Measured VoidPerspective2011

How do we recognize the value of those who hold back on their building volume?  
Le Corbusier’s High Court in Chandigarh offers a range of articulated volumes that are beautifully graded and proportioned. The fin entrance, the undulating overhangs and the mosaic skin are all framed at different scales as though you could continue to appreciate this pattern through subsequent magnification. Evaluation over time instead of scale reveals an intricate formwork puzzle. While it announces itself as a construction feat upon completion, there is a simultaneous underlying question about reasonable resource use for formwork. While resource use might not have been the focus at the time of construction, it raises the question "how do we critique a building today?"

Much like the judicial system, buildings require a negotiation of ethical ideals as architecture embodies our values. It is not as simple as describing positive attributes about a building. Architecture is a very broad field and it is easy to speak positively about any project because there will always be positive qualities.

Environmental systems, personal goals and even aesthetic principles are misleading when we judge the effectiveness of one creation in contrast to another. Merit now needs to be recognized along with our limited resources and broader consequences. In order to preserve our livelihood it is just as important to identify what we did not build. For example, how do we recognize the value of those who hold back on their building volume? Since this is one of the most effective ways to make an environmental impact, it is problematic that it passes unnoticed.

This problem is not unique to Le Corbusier's High Court and is often not just under the architect's control. It is the responsibility of everyone involved. The choice to resist consumptive gain in favour of self-sacrifice for the sake of the environment is no reflex act, it requires regular practice but sustainable choices can only thrive when we first contrast our decisions to the absence of creation.

Danielson Architecture Office

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