Architecture, above all, serves human beings. It is created for various reasons, but the purpose of its creation is rooted in the human need to create a home in this world. As architects, we must never forget that need, or that purpose.
Our designs, and the construction of dwellings, are just phases of a longer process, whose aim is not to create architecture, but to help people achieve balance, well-being and transformation.
It is not something we should impose on people. Everyone has their own way and their own rhythm. We serve people by helping them discover themselves and helping them materialise that which they want to be.
This is a lesson that needs to be taught to all future architects, and a skill that needs to be applied in all future projects. All the sustainability, functionality, structural integrity and beauty cannot replace that.
Speaking to a client is like listening to a choir. The mind, the heart, the stomach: They all have different needs and visions, and they all need to be heard and respected.
The greatest achievement in creating the brief is to get the client to look at themselves from a different angle. Then you can discover together what it is that really makes them tick.
This gives you a chance to get to the essence of feeling at home in a way that is natural for that specific client and comprehensible to them.
Everyone wants to express that essence and share its joy with the world. We should help them do it without judging styles and tastes any more than one should judge a person by what they wear.
And so when the house is built we shall know that it is but the tip of an iceberg that contains the richness of human spirit and the beauty of human interactions with themselves and with others.
