Artistic statement_3

Revision: Draft 3
Pratt Institute
CEP/Sang Kim


The People
Who Direct the Environment



Younglee, Lee


「WE shape our buildings; Thereafter they shape us」Winston Churchill said. He mentioned that architecture can change our life and at the same time it has ceaselessly represented people’s environment. My first impression of architecture is simple curiosity; how architecture and the environment are associated and related, and I still try to know that relationship more and more. When I was young, architecture looked so amazing to me. People build a house, live there and make a family on real ground. Like Churchill says, architecture is closely connected with our environment and life. Therefore, I started to believe that architects could make improved environments and buildings for people.

During the last year, I mainly learned about conceptual and symbolic architecture. Using conceptual terms, I made the Aqua Park (See figure 1.) by creating a new landscape. For the first time, I could not understand the meaning of architectural landscape. Because there are many meanings of landscape, for example, the high and low level of ground could be landscape, and even if not, every thing that has a mutation of height could also be being landscape. After creating the new landscape, I had to think about the relation between the landscapes that I made and people’s behavior, such as how people walk, where they want to rest, how they feel comfortable and, if there is a swimming pool, how swimmers want to move after swimming. Through this project, I realized that the architect directs the environment for people.


Fig 1.「AQUA PARK」Younglee, Lee spring 2007

The most interesting part of architecture is the communal living or group housing. Our society has progressed toward excessive individual environment. And also we can see many problems becoming issue, such as Japan Teen Angst that people excessively avoid contacting each other. Sometimes we do not know our neighbors. The communal living housing that is considered of organized structures can create contact with others at home, friendly and closely. As communal living housing increases, our society might progress in many beneficial ways. Through this communal living housing concept, I want to improve peoples’ environment as an architect.

I already know architecture exists for people and the development of society. In the other words, architects can help people to live comfortably and conveniently.