The Architect as Eternal Optimist

Introduction

Note 1: In this essay, I use "idealism" to refer to the personality trait, not the metaphysical view that reality is immaterial.

Note 2: Though this essay pertains specifically to the architect, its premise is applicable to any individual.

Several years ago, I met with much displeasure an architect who, though highly experienced, having worked in the industry for decades, was categorically a pessimist. Of course, he did not refer to himself as a pessimist but rather, a realist, as is often done.

We briefly conversed about the current state of architecture and its future when he advised me to consider an occupation that made more money with less toil. From our conversation, I immediately recognized his cynical perspective. He explicitly dismissed my idealistic approach to architecture as romantic and unachievable. I confirmed this in further interactions, as well as through character assessments from others who knew him. Our conversation left a sour taste in my mouth. The attitude of the architect must mirror the inherently constructive nature of his profession. Anything less is antithetical to the idea of architect as builder. I came to an obvious realization:

More recently, I notice growing pessimism in the general population, but especially amongst architects. The profession chews up hopeful students and spits them back out as aged, mechanistic cynics. Having said that, I do not intend to diminish the very real difficulties that architects face—low wages, long working hours, unemployment, etc. Rather, I aim to justify optimism in spite of such difficulties as a prerequisite for improvement.

The world is terrible. There is war, famine, corruption, uncertainty, and other hardships too numerous to list. Most arguments in favor of optimism take an empirical approach that attempts to minimize these problems or provide evidence to the contrary. I defend optimism rationally, and from the premise of man as the hero of his own narrative.

Pessimism leads to a bleak future which itself leads to more pessimistic architects. These architects create an even bleaker future. A cycle is born whose end result is invariably dystopia. This reasoning works because the individual architect shapes the future. Society is only as good as its foundation. Buildings are the foundation of society. The architect designs this foundation. Thus, the architect ultimately affects the quality of society as a whole. Consequently, he must be an eternal optimist, faltering neither with space nor time.

The World and Its Many Failings

Pessimism is not evolutionarily intrinsic since it is contradictory to self preservation. Therefore, a person becomes a pessimist due to environmental circumstances.

Considering the present state of the world, it is no surprise that so many are becoming pessimists. The nuclear armament of nations. The looming threat of global war. The unfettered corruption of political leaders. The merciless destruction of Nature. The ever growing presence of technology. Not to mention famine, drought, and poverty. It appears that the world, and all its woes, conspire against us. This is precisely the case.

This unceasing onslaught makes people cynical and pessimistic.

The Pessimist Cycle and Its Demise

Consider the following sequence of events:

• The world is terrible. Thus:
• The architect becomes cynical and pessimistic. Thus:
• He designs a future that is bleak. Thus:
• Future architects become cynical and pessimistic.

This is a cycle whose limit, when taken to infinity, approaches dystopia. In reality, these events do not occur in a rigid, linear fashion. Regardless, it shows that pessimism is not sustainable. It is self-defeating.

In the first scenario, the architect's pessimism causes a cycle whose outcome is dystopia. The second scenario bears no cycle at all. Progress is stagnant. In the third scenario, there is an equal and opposite cycle to the first scenario. This cycle is conducive to human happiness and progress.

My reasoning works because the architect constructs the groundwork of society.

The Egorealist Hero

Individual architects decide the future of society by virtue of their job—to build. Buildings are the foundation of society. Before there can be laws and government, there must be shelter. People live in homes, learn in schools, and work in offices. Every aspect of life is affected by the built environment. From the buildings we sleep in, to the buildings where our most crucial laws are drafted.

The architect designs this foundation. As such, he has the power and responsibility to ensure its strength.

Despite this power, the architect can only act on it if he is not what I call an "egonihilist".

In doing so, he finds relief in no longer needing to choose. He becomes a feather in the wind. He gives up. Egonihilism is poison to the idea of man as the hero of his own narrative. The hero is an "egorealist". The egorealist knows that his individual actions have a concrete, measurable impact on society. The future depends on his decisions as opposed to the converse.

An egonihilistic architect abandons his standards. He will design anything in any way even if it is detrimental to society (e.g., Blobitecture). He is content to watch civilization go to Hell in the same vein that an ordinary nihilist is content watching life go to Hell. On the other hand, an egorealist architect has a clear vision and sets out to make it reality through objective action.

The Future, In Your Hands

In a world largely governed with corruption, the optimistic individual may feel powerless. Optimism alone is not enough to guarantee a positive future. The architect must also be an egorealist. He must have ambition and the confidence to achieve it. Optimistic ambition, but ambition nonetheless. Only in this combination is the cycle of pessimism defeated and a better society constructed. The architect is a hero and his buildings reflect his victories over desperate circumstances. To quote Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl:

“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”

The architect's "why" is his optimistic ambition. His ambition to build heroically, positively, rationally. In contrast to the architect with whom I spoke, optimism and idealism are not undesirable, they are imperative. Without these traits, the architect fails to fulfill his role as the builder of society. True optimism is not to see things as better than they really are, but to see things as they could be and aiming single-mindedly at that vision. Whether the glass is half full or half empty is inconsequential. I see a future where the glass is completely full and I intend to make it happen.