Abstract: Of all ARTS, Architecture takes upon itself a unique
commitment and responsibility to mankind. In the context of Philippine society,
Architecture carries that conscience
and expectation. A structure
designed and built by an Architect has to last the longest time possible. It must be beautiful and Functional. Though beauty
is in the eyes of the beholder, yet, architecture has been known in this earth
to be beautiful, functional and strong.
To a painting that lasts
until the painter dies, it becomes priceless. To a Jeweller to keep those gems,
it’s a cherished treasure. But what are
they? They are decorations that makes
our lifestyle glitters, Arts we see and touch to the most. This makes Architecture
stand as unique in its own. Human takes
Architecture as his dwelling and becomes a part of his everyday living. Everytime a structure is built, it carries in itself
the strength to withstand the test of Nature.
No matter what excuses there are
in terms of new materials and methods of construction, still people expect such
structure to last. And people expect an Architect’s work to be beautiful as it
accommodates his lifestyle. There is no
choice for the Architect but make a firm stand… that this work satisfy what
Vitruvius proclaimed as Firmitas, (strength) Utilistas, (Function) Venustas.
(Beauty)
These human expectations
as the viewer and user or occupant is in same force with the Architect’s pride
and bursting self-esteem. Human
Expectations that when failed, will pull down an Architect up to the bitterness
of his professional practice. The self-esteem and pride of every Architect in
his work serves both the good and the evil. Good is true for his drive to
create more as his self-esteem is boasted more.
But bad is near when his pride
is challenged that may push him to do what is upright and sometimes illegal
just to validate a title or criticism. Architecture is a creation of human for human. Wherever view it is seen, it is full of
responsibility. There is triumph and victory in the practice of this profession
and coined with that, there is a so
called Burden of Architecture.
Introduction
The Burden of Architecture had been
existing in our life eversince the era of the Pharaos in Ancient times. To make
a twist and present that positive note, Architects ascapes from the word “
burden” . The Free Dictionary has made its definition of burden as – something
that is emotionally difficult to bear. Understandably, the fact that Architecture
shelters human being, this cannot be relegated to the background.
As lifestyle and trend in society moves faster, moreover with the Generation Y, the present Architecture
now faces many challenges. These challenges forms part of the burdens within
the Architects’ inner self, the influence of
Culture, the political will power that pastes an Imagery of what would
be the Architecture of the time being, the Media that is on a race track with
the development of technology and most of all, MAN ITSELF as the hardest
element to convince. This paper evolves on these influences and phenomenon such
as:
The Burden of Architecture as affected by
the Imagery to its people.
The
Burden of Architecture due to the influence of culture.
The
Morality and Architecture: the heaviest
burden.
The Legal Burden of Architecture .
1.
The Burden of Architecture
as affected by the Imagery to its people.
When
Author Robert Wilson asked Charles Correa in an Interview published with Uncube, Rob asked Charles if at the beginning
of his career, was he hoping to invent a new architecture for post-independence
India? Charles retold the fable of
Animal Farm by George Orwell. It was said, “ The farmer has this big house that
intimidates all the animals – so they decide to revolt and burn his house down.
But when he runs away, they are too excited and tired – and a few days later
the pigs move into the house and start running the farm exactly as the farmer
did. And if a cow or horse protests, the pigs just show them a picture of the
farmer’s house to frighten them.”
1.1. Imagery in the Philippines: Imagery is a visual symbolism that
appeals to the human eye to deepen his understanding to what is being conveyed
to. In the Philippine setting, the government is not running out of imagery to
frighten the people. Imagery had been usefull to sway people’s beliefs. It is a
way for the government to post a promise and assurance when a Billboard say.. “
On this Site will rise......” For every
doubt in the future of economy, there
lies plans and promises of good architecture. The on going development of the Entertainment
City in Pasay City boasting for its Manila Eye as equivalent the world’s famous London Eye, the
sparkling night life and the latest of
the business hub design to be later called as the Las Vegas of Asia is a good example of an
imagery. Publicity about this idea form Philippine Gaming Corporation (Pagcor)
with the banner bearer, the prominent people behind had shaded the Filipino
vision of an outstanding economy. This is imagery, this brainwashes the
Filipino mind, well, for good, for everybody to be positive and not to think of
the debts of the Philippine Government where until your grandson’s grandson has
to pay for life.
1.2. Are Imagery Positively contagious? The writer agree that
these developments had commenced, and hopefully will bring economic stability
to the country. Yet, there are these
hidden agenda and still many things to do for the Filipino named Juan de
la Cruz. Architecture is the most
fastest image conveyor. It is visual and its palatable to any investor’s eye.
Had the Architects realized that without their skills, talents and passion to
visualize and present their perspectives, this world will not see an image of a
bright future?
1.3. How does Imagery becomes a burden of Architecture? The Burden of Architecture
of a country like the Philippines is when these promises will be in vain. Many
billboards of government proposed projects enhanced and already accepted by the
Filipino people due to impressive perspectives and illustrations brought about
by high technology in Advertising remained billboards. Some are seen along highways
with names of Architect/ Designers and Consultants. Sour grapes shall be yours
when government allocations change course and such billboards diminishes with
the typhoon. Whatever the cause maybe, still the name of the architect already
strikes a light in the viewer’s eye. May the upcoming imagery the world will
throw will be for the good of Architecture.
2.
The Burden of Architecture. Claiming
Filipino Identity
During the 1980”s when this Writer was entering College of Architecture in one of the Catholic Universities in the Visayas, Arch Nathaniel Von Einsiedel had that most
awaited talk in the City hosted by both the Architects and Engineers. (Thanks
that there was no RA 9266 in battle yet with the Civil Engineers). Time was
when Arch Francisco Manosa was greatly known for the fruits of the Imeldific
Giant Projects especially the Coconut Palace. In his talk, Arch Einsiedel was strongly encouraging Illongo students to Read
Books to nourish their minds to design Filipino, pushing Filipino Architecture.
The Open Forum got inquiries like: How can we design Filipino when we don’t
have enough reading materials that are Filipino?. There was no George Salvan
History of Architecture yet, only the Sir Banister Fletcher book that talks like,
about the sketched Renaissance Architecture so finely. True enough, we don’t
have enough Books to read that are Filipino those times.
2.1 Break –Free and claim Filipino Architecture Identity
Presently, the cyberworld conquered us
all and the e-books flooding everywhere. Surprisingly, the Information
Technology brings us foreign designs with matching DYI “Do it Yourself”
equipments and Building Materials Installations mostly of synthetic, plastic,
metals and glass. According to Ar. Paulo Alcazaren, “The problem with
Philippine architecture is, in fact,
its invisibility. Nobody can substantially
define it, the public does not know it exists beyond the nipa hut and if
it does exist, it is otherwise rendered unrecognizable because it hides behind
(and I really must reiterate) monstrous billboards, or underneath a foreign
façade; in many instances actually designed by a foreigner.” It is Philippine
art invisibility that was tackled in a talk delivered by culture maven Dr. Nina
Baker at the Ayala Museum recently. The title of the talk was "Breaking
into the Global Arena: What does it take?" Dr. Baker put Philippine art in
focus, looking at issues of national identity, the hegemonic burden of
colonialism and today’s globalization of art and culture mainly through new art
and multi-media forms (and by inference, architecture).
According to Alcazaren, “ Her conclusion:
we Filipinos (and our art) have been invisible to the world probably because of
our culture’s innate plasticity, our ability to quickly assimilate, absorb,
adapt to and adopt forms ( fashion, speech, art, architecture, etc.) So, are we cultural chameleons rendering
ourselves mestizo clones from those we chose to valorize? Is our hybrid culture
of continuous hybridism with no end in sight except copycatting?”
2.2 Origen of
Filipino Architectural Education, how does it affects our Designs.
The Architecture in this country had been
living with a burden, inherited from our ancestors, so to say, since even our
First Filipino Registered Architect Don Tomas Mapúa, obtained his degree at
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in the
US. And therefore following there on,
more Architects studied and trained abroad brought International Architectural
Designs to the country. The Filipino Architecture must break-free and with the
strong FILIPINO IDENTITY implemented in our Designs started by the Marcos
Regime, slowly the Filipino Architecture is getting its Identity.
3.
The Morality and Architecture: the heaviest burden.
Many debates on the Morality and
Architecture had touched significant issues concerning the past and the
present. Some of these can be read in books, blogs and social media pages
reaching the young and the olds in the Profession and in Business sector. The
art historian David Watkin against any attempt to ground architecture on
morality, expressed in his book Morality
and Architecture, first
published by Oxford
University Press in
1977. Watkin maintains that the claim of architecture to morality
undermines individual imagination as well as the aesthetic value of the work
carried on by artistic tradition. Watkin’s approach is not only very close to
Kant’s concept of aesthetic autonomy
but, more than
that, it rigorously
defends the supremacy
of the aesthetic factor in
architecture. On this ground, Watkin proceeds to a critique of the
architectural theory of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth
century. He classifies architectural theory in three categories:
1. “architecture enters the threshold of
the twentieth century suffering an inner contradiction between its aesthetic
self claiming total independence and a moral, engaged into a social mission,
self”
2.
According to
Watkin (1977, pp. 3-4), it is the nineteenth art theorist Pugin he who
initiates architecture’s claim to morality in the modern era. In his Contrasts
(1836), Pugin claims that the same principles that underlie religious truths
should underlie the form of a building.
Engaged in the legacy of Pugin’s claim
to truth, Modern architecture has
to defeat religious doctrines with some other kind of truth, Watkin argues.1 Thus, in order to be morally justified,
Modern architecture has to become a rational instrument of social policy.
Furthermore, it has to express the “true” nature of the materials.
3. Le Corbusier’s words: “A man who
practices a religion and does not believe in it is a poor wretch; (…) We are to
be pitied for living in unworthy houses, since they ruin our health and our
morale”(Le Corbusier 1987, p. 14).
3.1 Reconcile the Past and the Present Trends in
Professional Practice as History enlightens the
issue of the Burden of Architecture.
Renaissance
architecture seems to be an excellent example of understanding and
interpretation of past values. In the
book written by Helen Tatla, Morality and Architecture , the philosophy of Gadamer says that in the Quattro
libri dell’ architettura, first published in 1570, Palladio maintains that “the practice of architecture as a
manifestation of virtue is a moral obligation for the architect: (Palladio 1965). This is true even in the
Philippine scenario as supported by the Architect’s Code of Ethics. Thus,
Architects were taught to be modest even not permitted to do
advertisements. It became a burden as a
moral obligation to stay “not commercially inclined” but to focus on “serving
towards the Interest of the Client”.
At present, there is still a debatable
issue whether to advertise as part of Business Marketing Strategy does not
contradicts the Architects’ Code of Ethics.
3.2
Responsibility in Design.
The third category of architectural
theory dealing with the principles underlying Modern architecture, discussed in the book written by Helen Tatla,
Morality and Architecture which Watkin despises, is the rational-technological
one. It originates in the 18th century
French theorists and is related to Classical, Gothic or “modern” architecture.
As Viollet-le-Duc (1889, vol. I, p. 448)) puts it, giving a mechanistic
interpretation of the Gothic, “we must
be true in respect of the programme, and true in respect of the constructive
processes.” (Watkin 1977, p.
The programme, concerning the organization of
human functional needs in space, as well as the structural needs of the work,
constitute - in moral terms – the source of form of modern architecture. Truth
and morality are defined on the basis of universality implied by a new
collectivist society. Watkin says, “We
can gather that individual taste and imagination are immoral and false as far
as architectural form is concerned (Watkin 1977, p. 14; Pevsner 2005, pp.
110-11).
In archinology, documentaries of the first recorded study of ethics that was by
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and their contemporaries, used words that in translation had multiple
meanings: the term aischron described something 'shameful' as well as
'ugly', and kal's referred to something as being 'honorable' and/or
'beautiful'.
This duality of meaning seems to
indicate that there was an early relationship between ethics and aesthetics,
which in turn may relate to a link between the character of an architect, the
approach to design, and the quality of the work.
Increasingly unachievable is the very basic human characteristic of
feeling, or being, ‘in place’. Humans have not evolved in a way that we are no
longer in need of or incapable of experiencing and knowing places. However, our
use and exploitation of the human environment is indifferent to place. When
people depend on place to define meaning, then it is that indifference that is
in need of ethical scrutiny. For humanity to live in a more permanent, grounded
self, we need to renew the ethical framework to remind us of the virtues of
life and help create and preserve place.
3.3
Capture the Positive Effect of
realizing this Burden at Present.
The famous Architect Zaha
Hadid was questioned about the migrant workers who have died while working on
the al-Wakrah stadium in Qatar, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. Ms. Hadid
likened her concern for their plight to her concern for Iraqi deaths: “I’m more
concerned about the deaths in Iraq as well, so what do I do about that? I’m not
taking it lightly but I think it’s for the government to look to take care of.
It’s not my duty as an architect to look at it.” She further asserted that her
responsibility was limited to personal censure: “I can make a statement, a personal
statement, about the situation with the workers, but I cannot do anything about
it because I have no power to do anything about it.”
In another publication, Zaha Hadid made a statement when asked about conditions on construction
projects for the Qatar World Cup, Hadid responded that it was responsibility of
the Qatari government not architects to address issues relating to worker
deaths. "It's not my duty as an architect to look at it," said Hadid.
"I cannot do anything about it because I have no power to do anything
about it. I think it's a problem anywhere in the world. But, as I said, I think
there are discrepancies all over the world." "I have nothing to do
with the workers," she added. "I think that's an issue the government
– if there's a problem – should pick up. Hopefully, these things will be
resolved."
3.4 Unfortunate Incidents during the Project
Implimentation as Burden of Architecture
As elaborated by the Author Sheri
Wing in the Article: Moral Responsibility: Zaha Hadid and the al-Wakrah
Stadium”, Metropolis ask if, when a disaster occurs during an
economic or architectural endeavor, is it just a matter of legal responsibility
or is there a moral component as well? Does the fame of the architect somehow
mitigate the responsibility? Or, as some actors have claimed, does one's fame
and bully pulpit make one more responsible to use that influence towards
promoting good or charitable causes that will ostensibly benefit fellow human
beings?
Sherin
Wing tackled the issue on the responsibilities of the Architects when she said;
“It might be interesting to look at other examples of what individuals and
corporations can do when they are either 1) involved or implicated in tragic
incidents or 2) at odds with the unsavory practices of a government that
happens to employ them.
3.5 We see no more: The Manila Film Center Tragedy. Had it opened our eyes?
Or the Government Propaganda succeeded in burying the Memory.
In
the southwest end of the CCP Complex, (Cultural
Center of the Philippines) is Manila
Film Center located in Pasay City. It is
a national building, The Manila Film Center designed by
architect Froilan Hong where its edifice is supported on more than nine hundred
piles which reaches to the bed-rock about 120 feet below. The Manila Film
Center served as the main theater for the 1st Manila International Film
Festival (MIFF) from the 18th to the 29th of January, 1982. The building has
also been the subject of controversies due to an accident that happened during
the final stages of its construction in 1981.
It has been told that the a
Feasibility study was prepared and among the Film Center’s project components
were the 360-degree theatre that will show images of the past and present
historical and tourism scenes for the future generations to see. This writer on
those years were on a first year college in the school of Architecture and this
attraction were not just Filipinos but
people around the world were hopeful for. It was really for generations to see,
but we see no more.
An accident
occurred around 3:00 a.m. on November 17, 1981 during the construction of the
Manila Film Center. Its scaffolding
collapsed, and at least 169 workers fell and were buried under
quick-drying wet cement. A blanket of security was immediately imposed by the
Marcos administration, and neither rescuers nor ambulances were permitted on
the site until an official statement had been prepared. The rescuers were
eventually permitted to go inside the accident site 9 hours after the collapse.
The Manila Film
Center is said to be haunted due to the accident that took place in the
construction of the structure. It has been speculated that due to the 9 hours
that passed before rescuers were allowed in the site, some of the workers were
entombed alive and that the bodies were left in the hardened concrete slabs. In
a 2005 documentary produced by GMA Network's
i-Witness, all 169 workers were traced and the records
show that not more than a dozen died, Furthermore all the bodies were retrieved
and were given a proper burial..
The building was
then designed to have two components which were the auditoria and archives. According
to Hong, the foundation was set on reclaimed land near the Manila Bay. Since the deadline of the structure was
tight, it required 4,000 workers, working in 3 shifts across 24 hours. One
thousand workers constructed the lobby in 72 hours, a job which would normally entail
six weeks of labor. The Film Center opened in 1982 costing an estimate of $25
million.
Talitha Espiritu on a write up published in an article titled House of
Horrors said, “Like a black hole in time and space, the Manila Film Center is
now stricken of life, a place where no positive energy can come from. But it is
a place where the horrors of Nov. 17, 1981 remain trapped like unreleased
energy, the energy of decay and collapse.”
3.5 To Design or not to
Design.
On the moral responsibility of Architecture, the United Architects of the
Philippines ( UAP) does not have specific rules yet to fully itemize what was
written in the poetic-like Architects Code of
Ethics. Writer Roman Mars, in his 99% Invisible Radio Show that focuses
on Design and Architecture touched on the topic: The Design of prisons which
contain execution chambers or house prisoners in solitary confinement. He
discusses whether architects have a moral duty to decline these commissions and
whether, as a profession, architecture should have a code of ethics which
prevents registered architects from participating in such designs.
He compares
architecture to the medical profession, where the American Medical Association
imposes an ethical code on its members which all but forbids them from taking
part in execution by lethal injection, based on medicine’s general aim of
preservation, rather than destruction of Life.
The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) does not have
specific provisions on this issue. Probably because there are less current
challenges in this these areas, eventually, the Architects as a professional
directly involed in accommodating man’s activities and dwelling will be more
sensitive on the issue going more towards implementing Laws for Human Rights
protection.
Statements
published says, the Architects, Designers and Planners for Social
Responsibility would like to see an added clause in the (AIA) American
Institute of Architect’s Ethical Code, which prohibits architects from
accepting any commission designed for “ execution or for torture or other
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, including prolonged
solitary confinement.
David H. Watkins in the published interview in BD+C which asked: In your
book, you state that “the architect has a moral responsibility to use research
data in the design process.” Why a “moral responsibility”? says: “Our responsibility for protecting the well-being of building
occupants should involve more than protecting them against fire and structural
collapse. Today, there is an ever-increasing body of research on the
relationship between buildings and human behavior. As design-related knowledge
expands and becomes more definitive, it carries with it an inherent moral
obligation to apply it.”
4.
Legal Burden of Architecture.
Legal Responsibility of the Architect dictates that failures during Construction Implementation if the
Architect’s role is limited on the Design or Authorship of the Plan cannot be
thrown back to him. Yet, cases of
Tragedy which pronounces a National or even a worldwide issue cannot be
ignored. The Architects mission is to design for beauty, function and strength to the built
environment and it must be safe so as to protect the lives and property.
REFERENCES:
2.
Manuel D. Noche, History of Philippine
Architecture: National Commission for Culture and the Arts, September 04, 2014
3.
The Cultural Burden of
Architecture
4. Winand Klassen. Cebu City: University of San Carlos, 1986. Xiv, 435
pages: Architecture In the Philippines: Filipino Buildings in a Cross Cultural
Context
5. Paulo Alcazaren, CITY SENSE By CITY SENSE: Where are the Filipino Architects?
:Philstar Lifestyle, September 4, 2014
6. Philip Nobel, “Anti-Starchitecture Chic”, Metropolis Magazine,
June 2007
7. Helen Tatla, “Morality and Architecture”, Technological Education
Institution, TEI of Athens
8. Sherin Wing, “Moral Responsibility, Zaha Hadid and the al-Wakrah Stadium”,
Metropolis, March 4, 2014
9. Rory Stott, “Should Architects Follow a Code of Ethics?”, Architecture News Editor’s Choice, Arch Daily,
June 10, 2013
10. C.C Sullivan, “When Architects Design Death Chambers” ,
StarPlanet, Issue 21
11. Stephen Walker, “ Gordon Matta-Clark: Art, Architecture and the
Attack on Modernism
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Metzger,Annapolis: “ Architecture as Moral Art: Surveying the Moral Dimension
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Responsibility of Leadership for Design Outcomes”. HERD, May 15, 2012
14.
“Doing the Right
Thing...”archinology
15. Architect David Watkins : “A Moral Responsibility to Use
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16.
The Manila Film Center, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Film_Center
