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The Beautiful Critic

A friend of a friend recently sent me a link to a project (which will go nameless) with a comment about how interesting it was and all of the new technologies used in construction. It was also really ugly. "Beautiful" doesn't have to be a taboo word in architecture, let's not forget that.

Jeff Pelletier is the Managing Principal and Founder of Board & Vellum, an architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture firm in Seattle, Washington.
Jeff Pelletier
May 16, 2011

A friend of a friend recently sent me a link to a project (which will go nameless) with a comment about how interesting it was and all of the new technologies used in construction.

It was also incredibly ugly.

Now, I get that architects should push the limits of what the built environment is, and we will only grow the definition of beauty if we push the limit. It also requires the right client willing to gamble with their building. But I also think that architects have the responsibility to make things, well, BEAUTIFUL. The word has almost become a dirty word in my profession and it truly is unfortunate.

In my opinion (perhaps that goes without saying seeing as it is my blog), we have a responsibility to our clients to truly create a piece of art. A beautiful piece of structure that people get to live in. We can get there in a variety of ways, for instance, I tend to find the origins of beauty in a well organized plan and elevations that are generally structured. But sometimes a piece of architecture is beautiful just because IT IS. As architects, we need to know how buildings get put together, to make them stay dry, and ensure they don't fall down on our heads, but we also are artists. There's no shame in ensuring that what we design is truly a work of art.

Architects have to challenge themselves to be our clients' advocate for beautiful buildings and spaces. It isn't a dirty word and it is actually a shame it has become so taboo to talk about beauty. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our clients. As interesting as we can make something I'm sure that our clients will be much happier looking at the building we create for them in 20 years time if they're beautiful and not just a bad memory of an architectural experiment on their dime.

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