{"id":9212,"date":"2019-12-03T13:42:22","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T12:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uchceu.es\/arquitectura\/?p=9212"},"modified":"2020-04-02T13:50:57","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T11:50:57","slug":"santiago-molina-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uchceu.es\/arquitectura\/en\/santiago-molina-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"Santiago de Molina: the way forward for an architecture of the everyday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Swift said that when a great genius appears, all the dunces will be in confederacy against him. It was with this quotation Santiago de Molina<\/strong> was introduced on his last visit to our university. He took the time share his reflections and tips on the way forward for architecture in an area apparently so devoid of genius \u2013 everyday settings.<\/p>\n

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Architect Santiago de Molina, during his last visit to CEU Valencia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He\u2019s worked with some of the great names of Spanish architecture, such as Francisco Javier S\u00e1enz de Oiza<\/strong> or the Pritzker Prize-winning Rafael Moneo<\/strong>, and he has juggled teaching with his professional work at his own studio for many years. He\u2019s also active in research, carrying out studies which consistently aim to make architecture and culture more accessible to everyone. Evidence of this can be seen in his books such as Hambre de Arquitectura<\/em> and Collage y Arquitectura<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re in no position to be able to judge whether Santiago de Molina\u2019s a genius or not, but he certainly writes like one. Just take his blog M\u00faltiples Estrategias de Arquitectura<\/strong><\/a> as an example: it shows not just his mastery of the subject, but also real inspiration and ingenuity.<\/p>\n

A journey through art and architecture: an invitation from Santiago de Molina<\/strong><\/h4>\n

De Molina invites us to join him on a visual journey through architecture, with our first stop taking in the work of the great Mies Van Der Rohe<\/strong><\/a>. This architect\u2019s work is the epitome of refined yet strident modernity and it is also the perfect example both of the mark architecture can make and of the life that springs up in and around it. In some photographs of him where he appears him a more relaxed mode, we an image of him which is different from the one he typically transmitted: that of looking impeccable, perfectly posed and battle-ready for the fight for modernity.<\/p>\n

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Even the greatest architects need some time off!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In these photos we see the private side of Van Der Rohe, completely relaxed and so different from his usual ramrod stiffness. This contrast should give us pause: do the great masters also need domesticity? Is modernity really incompatible with the everyday? Or, more broadly, when did the relationship between modern architecture and the everyday break down?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daily routines have never received the same respect as other, more eye-catching, seemingly greater \u2013 or certainly more grandiose \u2013 themes. However, there are numerous examples in the history of art of artists who have been able to dignify the simplest or most mundane facets of life<\/strong>. For example, we see this in Dutch painting and still lifes: paintings where the protagonists are objects that, thematically and even objectively, are trivial. We see this too in portraits, many of them of obscure people: women wearing no adornment, going about their daily business; or soldiers in quiet moments of rest, enjoying some free time.<\/p>\n

Who can forget that, by portraying such people and such moments, focusing on the ephemeral nature of lives, masters such as Johannes Vermeer<\/strong><\/a> built their later reputation? These artists were masters of what is both intimate and mundane: portraying the habits of the inhabitants of a place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI WOULD DEFINE ARCHITECTURE AS THE THOUGHTFUL MAKING OF SPACE.\u201d \u2013 LOUIS I. KAHN<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But one day it all changed. It was no longer about reflecting reality, but about apparent reality<\/strong>. With modernity, photography pushed painting into second place and became the true art of the moment. Le Corbusier<\/strong><\/a> himself exploited this new technique and used it in his work. Photographs of his projects include everyday objects, seemingly more or less randomly taken: kitchen utensils, decorative features, or prosaic tools leaning against a wall.<\/p>\n

So why did he take these pictures? Is this an early form of product photography? Did he want to see what his dwellings looked like with people living in them? Or did he simply want to transmit emotion? With these objects, casually yet carefully positioned, Le Corbusier sought to promote the idea of comfort.<\/p>\n

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Cozy and unreal at the same time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 50s, architecture sought to reconnect with the everyday, but this time in a completely new way. Since then, architects have sought to understand the language of everyday life<\/strong> so as to give shape to their work. As architects, we must accept the everyday for what it is and use it as the basis for our work. Yet, more often than not, we don\u2019t pay enough attention to it.<\/p>\n

An architecture of reconciliation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What about now, in this age of postmodernist architecture<\/strong>? The use of technology in the home is now pervasive, with smart devices such as Alexa or Roomba, and new trends in the design of spaces affect our behaviour. The kitchen is no longer the place where we cook, nor a place for the family to come together: it\u2019s a place we pass through, in which both our route through and the time we spend doing so need to be optimized, whether or not we do need to cook or get together with other family members.<\/p>\n