Toward an Appreciation of Our Regional Aesthetic

The value of architecture is fundamentally ambiguous. Simultaneously, it can hold enduring meaning – providing tools for social identity, shelter and health benefits, and intellectual contribution – while remaining deeply subjective, shaped by individual experiences and cultural predispositions. Within the context of the arts, architecture is an individual experience set within a collective medium, making universal prescriptions of value inherently limited. Simultaneously to this, there are inherent benefits to valuing architecture – facilitating the upkeep of social infrastructure, cultural identifiers, pride & cultural exchange. The question emerges: how can this dichotomy be bridged?