Architecture's Hidden Truths

I have been struggling to think of something to write about since I got back from visiting my home town for Thanksgiving…I’ve decided to expand on a topic I brought up in a forum I’m a member of.

Architecture.

It amazes me that some of the most valuable architecture in the country (houses, office buildings, etc.) is modeled after the nature it inherently destroys. The more windows, skylights, patio doors, balconies, wood flooring, exposed trusses, the better.

It is true that having the feeling of being outside is comforting (consciously to me) apparently unconsciously to most. This civilization has so skewed the way people look at where they live that they have made the indoors as much like the outdoors as possible without it being “wild” or “uncontrollable”. In a mansion covered with windows you can successfully disconnect from nature while still watching and hearing the rain.

“Buildings, too, are children of Earth and Sun.” –Frank Lloyd Wright

Yet what is a spring shower without the drops pummeling off your face as you grin from puddle to puddle?

Folks will sit out on their balconies and patios for hours reading, writing, watching…yet they do not sit in their (often well manicured) yards, or go explore the last remaining stand of wood in their communities.

Property sells for more when located next to a city park than it does when located next to barely charted wilderness. This is a good thing for those like me that love the wilderness, but it’s strange to me at the same time. People want only concentrated and well controlled doses of nature in this society.

A potted plant, a skylight. Mention a large expanse of unfenced wood or a day out in rain gear splashing through mud and these same people who paid top dollar to feel close to nature will cringe in fear.

“God is the great mysterious motivator of what we call nature, and it has often been said by philosophers, that nature is the will of God. And I prefer to say that nature is the only body of God that we shall ever see.” –Frank Lloyd Wright

This applies on a large scale as well. Let’s take central park for instance. Humans need greenery, nature, life, and so we put it in the middle of our zones of destruction and death (cities). The apartments/condos overlooking the park sell for more money than I and ten of my friends will likely make in a lifetime.