ABSTRACT
In his most influential book on architecture, TheSeven Lamps of Architecture (1849), John Ruskin drew a distinction in the opening sentences between architecture and building, making it clear that what he proposed to talk about was Architecture. The tendency since that time has been to assume that some buildings are more important than others, that the more important ones are worth detailed deliberation in their design, lavish expenditure on materials and craftsmanship, and unfailing preservation, while others are viewed as “Kleenex” buildings, deserving no second thought in design or any particular care in their use, and easily disposable. The result has been that we have a few splendid isolated buildings, but on the whole, we live and work and play in perfunctory environments made only as good as it is believed they absolutely must be. Perfunctory is the perfect word to describe much of what has been built since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Derived from a Latin root, perfungi, it means “to get through with, to be done with.”
