How Architecture Transformed the Objectives of Edifices - Essay Example

How Architecture Transformed the Objectives of Edifices This paper will compare three essays: Scientific Paragon to Hospital Mall by David Sloane; Cultural Infrastructure by Robert Leighninger; and, The City as Moral Universe Yi-Fu Tuan. All of these papers talk about the architectural importance in the design of public spaces and their evolution – hospital, the city and the embodiment of the New Deal in designing infrastructure in public spaces. Each of them tackled how architecture transformed the objectives of edifices by driving the changes in the way people see and use them. Sloane’s piece explored the evolution of hospitals from an institution that only for the caring of the poor to one that eventually catered to everyone, including the privileged who have preferred to take medications and treatment at home ever since. The main idea of the essay is found on the third paragraph after a considerable discourse on the background of hospitals and medical treatments from the 1900s. To quote: “In a quirky continuation of past thinking about the need for a civic image for the hospital, designers and administrators began emulating community center, the shopping mall. As a result, hospitals entrances became more welcoming, waiting rooms more inviting, facilities reintegrated more fully into daily urban life, and patients (or even better clients) treated more as guests or consumers.” (p. 82) The argument is that by adopting an environment of domesticity and emulating community-center, hospitals were able to change the old negative perception into something pleasant even without any significant alteration to the patient-doctor relationship. From cold, clinical and drab institution into a welcoming public space, Sloane successfully depicted how hospitals were effective in taking control of their development and their future by using architectural design in their strategy to adopt. Meanwhile, Cultural Infrastructure investigated the influence of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal on the modern design of American public space. It immediately opined that such “brief and rich period of commitment to public building produced many of the works that define the public space we now use”. (p. 226) It was cited that Roosevelt Administration resulted in the widest public building program ever that left a lasting mark on what Leighninger called as cultural infrastructure – roads, bridges, schools, courthouses and other public facilities such as parks, museums, gardens, civic centers and city halls, among others. The paper is well researched and has outlined impressive figures and data to support arguments made. For example, a list of new and modified infrastructures and edifices were provided, showing the number of constructed buildings ranging from schools to rodeo grounds. An important claim made by the author was the fact that the flurry of construction completed during the period was driven by the need to address the unemployment and economic stagnation of the Great Depression. The reference to this variable allowed Leighninger to explore the distinct contribution of the New Deal to the way public spaces were designed. A case in point was the suggestion that public spaces were designed in such a way that they might discourage dissent. This is supposedly demonstrated in the way the construction of large spaces was avoided and instead more neutral and distracting ones were erected such as zoos and gardens. While there are evidences of large public spaces constructed such as the Orange Bowl and Cow Palace, Leighninger maintained that there was, indeed, the presence of bias in favor of smaller spaces that constrained politically charged atmosphere. (p. 230) A more important claim, however, was made when the author discussed how public space – as approached by the New Deal architects and urban designers – is not all about the economic consideration. Given the fact that the main driver of the construction boom was to address economic problems, the design and construction of buildings and facilities were not primarily undertaken for purposes of profit and popularity. According to Leighninger, “in both calculable and incalculable ways, public facilities have an impact on the quality of life” positively affecting the health, well-being and security of the citizens. (p. 230) Finally, Tuan’s discourse revolved around the city and its design. The subject is quite complex, prompting the author to devote a significant part of the paper to history and to explaining several pertinent concepts such as how “universal brotherhood”, the “physical city”, among others. However, Tuan specified the topic by adopting the moral bent to his discourse – that the city embodies a type of moral document wherein “wealth and poverty, dullness and imagination, care and indifference, justice and injustice” can be discerned. His main argument is that everything that is found in the city – from streets, bus shelters, to parks – each has its moral-ethical intent. (p. 316) Tuan is of the opinion that the moral reading of the cityscape is the only approach by which all of us can comprehend the city. The idea is that through this perspective, all the dynamics and variables that characterize the urban environment, including the contrasting ones, would be sufficiently covered. For example, through this perspective, it is easy to understand how the city can cause guilt and depression, generate both modesty and pride, contain good and evil, depict beauty and ugliness, and so forth. This is quite interesting because the train of thought logically commenced in the distinct position that there are many infrastructures, buildings and facilities that are not being appreciated and that they deserved to be because the moral dimension to their design can be a source of pride, display the goodness of the human spirit, the consistent drive to hope, and so on. The three readings differ in style. For instance, Sloane wrote in a more scholarly manner, constantly citing historical data while Leighninger adopted a more investigated approach in presenting his points. This is not unlike how a reporter would write a documentary – objective and peppered with pertinent facts and figures. Tuan, for his part, opted to be more circumspect and proceeded on with an opinionated commentary about the what and whys in the cityscape or urban design. This is not to say that his discourse is biased but instead it is full of interesting personal insights based on learned argumentation as supported by authoritative claims and evidences. Each of these papers presented and argued their cases effectively. In some instances, the impassioned claim of an author could trump up the cold presentation of evidence of another while in some, the statistics or historical data presented by one of the authors could effectively persuade the reader rather than the deep personal insights posited by the other. However the case is, in this aspect, all the three readings are successful in what they wanted to achieve. They were educational and well-written pieces. Subtle differences are also present, technically. For example, there was the way the authors diverged in presenting their pieces. Tuan began with general concepts and winded them down into his specific topic. Leighninger is more straightforward, preferring to dispense with his discourse in a logical flow of ideas with seamless transitions of paragraphs. Sloane’s own strategy is more complicated but comprehensive. A claim or an argument would be preceded by background information making entire paper divisible into mini-stories that could stand almost independently, by themselves. Technically, the writing approaches of Sloane, Leighninger and Tuan may also differ in some respects but that they were similar in some as well. For example, all of them were not overly creative and informal as what is called for in academic writing. In addition, points were outlined in objective manner. But the bottom line is that each of these essays was an excellent resource for any researcher or student studying the subjects and themes that each has covered. Opinions may vary, depending on the reading preferences of the reader but, again, all the three texts are well-written, informative and persuasive materials. Works Cited Leighniinger, Robert. “Cultural Infrstructure: The Legacy of New Deal Public Space.” Journal of Architectural Education. 49.4 (1996): pp. 226-236. Sloane, David Charles. "Scientific Paragon to Hospital Mall: The Evolving Design of the Hospital, 1885-1994." Journal of Architectural Education (1984-). 48.2 (1994): pp. 82-98. Tuan, Yi-Fu. "The City as a Moral Universe." Geographical Review. 78.3 (1988): 316-324. Read More