Authenticity in architecture : an examination of the theoretical background and its application

Abstract

Man made environments are defined largely in terms of the objects and their meanings. As objects in their own right , man made environments are essentially focus on intention, usually having a fixed location and possessing features which persist in an identifiable form. Such environments can be defined in terms of communal and personal experience ; they can be at almost any scale , depending on the manner in which our intention are directed and focused. In short those aspects of the lived world that we distinguish as true to itself are differentiated because they involve a concentration of our intentions , our attitudes , purposes and experience. Because of this focusing they are set part from the surrounding space while remaining a part of it. The basic meaning of man made environment , its essence , therefore come from locations , from the trivial functions that environments serve , from the community that occupies it and from myth and spiritual experiences though these are all common and perhaps necessary aspects. The essence of authentic architecture lies in the largely unselfconscious intentionality that is defined as profound centres of human existence. There is for virtually everyone a deep association with the consciousness of the environment where we were born and grew up, where we live now, or where we have had particularly moving experiences. This association seem to contribute a vital source of both individual and cultural identity and security a point of departure from which we orient ourselves in the world. This study does therefore constitute a deliberate attempt to search for the authenticity of the natural and the manmade environments and its importance in orienting ourselves in the world.