This article explores the need for a ‘home’, the most important of our ritualistic dwellings, and the complexity and importance of the architecture required to build it, and the idea of how great it would be if building a home could be as easy as building Lego blocks. It explores the interest in and study of architectural installations, and how architecture is more than just a structure, but an intimate part of people’s lives.
It is said that people need three things to live. They are clothing, food, and shelter. Simply put, you need to wear clothes, you need to eat, and you need a home. Personally, I think that clothes can be made of any fabric, and rice can be made of anything that goes into the mouth, although the nutrients may be different. However, I think it is difficult to make a proper house without materials and technology. In other words, clothes and rice are generally easy to obtain in everyday life, but building a house requires a lot of capital and technology, which is very difficult for individuals to obtain. In modern times, it is said that you need to be lucky to get a house for sale, and I don’t think I need to explain any further. This is a basic necessity for human life, but is there anything else that is as hard to get as a house?
We’re all familiar with Lego. There isn’t a boy who didn’t play with them at least once in his childhood. LEGOs are small, square blocks with bulges on the top and round holes on the bottom that allow you to connect different blocks together. Stacking them in this way and that way, you can end up with a structure that you can’t recognize, but there’s a certain joy in completing even the most insignificant of things. The process of putting these small blocks together into a building was more than just play, and LEGO, which was just a toy at the time, became the driving force behind my dream of architecture. If anyone could build a house as easily as LEGO, even the “unlucky ones” could be happy. Who would have thought that the inexplicable joy I received as a child from these little LEGOs would change my life?
My major is architecture, which has existed since the birth of mankind. Nowadays, it is the study of building a “house” that not only newlyweds but also the whole nation wants. When I tell people about architecture, they think of two main categories. They are either day laborers or architects. In fact, even when I was in high school, a time when I was deciding on a career path, I didn’t know whether it was an architect or a day laborer who built buildings until just before I was accepted into a university called the Hall of Intellect and started studying architecture. When my relatives found out that I had applied to study architecture, my elderly aunt stopped me, saying, “Isn’t studying architecture like being a day laborer?” and “Why would you go to Seoul National University and work so hard?”
There are also people who think the opposite. When they think of studying architecture, they think of architects designing in their own offices, presenting their designs in front of many people, and leading many people on construction sites. However, this is also a misconception due to the influence of dramas about architects such as ‘Personal Taste’, ‘Introduction to Architecture’, and ‘Gentleman’s Dignity’. This is not to say that the portrayal of architects in dramas is 100% false, but due to the nature of dramas, they are somewhat exaggerated and make them look better than they really are. As a student studying architecture, I would like to see architects portrayed in dramas, but I am worried that the truth is distorted by exaggerating too much, which can lead to misunderstandings.
As such, many people have a misconception that architects are portrayed in dramas as perfect people who know everything about buildings and solve all problems, or that they are simply people who build buildings, such as day laborers. However, when you study architecture, you realize that building a building is more complicated and requires a lot of knowledge than expected, so it’s not as perfect as it appears in the show, and it’s not as simple as it seems. Personally, I think architecture is as complex as a living organism. Just as a human being is only healthy if it has a skeleton, flesh covering it from the outside, and blood flowing through it from the inside, a building is only good if all of its functions are organized and well-made.
For example, let’s say you’re building a one-story building. Assuming that you have the design drawings done, the first thing you need to do on site is to investigate the ground. What is the ground underneath the ground you want to build on, is it soft, hard, does it have groundwater, etc. Once this is done, the foundation is laid. Just as a strong foundation is necessary to solve applied problems, a strong foundation is necessary to build a strong and safe building. After the foundation, the next step is to build the columns, walls, and roof. In human terms, you’re building a skeleton. This is the most important thing when it comes to stability, and it’s not something that’s done haphazardly, but rather by carefully calculating the weight of the building itself and the expected load on it. This process is called ‘structural analysis’ or ‘structural analysis’. Once the skeleton is complete, it is fleshed out with insulation to prevent energy loss, soundproofing materials to absorb sound, and bricks to decorate the rough surfaces. This is called exterior construction.
Once the exterior of the building is complete, many people may think that the building is fully constructed. But in reality, the next step is even more important. Just as a person can’t live on just bones and flesh, a building isn’t complete just because it looks good on the outside. Without the right equipment on the inside, a building is just a giant shell, and it needs to be brought to life. This is the building equipment. It’s an important factor that determines the functionality of a building, and it includes a variety of elements, such as air conditioning to keep the interior at the right temperature, fire protection to prevent fires, water supply to provide water, electricity to provide power, and hot water to provide hot water. All of these facilities are part of the building system, which makes a building more than just a structure, but a place for people to live.
Building a building like this requires a lot of knowledge and effort. In the architecture department, students learn and study all the knowledge needed to build the above-mentioned buildings, starting with design, followed by foundation, surveying, and construction. However, not every architect can do all of these things perfectly well. As with anything else, there is so much knowledge that most people who study architecture focus on one specialty, or in some cases, two.
I’m most interested in the facilities that bring buildings to life. Of course, it’s important to make buildings safe, such as structural, and it’s fascinating to think creatively and create new structures, such as design. However, I am studying, and hope to continue to study, the systems that people don’t realize are the most closely interacting with people in buildings and can cause harm if they don’t work properly. The importance of architectural facilities cannot be overemphasized, as they go beyond the functionality of a building and directly affect the quality of people’s lives.
When I was a kid, I used to build things with LEGOs that I couldn’t even call buildings, and I wanted to make sure that what I built would come alive. I want to breathe life into a building by studying its architecture, so that the people who live in it can feel peaceful. If the building I designed and touched can become more than just a structure, but a safe and comfortable haven for people, there is nothing more rewarding.
