Always, I don't agree that architectural design is only for those who can afford to pay large sums of money; I don't agree that architectural design is purely for aesthetic purposes. I thought I am the lone mind thinking so, until I started to research about architecture in humanitarian society.
Samuel Mockbee, the co-founder of Rural Studio, Auburn University once said,
"...The professional challenge, whether one is an architect in the rural American south or elsewhere in the world, is how to avoid being so stunned by the power of modern technology and economic affluence that one does not lose sight of the fact that people and place matter...
'Love your neighbour as yourself'. This is the most important thing because nothing else matters. In doing so, an architect will act on a foundation of decency which can be built upon. Go above and beyond the call of a 'smoothly functioning conscience'; help those who aren't likely to help you in return, and do so even if nobody is watching."
(Architectural Design: The Everyday and Architecture 1998, as quoted in Design Like You Give a Damn 2008.)
Those writings are what reminded me of what I was passionate about, to be able to use learnt skills in university to help the community. The fact that I am here today, it is because of the glory of God whom I believe, and thus I am giving myself to serve in the field that He will guide me towards.
