Architecture Must Follow the Strategy of Music: Sharing

The music industry has undergone a revolution that was on the verge ofdestroying it. In just over ten years, the public has stopped buying CDsand started downloading music. They have gone from possessing somethingphysical that used to be collected and had a certain value to downloadingintangible MP3 files that cost almost nothing. And the industry is beginningto adapt to this new situation, which has caused income to be generatedfrom live concerts, subliminal advertising and digital royalties.Architects are as baffled now as record companies were then. The bursting ofthe housing and subprime mortgage bubble has created a new scenario. Whatonce had value and was secured by appraisers and banks has evaporated.People are rethinking the need to own things, be it a home or a CD. Theimportant thing is not to own something, but to enjoy it, and pay for it whenyou need it. Why store hundreds of CDs, if you can keep them on an iPod?Possession is a luxury only available to collectors and mythomaniacs. Enjoythe music you like and simply delete it when you are no longer interested init. And this concept is moving into all areas, including architecture. Why doI need to buy a home if my job or my partner may take me to live in anothercity at any time? Why do I need a three-bedroom apartment if I live alone?If guests come, there are websites that will provide me with a spare roomjust a few metres from my house where I can put them up. Because the useof community resources is what the Internet offers. And that’s more thansaving. It’s sharing and creating a society that does not waste.Music is 10 years ahead of architecture; let’s take advantage of its experience.

Volume Editors
Martha Thorne & Xavier Costa

ISBN
978-0-935502-83-1