Who is an architect?
Entire cities and nations are known by about two things, the natural landscape, and the built landscape. It is no coincidence that you know it is Paris when you see the Eiffel tower, you know it’s Egypt when you see the pyramids. It is not foreign that by seeing the colosseum, then you are in Rome. There are countless examples all over the world. Our very own could be the Ivory tower by which Makerere university is almost defined.
On the other hand, the works of God are very evident in the shaping of landforms, from mountain to ocean, from the ceiling that the sky is, the lights that are the stars and many other things. It is therefore evident that where the hand of God has so much perfected, the architect begins. The architect shapes entire worlds in design. The architect in another sense as through the ages could be called a god. The reason is simple, where the creation of God ends, he deliberately begins.
The architect decides where in your house you will sit, where you will sleep, where your windows or doors will be. He may go on to decide which door handle you will have, which way you will walk to go to the toilet or even the way you wills sit in it. Outside of your house, he decides how big or small your compound will be, the shape of your pool, or lawn, the distance you will walk or drive to the main road. The architect might also decide how wide that road shall be, how far the town square and bank should be from your home. Where you will find the market and how but most importantly, the architect`s role is to decide how you will feel in these places, how you will make meaning and memories out of these places and lastly how you will enjoy these places.
The architect is therefore a creator, a planner and a maker. He builds within his mind, from furniture to entire cities, visualizes them before they are and works to the moment when these 2 dimensional lines become actual form.
The falling water house from sketch to reality. Source Perspective from below waterfall (Images courtesy of The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation) From <http://www.beloose.com/profiles/blogs/frank-lloyd-wright-on-drawing>
