Living Architecture

Living Architecture is the process of creating buildings in which to live sustainably. This process has emerged from the original Be Your Own Architect courses first held in 1989. These courses revealed the deep psychological engagement that results from direct involvement in the building design and construction process. This emotional engagement forms a vital link between architecture and life.

By recognising the emotional dimension of architecture and by making it a vital part of the design and construction process, it becomes possible to unite the inner world of our imagination with the outer world in which we physically exist. Essentially, the interior of the building represents our emotional inner world, the vehicle of our meaningful progression through life, while the exterior forms the interface where inner and outer worlds meet. The emotional engagement made possible by such a living architecture allows one to forge a spiritual connection with the higher dimensions of life.

Formal architecture began to abandon its spiritual dimension in the 18th century with the predominance of rational thinking and the growth of the Industrial Revolution. Domestic architecture was similarly affected with an abandonment of traditional sheltermaking in favour of new utilitarian designs suited to the emerging industrial society. This Machine Age effectively deadened buildings, severing their links to the deeper process of life. Perceptions about architecture have changed as a result, to the point where the facades of buildings are now seen to represent the ‘architecture’ rather than the inner spaces and feelings which they enclose.

The loss suffered by the abandonment of traditional sheltermaking has been grevious. The Market Economy has ruthlessly exploited this loss by offering but a single way of obtaining shelter – by taking out a mortgage. The effect of this has been to lock people into a quagmire of credit and consumption from which there is no apparant escape.

The destructiveness of the Machine Age is thankfully now plain for all to see. Calls for change abound. More than anything it is the type of shelter we create that will allow such changes to be realised. By creating a ‘living architecture’ that nourishes us emotionally as well as physically we can begin the process of living sustainably. No one can do this for us.

Sustainability is not something that can simply be bought, it is a way of life, something we are drawn towards. Where it engages our emotions in this way we know that we are alive. That is the starting point on the path to ‘living one’s architecture’. The Course in Sustainable House Design and Construction articulates this process.