Origins of Architecture
The origins of Architecture (-wow!)
What an arduous task - to define the origins of Architecture (the big A). To define the origins of anything is to presume nothingness precedes whatever topic or event. In this case, we are presuming that before architecture there was nothing. While I full well know that isn’t the exact case here, speculating on any sort of origins is a contentious place to be.
For architecture, in my opinion, the beginnings will always foggy. The point of entry into the topic is of paramount importance. According to the Bible, Adam’s house was the beginning of architecture as we know it. But, like in most cases, the Bible should maybe be taken as a very clever story. As the instructor, (you, Johannes, reading this now) presented the lecture, I couldn’t help but speculate on the origins before Vitruvius, or the Egyptians, or the Cavemen. I am unclear why, but I kept wondering if it was simpler than that. Obviously to define the origins one must define architecture. Then you must consider who you are asking. If I ask the birds, surely their answer will differ from the fish, who will differ from the Romans, or a modern day anthropologist. So I ask you this…..
Imagine……………………………………………...
I am the first man on earth. No language, no knowledge, no clear skills. But I am standing in the densest forest imaginable. There is no sunlight shining through the treetops. Am I not under a shelter? Is this not ‘architecture’?
I understand this is not too far removed from the ‘cave’. The rock and the trees were there before me. I’d guess the rock was there first, as the tree has to grow, but then it becomes a question of my proximity, my temporal interaction with these natural formations. Which have I discovered first? If I have cover over my head am i not under ‘architecture’? If we believe this than the origins are beyond us as humans. And in that case maybe we must look to the stars for the answer, or possible below us. Maybe that's why Adam’s explanation was God and the Native Americans worshiped the Earth.
To end I’d purpose the thought of the end of Architecture. Have we reached it? How far until we get there? Does it matter?
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According to the GOOGLE search “ define architecture” we get
ar·chi·tec·ture
/ˈärkəˌtek(t)SHər/
noun
1..
the complex or carefully designed structure of something.
"the chemical architecture of the human brain"
As the second entry but the better fitting definition for my purpose.
Funny enough the sentence example speaks about the human and our common connectedness defined by having a brain. If for a second we examine the historical thread of primitive architecture spanning the globe, the connectedness is further tied. The Mayans, native tribes in Africans and Asians have all constructed similar structures without access to the GOOGLE. How could this be? I don’t think access to local materials matters, or threats from impending predators, or protection from the elements. The commonality was the human. The human brain.
At a point man said to himself, I must protect myself from the elements from above. All man said this-- as evidenced by these recurring construction methods and similar structures. The technology remained the same, and it came from man’s head- maybe we were mentally wired to think like this. Maybe the creator of the universe said “man shall build, and he shall build like this”
This is why I proposed the statement that all architecture after primitive is ornamentation. After achieving the functional needs of architecture - which we reached shortly after beginning to build -- everything after was a cultural projection to ~the world~. If we all (everyone across the globe) got it right, and did it the same, why do we now see different architectures across the globe? It has become an identity of ourselves. A way to announce who we are, what were about, our story to those willing to look.
Maybe that is “the complex designed structure of” our brain as humans……...
One to protect ourselves and
Two to tell people about what we are protecting.
Fall 2019