Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Meeting Pétur Ármannsson
I met with architect Pétur Ármannson in Kjarvaldsstadir today, discussing the future plans for Reykjavik city and the local context in general. Since I am not a local this way of collecting information whilst exchanging oppinions is so very interesting and important.
Among several issues the need for expressing and formulating ideas about the public environment came up. Not by talking in styles, historical references or architectural details, but by talking about the qualities and characteristics of a given site or proposal, the functionality and the identity of the city in general. What does a given proposal has to offer the city and it's citizens? Architecture can be discussed in many other ways than only what it looks like and how many square meters it will contain. And it must be the responsibility of the architects to keep this discussion alive and present also to the general public, since the driving forces of recent developments rarely take this into account. The architect has a responsibility as a consultant to the public.
There is an importance for planning also for the small scale, the everyday life in the city, in large urban proposals.
Among several issues the need for expressing and formulating ideas about the public environment came up. Not by talking in styles, historical references or architectural details, but by talking about the qualities and characteristics of a given site or proposal, the functionality and the identity of the city in general. What does a given proposal has to offer the city and it's citizens? Architecture can be discussed in many other ways than only what it looks like and how many square meters it will contain. And it must be the responsibility of the architects to keep this discussion alive and present also to the general public, since the driving forces of recent developments rarely take this into account. The architect has a responsibility as a consultant to the public.
There is an importance for planning also for the small scale, the everyday life in the city, in large urban proposals.
