JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE?

Pick up a typical architecture magazine and you become transfixed by images of new buildings and newly renovated spaces from all over the world. In our media culture, these images express the latest stylistic trends and new perceptions of space.

The media thrive on images of beautiful objects, but at what cost? While the magazines enthrall their readers with photographs of captivating objects, they may be neglecting the buildings' experiential qualities.

TWO BAUHAUS BUILDINGS: A PARADIGM SHIFT

The Bauhaus School buildings at Weimar and Dessau in Germany capture the dichotomy of an early 20th century debate about the impact of technology on architecture. The underlying issue was whether creativity or technology should be the stronger design determinant. It is interesting to revisit these two famous buildings, by Henry Van de Velde and Walter Gropius respectively, in light of this debate.

"GREENING" A PROFESSION

The architecture profession is experiencing tremendous pressure to change the ways it perceives and shapes the built environment. A growing awareness of environmental issues by both architects and owners is fueling this change. In five years, I predict, today's perception of "best practice" will be a source of amusement.

BUILDING WITH THE BREATH OF LIFE

Throughout history, cultures have acknowledged the existence of a subtle life-force energy, or chi, underlying and connecting all material existence. The universe of chi is both new and timelessly ancient. It is a vision of the energy—rather than material—basis of all Creation, of the intimate interconnectedness of all life.

Some manifestations of this energy, as seen in cities all over the world, serve to illustrate the concepts and make us aware of the emotions that urban settings can evoke.

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