UGALDE, Vincent John A.

February 13, 2021

BS Arch – 3 Ar. PRESAS, Marsha

ESSAY PAPER AR 3142: Prof-Prac 2 - Group 1

Architecture is timeless; it has been with us ever since humans stopped living in

caves and building shelters, to building monumental structures that exist even until

today and continues to progress and advance as we head into the future. Architects

came from designing and building shelters, to building nations and bringing cultures

together. The development into the current world we live in is strongly influenced by

architecture and the architects that come along with it, and I would love to be a part of

that influence.

As an aspiring architect my goal is to simply become an architect, but if I were to

become an architect my goals would be not only to design for the future, but also to

design with an impact to society. Architects are important because they have a very

big role in shaping the nation we know today. In the article about Architecture and its

role in nation-building by Amor Maclang, it is mentioned that “...architecture is an art

form that easily integrates itself into every aspect of our lives.” and that this plays a

significant role in building a nation. I agree because I believe that architects give

society the reasons to be proud of one’s country.

Architects design the buildings and structures that bring different people together

and show the ideals of each nation with every building designed, but it is not only the

structures themselves that play the role. As mentioned in the article, the concept of a

pop-up library that encourages people to bring a book to leave on a designated space,
and in-return they could take another book home is a good idea that helps bring people

closer together and even keeps kids of the street even if it is for a little while. This is a

very good example of how architects can find other ways to contribute to building the

nation whether it be designing buildings or creating campaigns and social experiments

to bring people together.

Architecture impacts society in many different ways to even the little details that

can’t easily be noticed by the normal eye. Architects take note of a lot of aspects, from

the client of the project, the environment, the budget and economy, the art and building

design, to the community and the users with respect to the effects of building

psychology. Architects want to affect the users in the best possible ways to provide a

building with regards to comfort, accessibility, and feeling. Architects also take note of

how the buildings affect both the mental and physical health of the building users.

Architects integrate safety design standards and new design considerations to

provide a safe and healthy environment for the building users like designing for the

elderly, disabled, green-building, and the use of today’s new technology in their

designs. Most especially in today’s situation of having to deal with the COVID-19

pandemic, architects are still able to contribute and provide in the current times.

Architects have been designing temporary ICU’s and healthcare facilities that are

prefabricated and easily to build to help combat the growing number of COVID-19

patients.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that architects have a respectable role in nation

building, impact and shape society in many ways, and matter especially in our post-

pandemic world today.

References:

Maclang, A. (2016, June 14). Architecture and its role in nation-building: Amor
maclang. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://businessmirror.c
om.ph/2016/06/14/architecture-and-its-role-in-nation-building/#:~:text=As%20Ti%20h
as%20mentioned%2C%20architecture,of%20inspired%20and%20empowered%20ci
tizens.

How does architecture impact society? A high-level look: Thought leadership. (2019,
October 21). Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://hmcarchitects.com/news/how-
does-architecture-impact-society-a-high-level-look-2019-10-18/

Name. (2020, December 23). Architecture's response to the pandemic. Retrieved

February 12, 2021, from https://www.whatdesigncando.com/stories/architectures-
response-to-the-pandemic/