Greg Bousquet at the GRI Residencial Brazil 2022.
Creative or technical? What is the profile that society and the market expect from an architect? Our Founding Partner, Greg Bousquet, addressed this topic in his lecture at the GRI Club event, one of the main groups in the real estate market with operations in several countries.
In front of an audience of investors, developers, and real estate operators, Greg recalled that, although little is said about the added value that architecture can bring to an enterprise, it becomes more decisive with the passing day. "Today, architecture can really change a business," he said. Therefore, it is time for architects to assume their role as articulators and entrepreneurs, looking at both one field and the other.
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21ST CENTURY ARCHITECTURE IS ART, TECHNIQUE, BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY TOOL
In architecture, dreaming is good, but it is far from enough. Keeping your feet on the ground is another key part of the equation. Architecture needs to be functional, as it is the only art, within the Fine Arts, with practical functionality and utility. Need technique. In fact, it is the sum of art and technique.
Its execution also benefits from accurate observation of the market, the economic context, and global behavioral trends. Design goes far beyond satisfying the eyes and the soul, which does not mean that comfort and aesthetics can be forgotten.
Recently, I was invited to talk about this complexity at the GRI Residential Brazil event for an audience of investors, developers, and real estate operators, some of whom I admire the most today. What would an architect have to contribute to the vision of such experienced professionals? Well, architecture can change a business.
Little is said about the added value that architecture can bring to an enterprise, but it becomes more latent with each passing day. The artist, the creative and idealistic architect, who ignores deadlines, and the importance of marketing or sales success, has no way of consolidating himself in this highly competitive and demanding market. On the other hand, the technical architect, short-sighted, focused only on execution and profit generation, which gives no importance to social, urban, and sustainability aspects do not go very far either. It is time for architects to assume their role as articulators and entrepreneurs, looking at both one field and the other.
The Danish Bjarke Ingels, the founder of BIG Architecture, one of the relevant offices in the world, is a good example. Recognized for complex traits in grandiose buildings, he joined Rem Koolhaas's team to later create his own. This year, he has already announced the launch of a company, dedicated to building wooden buildings. His drawings reflect human aspirations, changes in thinking, and environmental concerns that our cities need. “I think architecture needs to understand creativity differently, not just formally,” Ingels said in an interview.
CREATIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Creative architecture, but anchored in reality, is an important tool for sustainability. More than creating unexpected shapes, it is necessary to know what decisions to make in the face of existing resources and impositions.
Currently, 2% of the earth's surface is occupied by cities, but 55% of the world's population lives in these spaces, with 33% living in precarious housing. And 75% of carbon emissions come from the way we build, including material production and energy expenditure. Reviewing systems and methods is urgent and essential.
Planning based on the search for efficiency, ecological materials, such as engineered wood, or providing people with a greater connection to public spaces is an alternative to shape a sustainable future.
Architecture is an enterprise. It requires feasibility studies, calculations, understanding of legislation, terrain characteristics, shading, and insolation. But all this does not mean that, when finished, the work cannot assume the status of a work of art.
