Editorial

Architecture – a Timeless Profession

Architects are a necessary component of the built environment, as they possess the skill to create a cohesive environment between the natural and built environment. The Architect possesses a thorough knowledge on the history, culture and lifestyle of the people and must have the required talent to create a delicate balance between all these facets to create a cohesive built environment. The Architect must be a “jack of all trades” as the process to becoming an Architect requires the ability to learn many other professions. Aside from the obvious creative arts arena where the Architect thrives, the Architect must also delve into the avenues of science to keep up with the progressing technologies. The Architect is an individual who is aware of all available materials, technologies, management, and legalities and is skilled at providing the best technological solutions to the specific task at hand. The importance of engaging the services of an Architect is that he or she will ensure that the challenges are met.

The Architect’s contribution to the community is not only by the extensive knowledge base that is carried. The Architect creates the physical built environment and to do this the Architect studies the entire macro context in order to respond to the context in a sympathetic manner. When embarking on a specific project the Architect studies the entire built environment in question to respond to the given environment. A true Architect cannot be selfish as the Architect’s creation becomes a reflection of the society. Therefore, the Architect works with a responsibility not only to himself and the client but to society at large.

Architecture has the power to create the character of place, it gives identity and authenticity to the built fabric of a society. The architecture of an area can speak volumes of the history, the culture and the lifestyles of the community it stands in, as, in its creation these facets are highlighted in order to create cohesion between space and place. Architecture must be responsive to evolution. It must respond to the times and the trends of the present day, however, with regard to the roots of society. Architecture can contain a form of layering where the new and the old can meet in a tasteful manner so that the architecture of the time becomes relevant to all age groups of a society and not exclusively one dimensional. It is the Architect and the architecture of a place that will serve the society by creating qualitative spaces, which uplift the living conditions of the people in that society.

Peshali Perera