Heidegger

Our personal interactions definitely affect the building. Our whole world, built and unbuilt, is dependent on interactions and it is an architect’s job to facilitate that in the built environment. A building’s success depends on the its use and if it does not facilitate the necessary interactions and connections then it must be deemed unsuccessful. A building that discourages interaction, such as I.M. Pei’s Media Lab,  becomes an empty shell that users simply pass through rather than creating relationships with each other and their environment.

Heidegger attempts qualify authenticity by relating it to old language, this is valuable but difficult since authenticity is so subjective. How can we judge a building or architect’s authenticity and how do we ensure that our own design is authentic? The only way to get close to that truth is to keep striving for it. Those designs that respond to their environment and their users are best at reaching authenticity. This is in direct contrast to those buildings that could be placed anywhere which are false.

It is impossible to make anything permanent but there are many examples of buildings that have stood the test of time and those that have not. Structures that have lasted 100 years or more are responsive to their environment and use therefore architects must be cognizant of these qualities in order to create a lasting design.