The Builder-Architect

Abstract

Today we have failed in creating built environments that serve our wellbeing. Rather such environments alienate us and cause anxiety and other pathologies of the soul. Modern buildings rarely touch us deeply because they are produced with an ethos of profit, self-absorbed egotism, stale utility, and mass production. History shows that there is an alternative. Few buildings today possess the quality that moves us, and yet traditional buildings seem to have it unfailingly. What is this quality that emanates from traditional buildings and that modern ones are devoid of? What values can we learn from past generations of Builder-Architects? And how can new buildings capture a spirit of place while responding to contemporary demand for sustainability?