Master Builders

              The book Refabricating Architecture says, "The master builder was a person who combined the roles of architect, builder, engineer, and scientist. Most buildings, both modest and aspiring, were designed and erected by master builders until only a few hundred years ago." As the book says hundreds of years ago there were master builders that designed and built most buildings, however today we have different professions that specialize in different areas.

            Master builders were very common several years ago; they men who did it all. They designed, engineered and built buildings way before their own time. This brings a very interesting question up; are their any master builders today? Specifically, should an architect be a master builder? I believe this question can be answered either yes or no depending on the way you view an architects role. An architect is a master builder in the sense that they are the project leader; they are in charge of the whole team working on it. The architect is in charge of so many elements of a structure that is never even seen by a spectator. How would this space make someone feel? Where can I run the electrical and plumbing of a building? What materials would look best on this building? These don’t even touch the surface as to how many questions an architect has to answer everyday. An architect is a master of his or her own trade. Their trade is under a massive spectrum and they are in charge of so much.

            Another way of looking at the question, Is an architect a master builder? Today more and more people are getting college educations and specializing in different building areas. With people specializing in more detailed positions such as engineering, architecture, and construction science it is not as essential to be a “master builder”. A “master builder” now consists of a whole team that comes together to work on a project. With big projects, architects, engineers, and contractors have started meeting early in the design process to work together from the beginning instead of meeting till the end. The architect however is still the leader of all of these professionals. “Architect”= Master builder. An architect has to be in charge of the overview of the project because it is his vision on what the space should be. An architect can still be a master builder if he has a team working under him or her.

          Refabricating Architecture says, “By allowing architecture to become reduced to the current degree and by relinquishing responsibility for assembly, product development, and materials science to specialists, the architect has allowed the means and methods of building to move outside the sphere of architecture.” An architect can now work on how people function in a structure because he has a team helping him work on other smaller details. An architect can now pass some of the detail process to his team such as the engineering and construction. An architect is a master builder and artist and a leader, whether he is working by himself or a team. 

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