A few years ago, I had the privilege of touring the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. For this architecture lover, it was a dream come true. I remember dragging my three kids along the tour (they were “bored”…whatever.), but trying to take in every element of the rooms and the structure. In one room, there was a special display that included some of the original blueprints. It struck me that while the details themselves were minimal, the art of architecture was radiating from these prints. It was almost as if the architect (Richard Morris Hunt) had the ability to portray the beauty of the building without neglecting the intent of the design.
Back to reality, in this age of technology, and I wonder if we haven’t lost some of that creative spark within our models. Sure, we still come up with some pretty cool buildings, but do our models and drawings really convey beauty and creativity? Are the visions of the architect portrayed in our deliverables, or do we accept mediocrity because “that’s just the way Revit does it”? (I personally don’t accept this reasoning from our users.) We use content that we find online because it’s convenient (but ugly as sin), and try to fudge our way through drawings that are “just good enough.”
Certainly the purpose of our drawings is to convey design intent, to communicate to our municipalities, our contractors and our clients with clear understanding. But I wonder if there is a way to capture once again the art of architecture with the technology of today, and to produce a masterpiece that portrays the heart of the architect.
I hear you.
I’ve often thought it strange that as we have more power than ever behind our design tools, the designs themselves are being optimized into blandness.
What’s happened to the idea of delighting the viewer/user of the building by adding decorative touches?