(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

The changes that take effect by rethinking the fields of action in the design disciplines may seem to lessen the impact to Architecture and its responsibilities. However, what happens is precisely the opposite — the responsibilities of the discipline of Architecture multiply. Today, as in the sixties of the last century, miniaturization decisively influences the way we perceive space and, consequently, Architecture as an exercise in form. Objects were aggrandized in spaces in the first decades of the 20th century. Today, the opposite is accomplished through miniaturization. For example, heat sources disappear or become hidden; radios now (at the end of the 20th century) take up no more space than an ashtray. This reduction in the object’s scale will require more remarkable dedication, both in its design and enjoyment. Another no less important factor is the mobility of said objects. They are no longer chained to a specific location to gain autonomy through batteries. The present article wants to explore and invoke the metaphor between lightness and heaviness. It is clear the correspondence between the “free space” those objects left and their historical weight. This lightness is synonymous with increased responsibility for architects and the result of the emancipation of the design discipline. They heaviness is the height of history.