American Architect Julia Morgan famously stated, “Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves.” However, I believe that architecture cannot be honestly described through an image alone.
In light of this, the Livia Firth remark “fast fashion like fast food, after the sugar rush leaves a bad taste in your mouth” describes the role of social media and photography in today’s architectural world. With “Instagrammable architecture” being used as a means to gauge the success or failure of architecture, the remark is proof that architecture is becoming nothing more than a fast fashion trend.
Alexandra Lange argues in her book Writing About Architecture that we can all become better critics by studying the writing styles of expert architects (Adams 2013). Although I agree with Lange, written architecture has its constraints. A major one being the communication of architectural terminologies. In the words of writer Dyckhoff (2018) “no problem in having a technical language within a profession, it’s when communicating with the rest of the universe that the problems arise”.
This makes visual representations a more effective way to critique architectural design. However, it is imperative to emphasize that without supporting critical text, images lack the impact or stimuli necessary to provoke an honest reaction from the public. This is why, in my opinion, using photos and supporting text to accurately describe architecture is the best approach.
Consider figures 1 and 2 below as examples. Without additional writing to describe the concept behind the design, it is difficult to comprehend.
Figure 1 - Instagram Post by teklan Figure 2 - ArchDaily
Although photography can be a useful tool for understanding and critiquing architecture, the degree to which a structure is Instagrammable cannot be used as a measure of success or failure. Photography is a useful tool to support architectural criticism, but when photos are posted to social media sites like Instagram to analyse a building’s success or failure, it is impractical because the only factor considered is visuals. Other factors like in person experience, climatic suitability and adaptability of the building, cost effectiveness, and so on, are difficult to comprehend from an Instagram photo. As a result, the building’s overall success or failure can never be fully scaled. “Architecture is about experience, not only visual but also what you can touch, what you can feel” (Ma Yagsong, 2016).
The issues with photography in architectural criticism originate from architectural photographers frequently thinking that their role is to capture what the architect intended rather than what the architect created. Since photographers are so deeply ingrained in the institutional networks that shape architectural creation, there is a taboo against critical photography. As a result, instead of capturing the structure’s authenticity and rawness, photographers attempt to take photos that are aesthetically pleasing (Wilkinson, 2015). It has become so ingrained in the world of architecture that “It’s an ideology that’s presented, not the actual structure.” (Libeskind, n.d.)
“I hope to persuade you that the decline of a print based epistemology and the accompanying rise of a television based epistemology has had grave consequences for public life, that we are getting sillier by the minute,” wrote Neil Postman in 1986. The truth is that most people no longer have their opinions; instead, they follow the trend, and those who do have opinions eventually feel compelled to do same, making us seem increasingly foolish by the minute. Trends are not inherently bad, but they divert attention from constructive criticism that ought to be directed at architecture.
According to the Roman architect Vitruvius (30–15BCE), all buildings should have “strength, utility, and beauty”. But more often than not, the design of a building is determined by how trendy or fashionable it is rather than the actual functions of the building. For instance, the Royal Ontario Museum’s extension (Figure 3) may appear amusing, and Instagrammable; but under what conditions is it useful? It contains a number of odd, empty corners and spaces that will never be used, adding to the wastage of materials and for what? The Instagram worthy selfie that will be forgotten in about a week?
In today’s society, social media and architectural photography play a similar function to fast fashion. It comes and goes, but no meaningful thought or analysis of the effects of these buildings on the world is made. As a result, architecture is being reduced to nothing more than, “Oh, this would be perfect for my Instagram.”
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