“We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.” - Oscar Wilde
This statement has fascinated me since I was a teenager. All these years later as an RIBA Chartered architect, I continue to endeavour turning this concept on it’s head! Because for me, Architecture defines the meeting point of Art and Function. At what point does functionality transcend into art? When does a spoon turn into a piece of sculpture? A vehicle become a super car. A piece of clothing become a fashion statement and a building become a piece of architecture? What are the rules that govern aesthetics? Is there a formula to create Art? Is Art always beautiful? And what defines beauty anyway? Why are both Art and beauty so fundamentally important to every single one of us? These are the issues that I believe every architect grapples with.
“Either I shall find a way or I will make one”.
Was my old school motto and it was certainly compounded by my architectural training .
I graduated with a BA (Hons) from Kingston Polytechnic in the mid-80s, to then work in Dubai for Iraqi Architects, Makia Associates. I had the privilege of working on some very prestigious projects right at the beginning of the construction boom which has led to the glittering sky scrapers and innovative architecture of today’s Dubai and Abu Dhabi metropolises .
I received my Diploma of Architect (RIBA Pt II) and Professional Practice Qualifications (RIBA Pt III) from The Polytechnic of Central London while working for the London Based Practice, GMW on large scale office developments in the City of London.
Since the eighties, the world economy has taken three dramatic knocks. The construction industry and property market are always the first to feel these downturns. Some 30 odd years later, those very same offices that I worked on now lie empty and desolate due to our current Pandemic.
But, I believe that the long and rigorous training we go through as architects, provides us with the useful ability to be constructively self-critical as well as giving us a creative grounding, technical knowledge, and flexibility that allows for transition between creative fields as well as the ability to “think outside the box “ in order to create opportunities from seeming adversity.
