What are the skills (or powers) we develop in the practice of architecture and how do they manifest in our daily lives? In the tenth article of the series Twelve Months, Twelve Themes, Jorge Ferreira and Rita Costa show how the "architect's brain" shapes the view of the world and helps to face some everyday challenges.
What is the architect's superpower?
I wouldn't say we have actual superpowers, but I believe we develop unique skills and abilities that we carry into our lives. One of them, which I find fundamental, is sensitivity. An aesthetic sensitivity but also an interpersonal sensitivity that comes from our interaction with various stakeholders throughout the project development process. From a contemplative point of view, it becomes very intrinsic. We can no longer pass through a space without looking at it differently, much more critically, and in more detail. We are attentive to the sensations a space transmits through color, light, and materiality. And this comes from our profession. On the other hand, we gain the ability to work and solve problems and design solutions as a team, covering areas beyond architecture. It is a multidisciplinary profession that encompasses not just the artistic part, but the legal, urban, and technical aspects, which implies a lot of interaction. I believe the architect also has another role, which I consider social. We provide a service, we are not just artists. What we develop has to be a service for people. We serve people, creating what they want for themselves, for their lives. And I think that's a power. (Rita Costa)
In line with the sensitivity that Rita mentioned, I would add our super-attention to detail. There is always a tendency to spend more time observing spaces. For example, in an exhibition, we do not just look at the objects themselves, but at so many other details – how the space is lit, whether it has artificial light, natural light, how the pieces are arranged – our eyes are trained to think about these things. We observe a space and can foresee what was there before and predict the different configurations it could have. This is very particular to our profession. Furthermore, our profession requires us to find creative solutions to complex problems, communicate ideas clearly and effectively, and manage – teams, egos, expectations – in order to create aesthetic, functional spaces that inspire and improve the quality of life for those who use them. Balancing all these factors can indeed be seen as a superpower! (Jorge Ferreira)
In what circumstances are these superpowers useful to you in your daily life?
Our attention to detail, aesthetic sense, and creativity become intrinsic to our personality and the way we solve problems and face everyday challenges. Creativity is not only expressed in an artistic way, but in various ways, such as solving family problems, how we deal with people, or how we organize a shelf. The social sensitivity I mentioned, which comes a lot from our teamwork, is fundamental in our daily lives. As I said, our work ends up being multidisciplinary. Architecture forces us to deal with a wide team, which is not just our team of architects. There are engineers, suppliers, legal aspects, which require knowing how to work in a team and manage various opinions, desires, making concessions, and guiding them to a common goal. We quickly realize that these various interactions are fundamental for the project to reach a successful conclusion and, whether consciously or not, we end up applying this paradigm to our lives. We become, indeed, richer in this sense. This learning, which is less formal and does not come from university but from the very practice of the profession, is one of the most important we carry into life. (Rita Costa)
In our profession, we have to hone communication; communication is essential. It may be surprising to some, but I truly believe it is one of the greatest skills of our profession! In most cases, the architect is not an isolated figure; they work in a team, in a network, and this teaches us to listen to others, to know how to make concessions, to argue. A power we must develop is the ability to listen to others. I don't know if it is an intrinsic power to the profession, but it should be. I believe our profession makes us more thoughtful communicators and often helps us show that the ideas on the other side are valid, but that, in our experience, we should take another path. This is a skill that my profession gives me and allows me to improve the lives of others. Helping to create dreams, for the client and also in our personal life, for our family and for the various people we come across. (Jorge Ferreira)
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