. So is this kind of architecture also needed and does it matters?
Actually, it does. Of course it is not the basic necessity of humans’ life, but it does matter in a very high level. First of all it is a part of culture. Nowadays we admire architectural objects from the previous centuries. The architecture can tell a lot about each period of history, because the overall ideology is reflected in architecture. It is the way humans express their thoughts and feelings. Without architecture, maybe we would miss important aspects of humans’ history.
Architecture, just like fine arts, also is needed for making everyday life more interesting. That might seem meaningless, but then why people go to other countries or even other parts of the world to admire some well designed buildings or other objects? That is because nowadays people really need something to admire. We need to see beautiful things otherwise our lives are empty and meaningless.
Also we must mention that architects are inventors of many things. Architects’ task is not only to make things beautiful, but also practical. That is why architects come up with some new creative ideas. In the future architects have designed windows, furniture, doors and other thing that now we see as self evident. Also nowadays they come up with all kind of innovations to make our living easier.
At the end we can definitely ensure that architecture matters for all of us. Today’s society wouldn’t be so developed without architects and also nowadays architects are doing important, meaningful work. Maybe we could live without architecture, but the life quality would be lot lower than it is right now.