Μετατόπιση και Ύπαρξη

Transcendence into Being

There is a need to have a second thought about what it is that we are doing, and occasions such as this provide an opportunity to discuss or perhaps only present, a position as at least one of us sees it.

I suppose making an observation relies upon a reading of the world. And any present reading of the world would need to take into consideration the terrible state of affairs that have always characterized the human condition; those things that seem, today, to be more present in our consciousness than ever before. I don’t mean the usual candidates for such a discussion. Rather, I suggest that it is the absence of elements that should be found to be troubling. The absence, for instance, of a need to find beauty in things and the absence, also, of a need to not know where things comes from. The absence of mystery, therefore; and the lack of seeking wonder; the lack of understanding the enormous worth of abstract thinking; these absences all take something away from us. Science, as the solution is not enough and we, in the world of architecture, the world that exists between science and art, must develop a language that transmits with power, a message about those aspects of the human condition that are not meant to be understood; those parts of our life that can only be experienced with wonder.

There is no virtue in having placed objects upon this earth that represent our time, our civilization, without offering within those objects insights into who we are; the value of our existence and what we can offer as a message for our future. To do this, what we have learnt from our history must be a starting point. The end-game must have something to do with transforming our present knowledge of the world into a meditation with positive intentions. Architecture, I believe, can make this transition from a cruel world, to a world which can fulfill the ever-present requirement for emotion.

This will allow us to not be bored by the dripping tap of apathy. The lack of seeking a higher order of things has indeed become debilitating.

And architecture, in my opinion, can provide these things; in a language with no words, in a language where spaces resonate with meaning, scientific and artistic meaning at once. We are able to see anew that the human condition remains responsive to eternal proportions and such pursuit may bring forth ancient ideas. Ancient architecture apprehends the frailties, the vulnerabilities and the limits of the human condition. It also understands its strengths. We can see that if we also lovingly embrace abstraction it can deliver our generation into the future within the vessel of the aspirations of our time; presented to those future generations in a way which allows our generation to be one of merit and offering.

These are my positive meditations for today and this is what I aspire to offer in my work; no more and no less.