THE DISCIPLINE
As long ago as in prehistoric times, there were the early examples of shelter constructions, the first “architectures”. They served the first and most basic need: to have a roof to shelter from inclement weather. From this first roof, architecture began to evolve, serving other needs through trial and error. But it was not until the dawn of the Renaissance that consciousness of “being an architect” was taken as such (until that moment there were engineers, builders…). It was someone who quitted focusing on the material construction, to devote their efforts to the project, the abstraction. Since then, architecture never stopped evolving, sailing between abstraction and concretion, between the minimum shelter and the monument. It has been evolving so much that often it has forgotten the first need: the shelter, the home. Houses, tenement buildings, neighborhoods, cities, they all have a common requirement: being home for someone.
So the architect should never forget the essentials, learning from the past (which has a lot to teach) and building on the progress that brings the future.
