Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa March 2013 | Page 72

DESIGN

W

hen prepa r i ng a n a r t ic le for
publication the predictable outline
of a project as a series of facts and
figures of an architectural design is inherently
limiting in its understanding of the value of the
building and it is out of this comfort zone that
I comment on the other aspects of our designs.
Most projects are described as the numeric
descriptions of bulk, coverage, parking ratios,
height zones, materials, and hopefully, the positive
returns that a project yields for its investors.
However, little time is spent on the important
values that we also need to speak about .
A huge part of the value chain that we as
architects are deeply involved in and promote,
is the aspect of design which yields the most
sat isf y ing and suppor t ive env ironment
for our clients, and which has a powerful
compositional poetic.
Professionals are the products of social
contracts between specialists and society, and
it is incumbent that we separate the stylists and
brand imitators from those who seek to help
society in the quest for betterment.
The very best architecture is forged in the
mental space of our communities and for us as
architects we aspire to design spaces that inspire
wonder, as architecture embraces the world as a
public art.

70

March 2013 SA Real Estate INVESTOR

BY ADRIAN MASEROW

Architecture
Embracing the world as art

Boring environments bring little delight and are
totally unsatisfactory – economists are beginning
to grapple with the understanding of livability as
an important aspect of the real value chain.
As we discover more about ourselves, our
inherited capabilities and the ways in which
they unfold in the world, there is a shift in the
assumptions underpinning many of the design
processes of professionals.
T h is a l so goe s be yond t he world of
architecture to fashion, design, interior design,
product design, industrial design, music,
composition and art.
A review of recent design has proved to be
enormously effective in opening the hidden
structures of our spatial design intuition.

Our spatial intelligence, our spatial histories,
our mental space and the mental space of our
shared communities is embraced in order
to value our architecture with some degree
of autonomy and our professional advice
articulates a spatial intelligence that architects
share with society.
Over 80% of the communication between
humans is passed on through nonverbal clues
and body language and the visual world of
architecture carries far more importance as
a form of communication as our spatial sense
becomes ever more tuned in and satisfying.

As architects we communicate through ????a??)???????????????????????d??????????????)????????????????????????Q???????????)?????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????)]????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????????()A???????M??????????????5??????????)???????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????)]??????????????????????????????????+?L????????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????)Q???????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????]???????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????()IM=UI
L)5????????()??????????????((