Architect as craftsman : Richard England's process in architecture

Abstract

The notion of the 'Architect as Craftsman' refers "firstly to the architect's own process of working, his/her self-identity and values, and secondly to the architect's understanding of the meaning, value and potential of craft in architecture..." (J. Pallasmaa, Appendix D). This statement brings forward the main essence of the concluding arguments of this research dissertation. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the understanding of the term 'Architect as Craftsman' within the context of today's increasingly fast-moving society. This study makes use of three main research methods, in an attempt to analyse whether the conceptual and architectural process of the World-Renowned Maltese architect; Richard England, falls within the brackets of the 'Architect as Craftsman' or not. These research methods are made up of: a Literature review, from which a set of characteristics have been extracted; Interviews with Richard England and Juhani Pallasmaa; and Case Studies on two selected works of the architect in question. With the analysis of Richard England's architectural process in hand, the study goes on to attempt to answer the following research question, and relevant sub-questions: What factors define a craftsman architect? How does the role of drawing influence the design process of a craftsman architect? And is the craftsman architect approach still present and relevant in today's architectural scene?