AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.09.2004, Qupperneq 57

á að vega þyngra en skammtíma-
sjónarmiðin - bygging er komin til
að vera. Við verðum að einblína á
að arkitektúr er ekki einkamál arki-
tekta heldur eitthvað sem allir eiga
að njóta góðs af og vera meðvitaðir
um. Megintilgangurinn er að sem
flestir njóti góðs af framlagi arki-
tektsins og hluti af því er að upplýsa
almenning um mikilvægi arkitektúrs í
menningarsamfélagi. Samstaða ark-
itekta er ekki síður mikilvæg í þessu
sambandi.
Það sem ég hef nú reynt að rök-
styðja með þessari grein er að ef
aukin áhersla er lögð á góða hönnun
Are we designing
housing as we
should?
Halla Haraldsdóttir Hamar, Architect
During the past years lceland has
become more prosperous and this
has contributed to an expansion in
the housing market. Good architec-
ture is common but it is also obvi-
ous that often cheap solutions are
used in the design of housing - but
why?
One could say that earlier on the
education of architects was more
appreciated - in the sense that there
were few architects working on the
market. Their position was strong
and they could concentrate on
commissions that paid well, mainly
from companies, institutions and
local authorities. The general public
did not buy architectural services
because people were afraid of los-
ing command - a kind of “respect
out of fear,’’ an attitude which was
common towards other profes-
sionals at that time. Today there is
a different public attitude towards
educated people and professionals
and people do not hesitate to recruit
the services of architects in jobs
- both large and small. There has in
addition been a great increase in the
profession and architects are now
looking for all design work - from
interiors, design of garages and
housing to large commissions from
public bodies. There is no informa-
tion available as to what percentage
of the housing market is designed
by architects but to judge from dis-
cussions with the building inspec-
tors one could conclude that archi-
tects now design around 80% of all
housing built in the capital area.
There is an inclination by those
who purchase architectural services
- building contractors and individu-
als - to cut down design services
because they are not clearly visible
and not valued. In these instances
architects are compelled to spend
less time on design trying to earn a
decent hourly wage and this in turn
influences quality. Good services
can not be produced in a record
time.
Why is good design so important
to all of us?
It is important for many reasons.
Architects should make a contribu-
tion to good architecture and be
open to the influence of our work
on society and Nature. We should
above all respect our environ-
ment and take responsibility for it.
Although we may have a different
opinion about what constitutes
good architecture, each and every-
one has to be true to his conviction
and conscience.
With regard to the public it is
above all the quantities that can-
not be measured that are important
- sensations - that good design
produces. These sensations aim at
maximising the spiritual well being
and experiences of the individual.
á íbúðarhúsamarkaði þá eru allir
að hagnast beint og óbeint á því;
Almenningur, verktakar jafnt sem
arkitektar. Það er það sem skiptir
öllu máli og þess vegna er mikilvægt
að við hlúum að byggingarlistinni. ■
avs 57