About Architecture: Where’s the Starting Point

What is architecture?

Before opening the gateway to the field of architecture, my impression and imagination of architecture were purely restricted to sophisticated and intricate lines and structures captured on paper and in photographs. It was not until much later, when I entered the professional field of architecture, that I started to glance inside a corner of this magnificent world, recognizing the vast history and social welfare that are interconnected to this field.

It was also then that I realized that architecture is not as cold and purely functional as I used to think it to be. In contrast, an architecture that can be impactful almost always is in reverence for culture and addresses concerns for social welfare. This is also the very reason that we, at present, are so privileged to have guidance from many classic examples of architecture and to learn from the best from all periods of time.

Le Corbusier in his studio (1960) Paris - René Burri

Yet studying the precedents from the books always gives me the impression that I am situated in a museum, standing in front of a glass window, appreciating the work of art but unable to touch or feel it truly. In other words, at that time, I didn't know how to feel and appreciate architecture.

It wasn't until my sophomore year that I gradually established a connection with architecture through studio work. As different project requirements emerged, I began to learn the rhythm of building facades, capturing light and shadow within spaces, listening to the sounds of various sites and spaces, observing the interaction between people and space, and understanding the relationship between nature and architecture.

Through this repeated paying attention to close details, I learned to engage all my senses in perceiving subtle changes in the surrounding environment and space that previously went unnoticed as a habit. This repeated practice and accumulation enhanced my sensitivity towards architectural sites, allowing me to develop a more comprehensive feeling and appreciation for architectural spaces.

Class Assignment: Recording the Facade of an Architecture

During an exchange program in Hong Kong in early 2022, there were severe epidemic conditions, and everyone feared catching COVID-19. Classmates around me got COVID-19 one by one, and the courses were forcefully converted from in-person to online. At that time, the social environment was enveloped in a cloud of fear and anxiety.

To relieve myself from this situation, I visited the M+ Museum one evening. It's about the sunset hours when I ascended the grand stairs. The sunlight seeped through the gaps on top walls gradually as I progressed my way through. With each and every step, I was carried upwards by these rays of light until I reached a platform directly connected to another descending step. This platform extended naturally towards a small hillside. It was then I realized that the entire building was situated on this hillside, having one step that led me from inside space towards outside and another enabled me to gaze further beyond.

Grand Stair of M+ Museum Ground Floor

I saw the glimpse of gold sunlight poured out on the staircases and the hillsides, on the people who gathered around, sat and chatted casually, on the sparkling sea, and on a fishing boat that just happened to sail into the sunset. I smelled the sea combined with a light tint of earth, I heard the sing of the wind, and I touched the soft grass thriving on the ground. To this day, I still think that's the most beautiful and perfect sunset I have ever seen, and it's the first time I ever experienced such a strong connection to an architectural space.

Sunset View Space at the Grand Stair of M+ Museum

Even though it's still a challenge for me to answer in short sentences what exactly architecture is, all the daily experiences and feelings that seeped into everyday life slowly gathered and formed its vague shape for an answer: Architecture is meaningful. It is a media that entwines our living environment and our society. It can be the astounding beauty at sunset, or it can also be a breathable window provided for people during pressing times. At that moment, I first saw myself starting to learn architecture, a place where I started to think and actually feel architecture.

Translator: J