Statement 44

Architecture, from the Greek tekton, has carpentry at its root. In Chinese the root of 筑 (to build) points to a five stringed lute. 筑 is then combined with 建 to create 建筑, or iànzhú , which is usually translated as “architecture” is a combination of: 建 (to set up, erect establish) derived from: 廴 (to stride) + 聿 (writing brush) = contract. This is not to say that there is an essentializing difference that should guide “Western” and “Chinese” architecture today, but only to say that there are here two, among many, allusions to what might be considered architecture’s ‘origins.’ For the Greeks the emphasis was on wood and master-pupil relationship (arche-tekton). For ancient Chinese the emphasis was on contractualism and on the harmonies of music. Today of the various trades involved in making a building, the carpenter is at the bottom of the line. The plumber is the best paid. If we were to look for a new name for our field we would call it – if we were back in Greece – after the plumbers, namely archeydravlikós [main-hydrological expert]. Just imagine that today students would get degrees from departments of ‘Archihydrolics’ rather than of ‘Architecture’. Just goes to show how absurd the word ‘architecture’ is today.