Bloom

Architects are caught in a vicious circle; in order to emphasise their idea of architecture they often adopt techniques, forms and materials already identified with the work of architects, and learn little from other disciplines. The user is an important consideration in the architect's design process. But the user is also a threat to the architect because the user's actions may undermine the architect's claim to be the sole author of architecture. The denial and control of the user, and the assumption that a building is an artwork to be contemplated, are exemplified in the history of the Barcelona Pavilion. The photographs that established the reputation of the Pavilion only record the parts of the 1929 building that followed Mies' design. The drawings mimic photographs in architectural magazines but the disruptive presence of the German weather, and the gaps in the drawings, suggest a space of appropriation rather than contemplation.