Opera House - Skopje (1981)

A commitment to global consciousness must be central to our values as humanity inhabiting this planet.  Architecture is the most powerful tool available to our species.  Architecture actively participates in life and death matters.  For this we must not just stand by to obediently waiting for developer clients to produce their briefs. 

Ambitious engagement in all aspects, historically and otherwise is needed.  Planning to tackle climate change is not enough.  A newly conceived Architecture and urbanism could redefine life.  However, we should not take computational technology for a false breakthrough in values.  In fact the omnipresence of the use of literal computational drawing methods to sell projects must be resisted. 

The depressing homogeneity of architectural renderings today is a bleak indication of our mindless conformity which we do not have to endure.

 In this spirit, five points are offered: 

1. Explore to liberate Architecture from its dead, digital crust
2. Reject the divorce of the inside from the outside via clichés of parametric building envelopes
3. Activate Architecture as an inner exploration… an epic in light in space
4. Promote authentic, original experiments of modest size by small collaboratives—reject bigness as a value
5. Advocate Architecture of social openness and public spaces—resist privatized work of service that supports income imbalances   

 Currently the scapegoat is on the run; the Year of the Goat defines the emergence of new values.

  

—Balthazar Holz