CURRENT MANIFESTO

This is a manifesto for radical functionalism. AIA COD is, arguably, after the schools, and possibly the press, the most important forum for the discussion of architecture in the United States. So, it seems appropriate, here a mile from one of Lou Kahn’s masterpieces, to open the fight for the heart of the profession. For too long we have sought our meaning from academic wordsmiths. Architecture is not about art or politics. Architecture is about buildings. Buildings are tools. Architecture, therefore, is about maximizing the fitness of buildings. I am not the only one who has been troubled by the intellectual shallowness of the theoretical discourse in the 20th century. Architecture or revolution, give me a break. It is time to take back and put back the majesty of architecture. If you listen carefully enough to the programmatic requirements, the building will tell you what it wants to be. You don’t need a style or an ideology based in art or literature. You just need to tailor the building exceptionally well to the program. All architecture must spring from radical functionalism. Great architecture happens when we achieve a sublime functionalism. Of course, form follows function. Form is not architecture. We need to close the gap. Architecture follows program. That is all we need to make a great architecture. Architects and the public will recognize it as such.

Originally presented to the American Institute of Architects Committee on Design in May of 2004 in La Jolla California.