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F'U NeT ION A 1I SM
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not only of the parts of houses, but of architectural fOTIns as well.
If
the standardization of architectural elements resulted from
scientific knowledge (as in the case of machine construction) there
would be no present objection; but since (even in the fabrication of
steel rail profiles) the measurements, weights, and joints of the parts
are derived from previous architec·tural projects
(and not from a
study of life processes and the needs they create), the resultant home
is not an organic
whole
but a
conglomerate.
After the floors, walls
and ceilings are in place, man is invited to orient himself in this
vacuum and to make himself as comfortable as he can (with the help
of furniture and decoration). The original architect-designer
has
never lived in this house, he has no experience of living in the place,
and there is no architectural laboratory existent where he can observe
man in an architectural environment. The experience is left to the
dweller when it is too late to make fundamental changes. The present
dweller who (in contrast to primitive man) never builds his own
house or plans it, is completely subjected to the dictatorship of the
architect and building contractor. The dweller of today has become
an architectural slave.
It is difficult in a brief space to make the confusion prevailing
in the construction industry clear to the layman (or to the average
architect). There is a general prudery that prevents people from look–
ing too closely into great technical achievements or institutions (the
same air of secrecy surrounded the sex life of our grandparents).
Nevertheless the Euclidean system has been replaced, and recently
the electric light bulb has given way to the fluorescent tube. The
public accepts new philosophies much more easily, largely because
people never have time to study them closely, and because they think
that these philosophies are too far removed from "real" life to be
dangerous.
But we must not forget that the specialization of occupations
has brought with it a vast decline in general knowledge.
If
industry
produces so much today, it is mainly for the sake of investments.
Industry does not serve basic needs but turns out repetitions or stylish
modifications of commodities that have proved saleable. Architects
and draftsmen are its unsuspecting accomplices.
