Architecture and the Cliche

Even before I was in my first year of architecture I studied drafting and in this class we had to design a building for a ‘client’ who happened to be a fellow classmate. Our brief was a house for a musician, so of course the first thing we did was design a house that looked like a piano, with a guitar shaped swimming pool out the back.

As I entered architecture school we studied design subjects which challenged us to avoid the clichéd and design structures which accommodated the brief as well as made an architectural statement and took account off the context and surrounding community. It seemed that this form of design thought permeated all forms of architectural ideals, ideals that formed a sense of social and community responsibility with quality design and avoiding the clichéd. Or so I thought.

I recently was reading design boom and saw 3D design images for a new residential development in china which attempts to be environmentally conscious and make a comment on the local environment. However it appears that it only does this by imitating it. The structure is made to look like hills in the distance with apartments forced in the shapes to suit the form.

The design images are probably the best thing about this project indicating a ribbon of green with landscape elements and show some thought into incorporating environmental elements into an architectural design. However, in my opinion this ideal has been lost with the forest, and I use the term loosely, of units and balconies. It seems to me to be a very clichéd approach in a nation which is desperately building high density apartment blocks for a rapidly expanding population.

For the full story and all the images go to the design boom story: www.designboom.com