Cultural Influence
In a changing world- why do we fall in love with the old organic spaces and design new sterile environments.
The aspects of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. (One is unable to notice something because it is always before one’s eyes.) The real foundations of his enquiry do not strike man at all. - Wittgenstein
Culture is one such thing that is a part of us and always in front of us and we fail to notice its influence.
Culture is something that unites as well as differentiates us at the same time. Despite it being our identity and part of all of us, it is intangible and invisible. Thus, it cannot be defined within the constraints of a few words, and its true meaning is largely left open for interpretation and sub-interpretations.
After a long travel and having seeing wonderful places, what do you crave for on your return home? The familiarity. But what exactly is this ‘familiarity’? Is it the familiarity with the surroundings or the intangible feeling of warmth of your home, or is it the home-cooked food that you crave for? Whatever it is, it is in your ‘being’.
How then do we find the meaning of ‘you’ and ‘us’, as individuals and a coherent society, respectively?
Our way of life, the way we react to space around us or create space within our houses to make them homes defines us. The same apartment looks, feels even smells different when the occupants are different. It is not the walls which define us, it is the ‘intangible culture’ which we carry within us and express it through color, art, clothes(textile), food which define us. Then we are also defined collectively; a group of people from similar geographical regions, religions, physical make-up etc. get collectively grouped into societies.
Space is defined differently by different societies and this applies to both- public places and privately-owned ones. The reaction to different kinds of public places has a fine element of distinction based on the cultural background. Knowing and understanding these subtilities, the question is whether our ‘architecture’ today is sensitive to ‘culture?
Modern-day life has been reduced to merely a set of dos and don’ts governed by the standards created by the society. Think of space regulations, fire regulations, reducing us ‘human’ beings into numbers devoid of any cultural sensibilities. The architectural elements that are commonly depicted in media and that are trending on social media become the sensation regardless of any sensibility associated with them. The hype of globalization and media make glass facades in hot climates desirable and the acoustic impact of cold concrete in commercial establishments like restaurants and cafes is ignored at the cost of fashionable construction.
The design elements of buildings used to define certain ways of life, and it seems that the soul of that architecture has been lost. Is it true?
We crave to find new and explore the unknown but, in our heart, we yearn for the familiarity of places where we have spent a large part of our life.
The intangible and sheer fabric of life comprises of elements like diverse daily interactions regarding activities ranging from religion to entertainment or shopping, buildings and the empty spaces in between. These elements sustain our life. The aged and olden fabric offers us a more personal human communication allows us to interact with each other, for example, at the market, where you would be greeted by a smiling vendor as opposed to a poker-faced attendant and cashier at modern-day supermarkets. The new society that we are building lacks recognition of human beings as individuals. Should not design cater for the human level of everyday interaction in business and day to day living?
We take pride in our advancements in technology by measuring the height of our skyscrapers against the older buildings and assessing them for their design, functionality and engineering feats. And yet, we go back to the historical buildings/areas that are testament to our values and their architecture seems to take us closer to our roots.
Certain communities are curious to understand the effect of buildings on them. They want to know the reason for the cultural shift from the old fabric of society to the modern ways of living.
With time, considerable differences are noticeable in the society in terms of lifestyle and preferences of people. A lot of it comes from the changing global scenario and the immediate and long-term consequences of many forces varying from world politics, regulations, industrial advancement, laws and legal aspects of the country, the public opinion, changes in world climate, history, retail, gentrification, among so many others; We will continue to like buildings and spaces between which have stood the test of time and evolved continuously with the changing times. Buildings that have managed to stay tall despite all these changes will always have a closeness in our heart.
However, the essence of the society for which the buildings and public places are made in a particular era should not be ignored. We have to change the public policy from ‘star architecture’ to a complete eco-system which can function around as cohesive fabric which interacts with us to create a new ‘cultural’ ethos which will be proud to look back upon.
Hence, this holistic design of the building that keeps the various elements of the society bound together and helps in paving the way to witness character in the society is the need of the hour.
The fabric of life which includes buildings, the spaces in between, the interactions of different daily activities from religious to shopping; all that sustains life. We like the old fabric which offers us this human to human communication, which allows interact with each other just more than the act of buying from a cold supermarket attendant to the familiar smile of the vendor. It is the recognition and spirit of the human being and human scale is completely ignored in the newer developments.