Architecture In the context of theory and practice, should architecture be thought of as art or applied science? Introduction Throughout our history, architecture has remained as the representation of society, depicting the successes, the values, and finally the collapse of civilization over time. From the buildings, and residences, to the monumental structures making up the fabric of the city, one can learn more concerning who the inhabitants were long before the present time. Architecture refers to the design of the built space that connects the abstraction processes and the experiences made possible by its material form (). Architecture practices include the macro-level of the overall built environment and the micro-level of product design and furniture. The overall built environment covers the civic centers, urban planning, subdivisions, and landscape design. Therefore, by exploring the past’s built environment, coupled with the contemporary study on the environment and psychology, individuals are able to comprehend the effects of architecture on individuals in completely new ways. This aspect raises the question regarding whether we should consider architecture as an art or applied science. Art is essentially the ability to demonstrate and convey a ‘world view’ through design of the build space. On the other hand, science refers to the systematic study of nature. In architectural context, applied science entails the application of that knowledge to the built environment and all its related technologies. According to (), an excellent architecture needs to have a good balance of applied scienceminded thinking and a keen artistic eye to effectively express abstract emotion and measure our tangibility reality. Therefore, in the context of theory and practice, architecture should be thought of as both an art and applied science of designing buildings and other physical structures. Why Architecture should be considered as both an art and applied science In this context, architecture refers to the art and science of designing buildings, where its practice includes design from the macro-level of the overall built environment and the micro-level of product and furniture design (). Therefore, architecture’s practice is a multi-disciplinary profession that integrates the skills of science, politics, history, applied science, technology, and philosophy. According to (), the balanced amalgamation of scientific thinking and artistic sensibility relating to designing buildings and their environments is vital to the creation of excellent architecture. As an art, architecture serves the spiritual need, and as an applied science, architecture serves the material need. Furthermore, an excellent architecture must need to have a good combination of a keen artistic eye and practical science-minded thinking. Where architects fail to pay attention to the building design from an engineering perspective, they are likely to end up with the structurally unsound building. Similarly, if the same architects fail to pay attention to the artistic side of the building design, they’re likely to end up with building designs that have terrible eyesore. Therefore, harmonious architectural designs need architects to consider both the artistic aspects and the practical science-minded thinking. Based on this understanding, architecture should be considered as both an art and applied science. Also, architects are supposed to exhibit traits that are valuable for the pursuit of both the applied sciences and the arts, thus indicating that architecture is a field that lie at the intersections of both art and applied science. Such traits include creativity, technical skills, and ability to visualize. According to (), architecture must have the ability to visualize how their final products would appear without the final products being in their form in front of them. Also, architects need to have the technical skills that can enable them design an architectural product on paper or software to come up with a visual view of what their final products would look like. Lastly, architects need to have creative mindset to enable them swiftly problem-solve in unanticipated ways, which is vital when to adhere to the time limits. Science is regarded as the measurement of our tangible reality while art is regarded as the expression of abstract emotion (). On paper, these two fields appear mutually exclusive, but their interaction is more prevalent than we can imagine. For instance, the architectural designs entail the utilization of an artistic eye in the creation of attractive buildings. However, the same architectural designs also necessitate the utilization of science via the engineering required to make the viable structures in the first place. This aspect means that for individuals to be considered architects, they have to be both science-minded and artisans. Furthermore, in this technological epoch, architects are required to enhance the bandwidth of the technology deployed in their field to advance and come up with excellent architectural designs. In this context, technology entails both the techniques/systems and the physical materials. This description also underscores the fact that architecture should be considered as both an art and applied science. Architecture as an applied science Awareness of the interaction between the environment and individuals, and the subsequent availability of scientific evidence in the contemporary world, has elevated the field of architecture to the applied science rank. Architects apply the scientific methods to study and develop concepts on various levels required to design building structures. These levels include comprehending the surrounding context from the historic, environmental, infrastructural, and stylistic perspective and determine aspects that users may require, including interior products, electrical, mechanical, structure, fire protection, plumping, and security and technical systems. According to (), the orchestration between applied science and art entail discipline in both the linear and lateral thought process. In this respect, the lateral thinking uses analogies and connects ideas across the spectrum to come up with something imaginative (). On the other hand, linear thought entails a systematic analysis of the idea to keep us grounded, leading to a particular outcome. In simple terms, architecture entails the design of buildings and the physical space between these buildings. However, the scope of this field extends beyond just drawing of designs or plans. It is every fashionable to assert that architecture is an amalgamation of different disciplines, including science, philosophy, and art, among others. Architecture takes the imagination which is the ability to visualize ideas and convey them clearly, as well as a keen interest in human behavior, including their habitat and natural environment; and swift problem-solving skills to come up with exciting and acceptable architectural designs. However, architects will need to use their applied science skills to systematically understand and apply knowledge about human behavior and nature. Therefore, architects require practical scientific thinking to be able to study human behavior, their natural environment and habitat, as well as problem-solving skills to effectively apply them in architectural design of the buildings and other physical spaces between the buildings. Moreover, when architects create their architectural work, they must integrate aesthetical and functionality aspects in their architectural designs. Technological advancement has continued to expand the scope of the field of architecture, as manifested in the magnificent modern architectural designs. For instance, there is a multidisciplinary body of knowledge known as the building science drawing from diverse disciplines, including architecture, engineering, and applied science. This multidisciplinary body of knowledge is used to comprehend the building design’s physical behavior as a system (). It is vital for architects to comprehend how the buildings will act as the system in affecting comfort, efficiency, indoor air quality, and durability. Consequently, architect can be considered as applied science because it requires practical, scientific thinking to explore aspects like ergonomics, circulation, acoustics, climatology, structure, optics, physical planning, sociology, electrical engineering, and construction management. Furthermore, architects need to be good at mathematics to be able to explore trigonometry, mechanics, calculus, and geometry, which are vital aspects in architectural designs. According to (), a more mathematical application in the architectural design is depicted by the space syntax which entails the analysis method that seeks to translate individuals and social behavior into matrices and graphics. This mathematical approach can express the qualitative aspects of the space using numerical data, helping to predict the ability of the architectural design to repel or attract individuals based on the established targets (). The ability to anticipate future scenarios and controlling them against any perturbative occurrences is also a vital aspect associated with applied science which helps to guarantee the success of architectural designs. Architecture as an art Architecture refers to the purposeful; design of the space where individuals live, play, and work. When it is done creatively, architecture has the ability to create an enriching and enjoyable environment. When creating buildings with magnificent designs and the creative viewpoint, architects are also required to factor in the structural integrity of the buildings. In this respect, architects must guarantee that there are hardly any structural issues that can compromise the safety of the buildings’ occupants. Architecture and art have many aspects in common, especially regarding how they are treated and perceived. According to (), art is also regarded as an architecture, since the many creative works done by architects are treated as the work of art, like drawings, sculptures, and paintings. However, building designs tend to be different from many other forms of arts since they take up physical space in the world. These building designs are treated as architecture and also work of art (). According to (), art refers to the process of creating something and not only the end-results. This process covers three vital skills, including imagination, skill, and execution. On the other hand, architecture refers the science and art of designing buildings. Therefore, in this context, architecture should also be considered an art since it uses imagination, creativity, and aesthetics (). More importantly, it should be considered as applied and fine art because the buildings designed by architects are not only meant to provide protection and shelter, they have also been given meaning and beauty. Furthermore, such buildings have been purposely designed in a manner that make individuals feel something when they them, including happiness, peace, or awe, making them fine work of art. Moreover, according to (), buildings created by architects have been given meaning and beauty to enable them make individuals feel something special upon seeing them. Architects manage to do all these things through their creativity. Moreover, architecture refers to the technique and art of planning and designing buildings that contain artistic components as opposed to focusing just on technical skills (). Architects employ architectural skills to suit both aesthetics and practical objectives, thus attaining both the creative and technical objectives. Both architecture and art are designed with comparable fundamental organizational principles, aesthetically based components, and perceptual interaction in mind (). Furthermore, when exploring the history of both architecture and art, you realize that many people were both artists and architects as there is much overlap between these principles. Art and architecture are both historically and culturally significant. According to the Krebs cycle of creativity shown below, shows the existence of strong creative tension binding architecture to science and art, as well as technology.
