Inspiring Architects

Introduction to Professional Learning class has taught us many things, from doing a presentation, writing an academic essay and also things about architectural works and the role of architect. We have learned that architect plays a big role in the society, like for example the sanity project in Jakarta that Miss Mita showed us or the project Dome for The World, a non-profit organization  that provide houses for people that are the survivor of natural disaster like in Yogya several years ago. These examples emphasis the important role of architects in the society. Architects are not just the people who are responsible to provide shelter for people, but furthermore, a protection, comfort and also a part of solution of many problems, one of them is the environmental problems.

In the previous posts, we have seen many fascinating architectural works around the world. From houses, hotels, restaurant and even skyscrapers, all of them have their uniqueness that could make us amazed. Architecture is not just about building, in this post I will introduce you to two architects that are well known not because of their work in designing buildings, but because of their great ideas in solving the environment problems.

    1. Jamie Lerner

Jamie Lerner

Image taken from: http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Lerner

Curitiba

Image taken from: http://www.solarthermalmagazine.com/2010/12/20/latin-americas-greenest-city/

Jamie Lerner, a Brazillian architect who was born in 1937, was a former Curitiba Mayor. With the help of his thought, Curitiba has been awarded as the first sustainable city in the world. A few decades ago, Curitiba, just like any other developing cities had faced environmental problems such as flood, pilling up trashes and the lack of green space. Lerner then started to design a master plan of this city and transformed it into a sustainable city. He made an integrated recycling factory to solve the pilling up trashes problem, then he reuse the natural water canal to solve the flooding problems, and many other ideas that help Curitiba in achieving a sustainable living place. 

2.    Richard Roger

Richard Roger

Image taken from: http://inhabitat.com/and-the-prizker-goes-to-richard-rogers/

Sir Richard Roger’s sketch of his vision of Le Grand Paris

Image taken from:  http://evworld.com/insider.cfm?archyr=2009&nextedition=209

Sir Richard Roger is a British Architect who receives RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1985 and made a Chevalier, L’Ordre National de la Légion d'honneur in 1986. He is also known as an architect as an architect that is concern in sustainable design. His idea of sustainable city was written on a book called “Cities for a Small Planet”. He has been involved in many projects including Las Arenas, Barcelona, remodeling of the bullring into a shopping mall, One Hyde Park, London and the latest one Leadenhall building, London, UK.

2.       William McDonough

William McDonough

Image taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McDonough

Cradle to Cradle book

Image taken from: http://inhabitat.com/inhabitat-interview-green-architect-cradle-to-cradle-founder-william-mcdonough/

William McDonough and his partner Michael Braughart created a concept of sustainable design, called cradle to cradle. Cradle to cradle is a concept of design, including architectural designs that consider the effect to the environment. Cradle to cradle encourage designers to imitate the nature in designing, where nature keeps it balance by keeping the process of consuming as a sustainable process of cycle.

Those three architects really inspire me. It makes me realize that there are more things to be learned, so that in the future, I could also be a part of the world solution, not just the one who ruined it. As an architect we have to be very sensitive of the condition of our surroundings, that way we will recognized the problem and could think of the solution, who knows, in the future we will come up with many other brilliant idea.

So what do you think, who do you think are the other inspirational architects? And what do you learned from them?

Reference:

May 29, 2012 from http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Lerner

Roger, Richard. 1197. Cities for a Small Planet. London: Faber and Faber.  

McDonough, William; Braunghart, Michael. 2002. Cradle to Cradle. New York: North Point Press.

Rifda Marwa Ufaira

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