Decay and disintegration are simply factors of time. Nothing lasts, change is constant. The natural process of dematerialization is everywhere. If we ourselves aren’t tearing it down, the forces that surround us are. So architecture must blaze, not to make way for the avant garde, but because it has no choice. As much as we covet the new (out of our own fear of impermanence) and seek perfection in unworn ‘beauty’, it never lasts. It may be time to look outside of our expectations.
The potential for architecture in embracing the imperfect is that in accepting natual processes we may start to see more of the beauty of the world. By challenging the conventions of beauty, we open our minds to a broader place, and gain the potential to appreciate more of the world around us. This is important because we are so often dissatisfied with our world and situation because we are basing our ideas of happiness and success on a narrow definition that is ingrained through cultural beliefs. There is undoubtable beauty in those beliefs as well, but they are in the end limiting. And in this sense, architecture can be appreciated through an alternative lens. It can also be designed through that lens.
