The semester started with a random exercise exploring the 10 things I would use in a disaster situation. I was very practical about this endevour and was then asked to find someone that shared my sensibility. Finding these like minded individuals we then entered a discussion about the two proposed questions (Benjamin, 2003):
1. How today can the relation between architecture and culture be understood?
2. What then is architecture's relation to culture?
I think the relationship between the two can only be understoodby breaking down the meaning of culture into workable components. Perhaps we need to understand everything about that culture to understand how and why the building there was conceived. But to also understand how as architects, we can continue to make buildings true to that culture. The diagram our group used to brainstorm is below, which is similar to the diagram by Rapoport (2005). It considers however, that architecture and culture have a symbiotic relationship. Culture draws on past architecture to drive it forward. Like small brick lanes in London created long ago, they are now sought after spaces for trendy nooks and cafe culture. Architecture also needs culture to survive, to draw on for inspiration and to remain in context with its surroundings.
In another group an interesting idea was that perhaps in the very beginning it was just architecture that relied on culture. Built structures were made out of necessety, through local traditions, out of locally sourced materials. (Although I guess there was a culture that was prompted by the vernacular architecture; to act a certain way, to experience the structure a certain way). But now we seem to have a more diverse architectural palate to inspire our cultures. To end this entry I feel that defining culture is quite difficult without delving into that particular culture and breaking down its diverse parts. Each of these parts will relate to eachother and contribute to the architectural response. Then the built environment can be examined as not only a response to that culture, but as a force that drives the culture.
