The Hardware Effect

Actual hardware for a little sarcasm.

In Chapter 18 from “This is Not Architecture”, hardware conveys the meaning that it is what makes something unique. The hardware of decoration and ornament prior to Modernism or the hardware of white walls and minimalistic style in Modernism are defining characteristics that bring recognition to the style. If the value is no longer in the hardware, then the label that defines something disappears and rather allows the experience to take precedent to the things. An experience is unique to the individual and allows one to make of the space or object what they want of it. If there is no longer hardware that provides a straight answer to the prompt at hand then people can take from something what they wish and can keep their unique and individual idea of what a space is or what it means.

                Given the field of architecture, there is a constant need to either relate or completely separate from a specific style or design idea that carries history with it. By mimicking a style, you can risk having your design compared to those who made the style famous, or you can branch out and create something new that will undoubtedly get just as much criticism. If we could somehow remove the notion that certain elements make up a specific style, then we could allow ourselves to enjoy the space for what it is instead of what it could be or failed to be.

                Great architects can communicate their ideas through design. They begin designing with an experience they want the client to have and can create that experience with the entire design, not just singled out design elements. Architecture should be taken in as a whole, instead of broken down into what works or doesn’t, or what one likes or doesn’t like. Architecture is created at a point in time and is then forced to adapt its uses and functions as time progresses. This history that buildings create provides a sense that architecture is information that is inhabited because each building and design can tell a story. This story doesn’t come from the hardware that fits into the time period in which it was constructed; rather it again comes from the experiences one has within that the architect intentionally planned out to be had.

                I do agree that the hardware of a building is losing its value. By incorporating the styles of hardware that are specific to a certain style, you can either damn yourself and your building or succeed based on the design taste of the individuals who experience the structure. If too much focus lies in the details then the details are what people will notice instead of taking in the building as a whole in the way which it was meant to be experienced. An accomplished architect can convey their ideas with an entire building without having to rely on the success of certain elements that worked in previous time or design periods. As the world changes, so do our experiences and if architecture is built to withstand and create new experiences, then it doesn’t need fancy hardware to prove its success.