![]() ![]() Margit Rudy points out how our use of language therefore impacts the way others think about architects: Is one trying to be a better storyteller with their words or simply being pretentious?” - Lee Calisti, AIA If you cannot explain your work simply, you don't fully understand your work.” - DougilisĪs Lee Calisti points out, the important distinction to make is about intent: When I talk to a physicist, I expect him to be able to translate his work into terms that I can understand, and all trades and professions should be held to the same standard. ![]() “I don't think we are contributing to public discourse by using a language that is incomprehensible to a layman. Does everything have to be diminished and diluted to lowest common denominator?” - jsarhitektīut as noted in Dougilis' response to jsarhitekt, there's a difference between talking to other architects and talking to people outside the profession: “Why limit, criticize or mute expression? Architecture has its own language, not unlike other professions, pursuits, and genres. Sometimes, concepts are too complex to express in everyday language, and some words refer to obscure architectural ideas that the general public would likely not have previous knowledge of. Why Do Architects Use Such Strange Language?įirst up, to give our list some context we'll be discussing our readers' comments about the issues surrounding architectural language - those who are here for the list alone, feel free to scroll down!Īrchitectural language can, of course, be used for good reason. The huge variety allowed us to select a list of 150 words - just a fraction of the total suggested. Perhaps even more striking, though, was the fact that in all of these comments, there was remarkably little overlap in the words and phrases people were suggesting. This challenge is clearly a universal experience as well: when we asked our readers last month to suggest their picks for the "weirdest words that only architects use," we were inundated with suggestions - including 100 comments on the post itself and over 400 comments on our first Facebook post. From learning terms as obscure as "gestalt" to redefining your understanding of ideas as simple as "space," learning the architectural lexicon is one of the most mind-bending processes involved in becoming a designer. ![]() For most students of architecture, the first few years of learning involve a demanding crash course in architectural jargon. ![]()
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