Building and dwelling in the Twenty-first Century Essay

Building and dwelling in the Twenty-first Century - Essay Example The critical question that arises here is that how the activity of building should be carried out and how should the dwellings be realized. Heidegger in his essay 'Building Dwelling Thinking' says that "we perceive building and dwelling as two different activities but in reality building and dwelling is one and the same". The sole purpose of building is to dwell and this does not only include the act of lodging in a building but rather it includes all the other facilitators that come together to provide a platform for dwelling of man on the earth because in the large meaning, being human being on earth means to dwell. It is important to understand that any building does not exist in isolation, with little or no relation with its surrounding, but rather it is a part of a complex fabric that intertwined around various aspects like natural surroundings of the place, the perception of the building by the larger society of the users as to what it is and as the functional utilization of that building. It is also necessary to understand that the building exists in the midst of natural elements like the sky and the surround landscape and that it is necessary to understand the building in the same manner. ... This should necessarily harmonize with the immediate and the distant physical surroundings in order to form a part of the larger locale. This can include the natural as well as built surrounding that has been created by man during the course of time one earth. The act of building therefore needs to encompass other elements of intangible nature, like the relationship of the building with the established cultural landscape of the place and the perception that has been attached with the same. With all this, when a building comes into existence, as a facilitator for dwelling, it changes the characteristics of the locale in which it is created and then, it assumes the position of locale by itself. In terms of the cultural relationship of the building, it is necessary to link the act of building with the larger aspect of dwelling by understanding dwelling not as an instantaneous activity but as an activity that has occurred over a large period of time and that it shall continue to be the same in the time to come. Being in the twenty-first century it is therefore necessary to understand the act of building as the act of creating and growing something that exist in time and space and something that is dynamic or ever-changing in terms of its manifestation but principally it remains the same throughout. As a side effect of scientific advancements, the perception of living and on a larger extent, dwelling, for us keeps changing all the time. With these advancements, there is a corresponding change in the culture of society and this in turn has a very important role to play in our perception of dwelling and building. The act of building in turn creates a locale and