RESEARCH + ARCHITECTURE: WHY I’M HERE

OCTOBER 2, 2018 

Having already been in Copenhagen for about a month, I feel that I still have difficulty defining what it is I’m trying to do during my time here. The term ‘research’ as I have known up to this point feels very scientific; observations that are backed up by hard data. It implies working toward a solution, which I firmly believe architecture never achieves. Design can address issues, it can alleviate conflict, and generally encourage a place to feel better, but being able to completely solve through means of creation seems too God-like. And architects are not gods.

Which brings me back to what feels like my frayed approach to researching architecture’s subjective role in addressing the world’s factual climate change. I find myself going down many different paths regarding water and architecture: from structural geometries that form underwater habitats to symbolic abstractions, and from household mechanisms for rainwater recycling to urban green infrastructure. Water takes on many forms at different scales; a cycle that destroys and heals.

So I suppose at it’s largest scale, I’m here to look at Scandinavia’s human relationship with water and how their built environment maintains a positive relationship even in times of crisis. Sometimes the research takes the form of being inside reading technical articles, and other times it means walking along waterfronts (yes, even in cold/rainy/windy weather). I want to use my time in Copenhagen wisely, and I’m still learning that walking without designated purpose has value. Give yourself room to think and observe, and when necessary, use data. As Tadao Ando puts it: “Learning to live is about walking around and thinking about ourselves and then influencing yourself through your thinking. After that you can read.”