Architects are not drafting machines -- A city planner who should not be forgotten, Chen Zhaxiang

Author: Chen Zhanxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: In the past, architects in China were generally referred to as engineers. In the West, calling someone an engineer might provoke protest. Europeans say: physicians restore (human) order, lawyers maintain (social) order, and architects create (material world) order. The title of architect in China has been restored, which is highly necessary. In ancient Western civilizations, architects were not solely engineers. The ancient Roman architect Vitruvius proposed requirements for architects, stating that "architecture is a science born from many disciplines, and the development of each field enriches its content; architectural science helps in evaluating other technical achievements."
The 15th-century polymath, architect, and artist Leon Battista Alberti's designs were centered on human scale, with buildings and urban environments designed according to human dimensions. He proposed the following requirements for architects: first, architects bear a responsibility to future generations and their personal honor, and must not be despised by posterity due to ignorance, recklessness, or foolishness. "A cautious, wise, and knowledgeable architect's designs should be appreciated by the wealthy while still adhering to the principles of thrift." Architects must critically evaluate the history and theory of their profession and consider architectural design within a comprehensive environmental context. Individual design ideas detached from the overall urban environment should no longer persist. Architects no longer serve a single individual but the entire society.
In China, the important issue before us is the social recognition of the architect's status. Even today, architects are merely commissioned to "draw some sketches" for the "client." Architects accept design tasks from the "client" on a predetermined site and can only proceed with the design according to these requirements, even catering to the personal preferences of the client's leadership. Such constraints on designers make it extremely difficult to carry out creative architectural activities.