My Love for Architecture
When I was a kid, my family had this thing where we’d stop at construction sites and look at houses. I don’t know if it was a family tradition or just curiosity, but it seemed like everybody did it. My dad, my uncles, we’d pull up to a neighborhood that was being built and just look. Walk around and look at the progress. I remember doing it so many times growing up that it became normal. Just something we did. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those visits were giving me an education in architecture.
As a kid, what fascinated me most was being able to see the wood version of the house. The skeleton before the walls went up. You could see what’s in between the walls, where the electricity runs, where the wires go, the foundation underneath everything, the framing of the roof. My dad used to roof houses, so seeing all of those layers up close, understanding how a structure comes together from the ground up, that stuck with me.
As I got older and started traveling to different parts of the world, that early curiosity turned into a real appreciation for architecture as an art form. Because it is an art form. It’s a necessary one, something society literally cannot function without, but the best of it goes far beyond function. The way a building looks, the way it moves your eye, the materials used, the features that were chosen, the way it sits on the land. All of that is designed by someone with a vision.
And it changes everywhere you go. Different cultures use different materials. Different climates and cultures dictate different designs. Spanish tile roofs in one place, glass and steel in another, stone pillars in another. The history is embedded in the architecture. Certain buildings look a certain way because of the period they were built in, the resources that were available, the people who were there. You can really nerd out on it if you start paying attention.
If you’re a homeowner, you know how many things go into a house. More than you think about. The rooms, the layout, the flow, the light, the functionality of the space and how you use it. Every decision was made by someone. And in the best cases, those decisions were made with artistry, not just practicality.
Museums are a perfect example. The building itself is often designed by a renowned architect, chosen specifically to house art inside a piece of art. The architecture shapes how you experience everything inside it. The way the light enters, the height of the ceilings, the way you move from room to room. That’s all intentional. That’s all designed.
I’ve always been interested in space. Not outer space, but the space around us. The functionality of it, the look of it, the feel of it. How a building makes you feel when you walk in. How a neighborhood changes the way you experience a city. How the design of your own home affects your daily life in ways you might not even notice.
It all started with stopping at construction sites with my dad and my uncles, watching houses go up from nothing. Seeing the bones before the skin. And now, wherever I go in the world, I’m still looking. Still noticing how things are built, why they look the way they do, and what the person who designed them was trying to say.
Architecture is everywhere. It’s the most visible art form we have, and most of us walk through it every day without thinking about it.
Look around, start noticing it, start thinking about it.