The Visible Architecture: Why Details Matter
Architecture is not in the hidden details; it is the details.
A software engineer from the London office of a leading tech firm was explaining the components of website architecture to an architect. She tried to engage in the conversation, but most of it flew right past her. It felt like a world she could never grasp.
Sure, she didn't understand the backend code, but that didn’t affect her perception of the front end. In a blink, she could tell what works and what doesn’t. The front end is, for the most part, self-explanatory.
Lena, a 38-year-old single mom, moved from California to NYC to raise her son in a city she believed shapes kids differently. As a fashion stylist, her eye for detail was sharper than ever. She would drop her son off at school and roam the city, absorbing its energy and finding her footing in this new setting.
Her camera was her ally during these long walks. At every turn, she discovered a building worth clicking. What amazed her was that the buildings seemed to have similar characters, yet they didn’t all feel the same. Much like us humans.
Two years into the grind, after long days and longer nights, she could finally afford a place of her own.
She signed the lease and moved in with her son, ready to start a fresh chapter they had both been looking forward to. It was a simple house, perfect for the two. It wasn’t a blank canvas, but it had enough room for her to colour it with her own personality.
This became her all time favourite project.
To fill the house with details that would overtime make it a bright and clear expression of who she was and who she could become.
The house became her identity in the city, making her an architect not by profession, but certainly by passion.
We all carry a jumble of ideas that often don’t align. The ability to harmonise them is a skill, and that’s what results in vibrancy and character.
Which is why, architecture isn’t created by one single mind; it’s a collaboration of many voices.
But it does require one person's brilliance to stitch them all together. Just like how a puzzle is made up of many pictures, but it's the last piece that fits, that reveals it as one big scene.
Len was doing just that—collecting and curating in a way that fits. With each effort, the design of the house became even better.
Meaning, the effort was visible.
Architecture is not in the "hidden" details, but it’s certainly hidden in the details, and there’s a difference.
Some details only gain value when explained, but the best ones speak for themselves. Sure, elaboration adds weight, but they should stand strong on their own. That’s architecture at its best.
When your effort makes things smooth and efficient, that's good engineering. When the details create an emotion, that's great architecture. Both go hand in hand, and one can't function well without the other.
It's just that one shouldn’t overshadow the other.
