What's the idea?
In a 1957 interview, Frank Lloyd Wright spoke to the power of built spaces to reflect ideals and support flourishing. In my opinion, he is overly optimistic about American individualism (and FWIW I don’t agree with him on the experience of entering a cathedral). However, I hear and share his point that physical environments can empower us to live differently and therefore should reflect our deepest values. Of every space, he would ask: “What’s the idea?”
This is a productive question for both macro and micro concerns, especially at this time of reimagining a new normal. What might it mean for the future of workspaces, homes, and public spaces?
I see direct ties to at least two contemporary macro issues (and I’m sure there are others). First, a connection between home design and residents’ flourishing adds to the urgency of housing equity. We must do better to close the gaps perpetuated by inadequate and unsafe housing. Second, ecological concerns demand different patterns of consumption, particularly by wealthy nations whose luxury and convenience consumption outpaces what the Earth can sustain. How might our physical environments help us resist hyper-consumption—and mitigate the damage of climate change? Architects, designers, real estate pros, housing experts, and others who work in realm of built spaces...the possibilities for impact are so exciting here.
In addition to supporting policies and projects that bring these ideas to life, each of us can approach our physical environments with more intention. This is the micro level. To “laypeople” who don’t work in the fields I name above, but who do have the privilege of private spaces for home and work: look around your office or living room, and ask, what’s the idea here? We can’t all have a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, but we can bring his kind of intentionality into our physical environments whenever we have the chance or a choice to make about them.