I am in the reception of The Old Rectory, our newly refurbished Grade II listed building where we moved our office recently. While the morning sun is touching the floor and reaching to the artwork on the wall, I find myself acknowledging this experience. Day-to-day use of a space we created added a new perspective on how the ethos can be sustained.
I often think that the way I practice my role creates a relationship with the architects, much resembling the relationship of an art commissioner and artist. For me, in both cases, a successful outcome requires a clear brief, budget, program and artistic freedom.
Architecture can be imitated as well, but unlike art, it cannot be replicated. I find it fascinating that a building is a result of the combination of very unique factors such as the vision of the designers, dynamics between a client and the architect, site constraints, budget, policies and many others which makes it a one-off piece and hence invaluable as a creative investment.
This understanding led me to the thinking that our experience of buildings should also have layers, depths, emotions and a piece of work cannot be fully completed until its use becomes part of that experience itself.
I think one of the natural ways to amplify this experience is memories that are formed within the same space in different times and/or by different individuals. Preservation of these memories is linked with continuation of places. There is now no doubt that preserving the buildings already built, optimising their maintenance and repairs to increase their longevity and efficiency and integrating a sustainable building management are essential for a world we want to build and live in.
We now have tools that allow us to gather data, calculate, analyse and compare the benefits of retrofit. However, there is also a non-measurable, perhaps a more philosophical interest which is about these shared memories and their role in the experience of the buildings and what it really means.
In the end, isn’t standing the test of time a good measure for the value of an artwork?
Source: Architecture Today
