Hello Shashank Chakradeo
Well I think that the answer for your
question pass by 3 steps or phases:-
Dealing with Architecture.
Participating in Architecture
So I'll try to make myself clear.
I can say that every type of people
can understand it according to his own references ( values, and cultural
background��etc ), which differs from classes to masses.
Dealing with Architecture
According to the this concept, I can
say that classes deal with Architecture in a way completely different to what
masses can deal with; classes understand things like the value, beauty, nature
of a building/place more than masses which find architecture just a place to
live and stay in, whatever the place looks like or it's condition is.
Participating in Architecture
So we can find the attitude of how
classes and masses participate in architecture has tow opposite ways:-
In this attitude, people deals with the community either on the minor scale (
like in one building ) or the major scale ( district, city, community ��etc )
and try to improve the situation and make standards for living.
Passive: In this attitude, people have no real participation
with the surround community and built environment.
Well to explain more, take an example
on the minor scale which's one building:
have Active attitude, where they try to make the place as good as they can,
either inside the own apartment or the complete building, by taking care of the
regular maintenance for the building��.etc, while Mass
have the passive attitude, where they don't care about the place at all, and
whatever the condition of the place is, they agree to live in, as they always
see that there's nothing better than it, or it's place where we have a shelter
to live in,�� things like that, and they refer this to the economic aspect as the
NB: on contrary, mass have
strong interaction between them - on the human level - where you can find people
share each other and take care about each other �� I mean they can communicate
between them better than classes can do in many times.
Well I see mass have to participate
in architecture, and this come by making upgrading programs for them, specially
when dealing with historic cities, and squatter settlements, where cultural and
social programs must be in parallel with the physical upgrading ( building,
facilities, infrastructure, spaces ��etc ), and this help people to deal better
in future, for example like do understand the importance of making the place
always clean and put wastes in the recycle bin, saving water��. Issues like that.
But at the same time, I can't deny
the role of architects to built proper buildings and dealing better with the
needs of the mass, and you can see that those people - specially in the squatter
settlements - try to build by themselves, according to there own vision. So,
it's a matter of trying to establish a real interaction between classes and
people, and I think that education is the key for this, as I see 90% of the
problems related with not being well educated: don't discuss with an uneducated
man about the beauty of the Louver or or Gity Center or Millennium Dome, or
about city of future, or how great and brilliant Beethoven was in composing his
9 symphonies - even he was almost deaf - or how great was Helene Killer or Taha
Hussien, or Marie Curie or Najeeb Mahfoz or Ahemd Zewal or or or ...... because
- simply - he only need to fulfill his basic needs at first, then he can try to
understand the world around him.
So it's very important to upgrade the
Fulfilling there basic needs at
Improving the place where they live
in, and this must be with complete contribution between mass, and developers (
architects and socials ).
Upgrading people, and focusing on
the young children, and girls too because it's easy to educate them when they
are young, and they can have a role in future in the process of communicating
with the world better than there fathers and grandsons.
But I must confess that it's hard -
but not impossible - to try to establish this, because it need many contribution
from many people�� example for this: Hassan Fathy, from the concept of community
interaction, and how to built according to the local identity, and I'm not
talking about construction techniques, but the concept of participation. Also
Ghandy when he try to make India free.
Whishing you all the best,