CAA Asian Conference
Industrialisation must be given top priority
facturer and feed back of user-ex- perience from the architect and engineer are essential.
Technological advance in the de- velopment and use of new materials, techniques of construction which al low almost unlimited application of intuition and imagination to the re- trieval of information, have provided man with an almost unbelievable ability to master his physical environ- ment. Yet as we master our physical environment we recognize that progress is not an unmixed blessing.
The impact of industrial architec- ture on man and his environment is the reflection of our awareness of the dangers of thoughtless development, and our acceptance of the obligation to use the affluence which technology has brought us to minimize the harm we do to our environment and to improve the lives of those who are affected by the changes which we bring about.
Industrialization of building must be given top priority and architects must play an essential part. Traditional methods of construction no longer correspond to present demands. In- dustrialization would therefore pro- duce in the shortest possible time the maximum possible accommodation at the lowest possible cost. In developing countries industrialization is parti- cularly necessary where requirements generally exceed the availability of local materials. In the first stage indus- trialization should consist of the im- provement of traditional construction methods, the choice of materials used and equipment such as distribution of water, electricity and sanitary instal- lations.
The size of the construction pro- gramme in most developing countries has been growing at a fast rate. This calls for reassessment and a radical change in the organization of the ad- ministration of the development activity. This could also lead to effi- ciency, economy and speedy execu- tion of works. It is therefore impor- tant that professionals be given due recognition and authority to discharge their responsibilities adequately. To ensure a vigorous and coordinated pro- gramme in urban development, archi- tects should be brought into the main stream of national planning.
The relations between all profes- sionals, and in particular between architects and engineers, should be closer and more cordial so that co- operation takes the place of the jea- lousy and suspicion that now frequent ly exists. All construction, irrespective of its nature, is inter-disciplinary. Architects, engineers, builders and other specialists,
specialists, technicians and craftsmen all make an essential con- tribution to a building.
The architect bears overall respon- sibility for the design of the building and coordinates the work of the specialists. It would be advantageous and helpful to define clearly the re- spective spheres of the activity of each profession to prevent over-lapping.
It is tragic that architects and engineers, even when they are edu- cated in close proximity, do not learn to think and work together. They acquire not only a different ideology, but all too often, emotional attitudes that border on contempt. Few things are more urgent, if the construction professions are to serve society well,
than the growth of mutual respect for the professional skill of others.
The national institutes must con- centrate on projecting a better image of the profession. Public relations must be made the order of the day. In some developing countries enlightened clients are rare enough and thus there is more need than in other countries to try to cultivate them, to awaken in the community more understanding of and sympathy with the basic architec- tural code. It takes at least two to make good architecture; a receptive client as well as a convinced architect.
The outlook of the profession is unsettled and unsettling. Every year it is harder for young men to go into private practice. The profession would want the architect to be at the head of the building operation. Whatever great changes lie ahead in the organization of practice, whatever mass techniques of building overtake one, still the end product would be architecture. In the midst of professional difficulties we are inclined at times to forget that the quality of the end product is all that matters in the long run.
Our patrons among the public are not greatly impressed by the profes- sion. Many responsible public men are very easily convinced that neither the talent nor experience for their needs is available in the local profession.
Architects must therefore ensure that they satisfy the functional needs of the building programme itself as well as the demands of society, respect the nature of materials and structural realities, press technology and metho- dology into greater efficiency and finally renounce all that is irrelevant beautification.
Far East BUILDER, January 1970
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