The meaning of architecture  

1 In the sense that architecture is the process between the design and the organization of space in some way (creating a building or laying out a park), architecture can be seen as a medium of communication, or a form of language. And like language, architecture can be prose or poetry. Architecture can result in a simple garden shed, for example, where the function of the building can be expressed as a need for shelter and storage. The architectural language is simple, there is relatively little ambiguity even if regional variation and interpretation arises (an English garden shed is different from an American den).

2 But it’s equally possible for architecture, like language, to have a more dense outcome, like a poem, in which patterns are laid one on another, overlapping each other on the same space. Its meaning becomes complex and profound. Those of us who have ever marvelled at, say, a Gothic cathedral in Western and Central Europe, will recognize how layer after layer of patterns, materials, shapes and textures are contained within its soaring walls and become filled with meanings, almost too many to contemplate. Its effects were designed to draw the eyes of men below to the ceiling above and contemplate the heavens beyond.

3 But architecture as a process and a means has other meanings. So much of architecture has the best intention of creating pleasure or a sense of satisfaction, even if it doesn’t always succeed. It may be the moderate pleasure of combining form with function. The shanty towns in Rio or Mumbai demonstrate an organic architecture which has no overall layout or prescribed plan, and no obvious logic, but its function is to protect and shelter the inhabitants who would otherwise live in discomfort on the streets.

4 Presumably, even the architects who designed the tower blocks of flats in the war-damaged cities of Britain in the 1960s and 1970s aspired to combine the economy of space to the maximum effect and for the benefit and pleasure of the people who were going to live there. There was nothing malign about their intentions, even though they were over-optimistic about the simplicity of imposing a new relationship between the space and the occupiers. In the end, it wasn’t   the neo-brutalism of the style or the materials – square forms made of reinforced concrete, often located with little or no regard to the environment, and rising 20 or 30 floors into the cloudy British skies – which brought criticism and scorn on this modernist architecture. It was the absence of gardens, shops and a sense of community which challenged and finally defeated this idealistic attempt to define a new way of living in cities.

5 Yet when form and function are compressed with extreme simplicity into a single space, the result stimulates our intellectual and aesthetic faculties. The Millau Bridge in France, designed by Norman Foster (architect of Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3) was the final link in the motorway network joining the north and south of France. The sheer beauty of the construction has transformed another medium of communication, a bridge on a road, into a tourist sight in its own right. No one who has seen the suspension towers, which rise above the morning mist and dominate the skyline, can remain indifferent. Here the language is simple: The word bridge is easy to translate into other languages.  But what a bridge! Words cannot do justice to its effect on onlookers.

6 The same is true for so many man-made constructions around the world. An igloo – the domed house of snow and ice in Greenland – is one of the simplest and most original examples of architecture to be found, yet it shows how functional buildings can also be appealing. Compare this with the breathtaking Catherine Palace in St Petersburg, a building of literally baroque complexity, a myriad of sumptuous colours, an extravagance of size, all set in language which would immediately be comprehensible to any educated European.

7  Another meaning which good architecture can generate is power. The skyscraper is the product of the modern age, and once again draws the eye to the heavens. Improvements in engineering and new materials, such as the steel frame construction, electricity, reinforced concrete, and fast, reliable lifts, have allowed man      to challenge God for the supremacy of the skies. New York is defined by its  skyscrapers, and the Rockefeller Center defines   the skyscrapers. Rockefeller, who was one of the richest  men in America, used his prosperity to build the first high-rise, mixed-use urban development project, with offices, shops, restaurants and bars, and of course, the famous ice rink, so often featured in the movies. Most important, the architectural language Rockefeller used was Art Deco and the Jazz Age, and the exciting sentiment that in those days, anything was possible  if you wanted it enough. Yet, to return to an earlier analogy, above the main entry is an image of God, the great architect, which implies that this is not just a tower which worships wealth, but one where ethics and morality should be found. 

8 Finally, architecture can give us a vision of paradise on earth. From the gardens, courtyards and cloisters of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains, we understand the exquisite harmony to be found in matching man-made elements with nature. From St Catherine’s Monastery, in Sinai Egypt, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, we remember how divine law can be passed down from its creator to mortals. And from the Hanging Temple – Xuankong Si – with its surrounding mountains in Shanxi Province, China, we learn how buildings can defy gravity and how mankind can live with the way of nature. 

9 Architecture helps build buildings, it’s true. But its scope is infinitely greater. It’s a language in itself, a means of communicating something other than mere form or function. It can be read like a book, as prose or as poetry, as long as you interpret the language. And that, as we all know, requires both an effort and a willingness to learn.

Translation

建筑的意义

1      建筑是介于设计和某种空间组织形式（建造一个建筑物或是布置一个公园）之间的一个过程。从这个意义上讲，建筑艺术可以被视作一种交流的媒介或者一种语言形式。并且和语言一样，建筑艺术可以是散文，也可以是诗歌。比如，建筑艺术的产物可以是一个简单的花园小棚，其功能可以说 就是用来遮风避雨和储藏物品。即使存在着一些地方性的差异和不同的阐释（英国的花园小棚和美国的休憩室是不一样的），这种建筑语言也是非常简单的，相对来说意义比较清晰。

2       但是，建筑艺术和语言一样，同样可以有深刻的含义。就像一首诗中，不同的形式互相叠加一样，不同的建筑形式也会在同一个空间互相重叠，这样它的意义就变得复杂而深刻。比如，我们看到西欧和中欧的哥特式大教堂时都会惊叹不已，我们意识到那高耸入云的墙上一层又一层不同的图案、材料、形状和质地充满了丰富的意义，几乎让人目不暇接。这样的设计效果就是要让在地上的人抬头仰望，遥想苍穹。

3       然而，作为一种工业流程和手段，建筑艺术还有其他的意义。就算不一定能做到，那么多的建筑艺术还是一心一意要给人创造愉悦感或满足感。这种愉悦感可能是形式和功能的完美结合所带来的那种适度的愉悦。里约热内卢和孟买的棚户区向我们展示了一种有机建筑，它们没有总体布局，没有既定的规划，也没有什么明显的逻辑，但它们可以为居民遮风挡雨，为他们提供安身之所。如果没有这些棚屋，他们就得露宿街头，过着颠沛流离的生活。

4       或许20世纪60、70年代那些为被战火摧残的英国城市设计公寓塔楼的建筑师们也想最大限度地节约空间，同时保障入住居民的利益，并给他们带来居住的愉悦感。他们的愿望是美好的，但是他们过于乐观，以为可以简单地在空间和居住者之间强行建立起一种新的关系。最终，让这种现代主义建筑备受批评和蔑视的并不是风格和材料上的新野性主义——用强化混凝土浇铸的方形建筑，选址几乎不顾及对环境的影响，二三十层拔地而起，直插英国阴云密布的天空，而是因为这种建筑没有花园，没有商店，没有社区的感觉，正是这一点使得那些建筑师重新定义都市生活的理想主义尝试遭遇挑战，并最终彻底失败。

5       但是当形式和功能以一种极其简单的方式被压缩到一个单一的空间时，就会激发我们的智慧与审美力。由诺曼·福斯特（北京首都国际机场3号航站楼的设计师）设计的法国米洛大桥是连接法国北部和南部高速公路网中的最后一环。这个建筑物本身的壮美把另一种交通媒介——道路桥梁——变成了一个旅游景点。大桥的悬索塔耸立在晨雾中，与天相接，见过的人无不为之动容。这座桥的建筑语言很简单：“桥”这个字可以很容易地翻译成其他各种语言。但这是多么宏伟壮观的一座桥啊！语言无法确切地表达它给观者所带来的震撼。

6       世界各地还有很多其他类似的人造建筑。圆顶冰屋——格陵兰岛上用冰雪建成的圆顶房屋—— 是世界上最简单但又最具独创性的建筑之一。它表明功能性建筑也可以富有吸引力。与之相比，圣彼得堡的凯萨琳宫美得动人心魄，它完全是一个极其复杂的巴洛克式建筑，色彩斑斓华丽、气势宏伟，它所采用的建筑语言对任何一个受过教育的欧洲人来说都一目了然。

7       好的建筑艺术所产生的另外一个意义是力量。摩天大楼是现代社会的产物，它又一次把人们的视线引向天空。工程技术上的进步和新材料的出现，如钢架结构、电力、钢筋混凝土、快速可靠的电梯等等，使人们可以挑战上帝对天空的绝对主导权。纽约的特色就是摩天大楼，而洛克菲勒中心是所有摩天大楼的典范。洛克菲勒是美国最富有的人之一，他凭借自己雄厚的财力盖起了第一个高层的城市综合发展工程项目。洛克菲勒中心有办公室、商店、餐馆和酒吧，当然还有那个在电影中频繁出现的著名的溜冰场。最为重要的是，洛克菲勒采用的是装饰派艺术和爵士乐时代的建筑语言，传达出那个时代令人激动的情绪：只要你有强烈的愿望，没有什么事是做不成的。但是，让我们回到我们先前的那个类比。在洛克菲勒中心入口的上方，可以看到伟大的建筑师——上帝——的画像，这意味着这个高楼不只是推崇财富的场所，而且也是彰显伦理和道德的地方。

8       最后一点，建筑艺术可以告诉我们什么是人间天堂。在气势恢弘的内华达山脉的映衬下，西班牙格拉纳达的阿尔汗布拉宫的花园、庭院和回廊让我们体会到了人造的建筑元素与大自然相得益彰的和谐。圣凯瑟琳修道院位于埃及的西奈，在这个摩西接过十诫的地方，我们可以回想神的律法是如何从其创立者交到凡人手中的。在中国的山西省有个群山环绕的悬空寺。通过悬空寺，我们可以了解到建筑是如何突破重力的束缚，人类是如何依自然之道而生存的。

9       的确，建筑艺术是用来建屋盖楼的。但是它包含的范围比这要大得多，内容极其广泛。它本身就是一种语言，一种交流方式，而不仅仅是形式和功能。只要你去阐释这种语言，你就可以像读一本书，像读散文或诗歌那样去阅读建筑。当然我们都知道，这要求我们既要付出努力，还要有学习的意愿。