architecture vs. andy

VS.

architecture is...

an expression of pop culture. Every few years or so, a new fad in architecture manifests. Currently, sustainable or green architecture is the new in-thing. Before that, it was blog-itecture, and previous to that, modernism. The list can go on. While architecture is evolving, normal, everyday architecture such as houses, apartment buildings, offices, etc. is stagnant and boring. Cookie-cutter houses are continuing to be built. Block buildings that house tenants or businessmen rarely challenge their architectural potential. It seems more economical to continue building what we are familiar with. Unless a building is high-profile, a museum, or other public institute, it rarely attracts the amount of investigation and research needed for its design and construction. Therefore, while architecture is meant to be for the masses, it ends up serving the elite, those who partake in augmenting their culture and education. Instead of being a fad or a billboard for the city, architecture should engage the everyday lives of each citizen on a conscious level and not in a passage way of merely providing shelter.