What is architecture?

Jul 2009

By David Basulto — Filed under: Videos

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For MAYA design, authors of this video, What is Architecture?, that is architecture.

And for you?

About David Basulto: Graduate Architect. Co Founder and Executive Editor of ArchDaily.com. Architecture geek.

Cite:
Basulto , David . "What is architecture?" 14 Jul 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 09 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/28823>

Comments (36)
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Links to this entry (9)

john says:

so what is industrial design?…

# July 14, 2009 at 16:11

alofy says:

clearly this just taps right into the nervous area we all inhabit, of trying to define something that should by all academic/philosophical education transcend definition. but then why do we put so much thought/study into a ‘field’ that defies a ‘definition’ or a path of conclusion. architecture is the exploration and the development of this realm, not the conclusion of a discussion or an animation

# July 15, 2009 at 14:15

pi says:

refering to what we just have seen..it must be a part of architecture ;)

# July 14, 2009 at 16:30

john says:

you got me there!

poor industrial designers, no respect.

# July 14, 2009 at 19:21

Mookie Wilson says:

2D, 1 cup.

# July 14, 2009 at 16:30

Dita says:

So.. every other kind of design; product, industrial, etc, would fall under architecture. Hmm… somehow I think I’ve been thinking that way. So I somewhat agree with it. in a sense of architecture as an idea, maybe not necessarily the real technicality of it.

# July 14, 2009 at 16:49

David says:

architecture is (in brief): investigating and controlling the physical world´s influence on the state of mind of the human race. a cup is a brilliant point of view.

# July 14, 2009 at 17:03

yawn says:

a little too crazy with the blur/focus effect.
a tiny bit too much pan/zoom movement, gave me a slight Q3-railgun nausea feeling

loved the animation
switched between 2D/3D were very nice.

didn’t pay much attention to the content however.

nice work, would love to see the next one.

# July 14, 2009 at 17:28

zzzzz says:

Yawn at yawns comment

# July 14, 2009 at 17:45

nothing to say says:

Great! Now let’s see one on the meaning of life.

# July 14, 2009 at 18:49

dzahsh says:

no, i think thats called typology. which is a part of architecture, yes.

# July 14, 2009 at 19:47

nothing to say says:

i can agree with you. specially after having read Rafael Moneo’s On Typology. He even uses a similar example to that of the cup. But, you know, whatever. Who cares about architecture anymore.

# July 14, 2009 at 20:25

dzahsh says:

depends on how you define it

# July 14, 2009 at 20:33

architect54 says:

The irony of this clip is that it was produced to describe INFORMATION architecture. This essentially describes the point of view of information architects. MAYA Design, software designers, have dictated a very valid description of architecture that applies to architects. This company reminds me of IDEO.

This clip applies to ways “building” architects are NOT applying their skills. Commerce of designing a building may not allow the full reduction this video describes. Yet the clip speaks to parsing out irrelevant information, reducing to the needs (program perhaps) and then allowing for “design” to occur after. I’ve been trying to understand this clip and how it relates to the profession of an architect. This clip is foretelling of an architect’s relevance. Are architects influencing construction methods, materials, sustainability, and safety? Or are we being dictated to and applying style?

# July 14, 2009 at 20:59

DA says:

you made me watch it several times, 54 – thanks.
I’d like to think that true architecture does affect method, medium and experience. – often after the program has been defined.
The program, (or as MAYA puts it, the architecture) for a cup can be as infinite as the designs that stem from its program, can’t it? And at some point, it’s fair to assume, that its architecture can simply change during the design process.
In that regard – to respond to john – some industrial designers are engaged in this verb “architecture”. And many architects, are simply designers.
stupid cartoon…

# July 14, 2009 at 22:22

INawe says:

Yes and No… I think architects can and should be pushed further than just applying style and the afore mentioned functions. Let me put it this way, how can we push the cup design so far that it is no longer just a cup or how a person uses a cup. Even though architects are limited to just the design of the “object,” its the combination of its different elements along side conceptual ideas and theory which lends itself to inevitably unique solutions that can even inspire. Otherwise these mass produced cookie cutter “cups” just become another form that follows function.