SAN ROCCO 5 - Scary Architects - editorial

Architecture is scary. It is not just difficult to deny this; it is impossible. Architecture involves something oppressive. Dictators by definition love architecture. Nothing is more typical of dictators than gigantic, tasteless architecture (this is the difference between dictators and gangsters: gangsters only need gigantic, tasteless cars). In Hollywood movies, bad characters are always hidden behind several layers of stone. Good characters usually just have a little house, a very ordinary one, possibly made of wood. Clearly, if you need architecture, something is wrong with you. This probably has something to do with the origin of architecture. Indeed, architecture appeared at a moment in time when society became more hierarchical, more established. Slavery appeared at the same time as architecture (as did writing, for that matter). Whether it was a cause or a consequence, architecture is somehow related to an increase in hierarchical structure and inequality. Architecture exposes the oppression embedded in our society; it reminds us that our great-great-grandfathers had to slaughter the hunter-gathers in order to produce our lovely boulevards.