Architectural Trend and Style a Historical-Ethical-Esthetic Approach to Design Praxis

Abstract

Throughout the history of mankind, there have been great cultures that have excelled in the creation of architectural works that endure to this day; these works have been catalogued of great architectural value for multiple characteristics. Today, with the globalization of information, architecture has undergone a dizzying change, the distinctive characteristics of the styles marked in history have been mixed, creating an eclectic architecture, the function has gone to the background, the form prevails over the structural and functional, magazine spaces are conceived in places that do not correspond without considering the context in which they are located, so there is no correct definition of the value of the current architectural work. From the above, how to know what characteristics give true value to an architectural work, and if the beauty of architecture always represents the good of humanity, this academic essay addresses the analysis and search for the relationship between ethics, aesthetics and design praxis. Through critical reflection and discourse analysis, ethics and aesthetics in architecture are contextualized, relating the processes of conquest, abstraction, transformation and generation of new knowledge, in order to interpret how the architectural work influences the daily life of man and society.

1. Introduction

1.1 Fundamentals

I would like to begin this analysis by quoting a phrase of Frederich Nietzsche, who reflects, “If you kill a cockroach you are a hero, but if you kill a beautiful butterfly you are a bad guy. Morality has aesthetic criteria” [1]. Under this premise, I asked several friends, relatives and professional colleagues, what would you do if you came across a butterfly or a cockroach? More than 95% affirmed that they would kill or at least move away from the cockroach and that they would appreciate the beauty of the butterfly, affirming that the beautiful is good and the ugly is bad; it is in the innate of the human being the prejudice of the esthetic, ethics and morals. I wonder now, does the same principle apply to architecture, could we affirm that every beautiful architectural work can be good? To answer this question, we will analyze the following concepts that will allow us to answer the question posed, considering that the process of project design is a complex system of knowledge and concepts used to transcend from the idea (intangible) to the design (plans – the tangible) (Figure 1):

Figure 1.

The project design process and its ethical–esthetic implications.

1.1.1 Architecture

The construct architecture has had several conceptualizations through time. From the historical analysis of Jorge Sainz, some concepts are cited below: Vitruvius indicates that the architect has to be imposed in many branches of knowledge and gather knowledge from many different fields, because, in his work, the value of the sciences and the arts are contrasted, Carlo Lodoli mentions that architecture is an intellectual and practical science aimed at establishing with reasoning the good use and proportions of the artifacts, and with experience, to know the nature of the materials that compose it, on the other hand, Francesco Milizia asserts that architecture is the art of building; and takes different denominations according to the diversity of its objects. Also Etienne L. Boulleé defines architecture as the art of producing and bringing to perfection any building. Other authors also define architecture from different historical contexts, for example, Eduardo de la Rosa, citing Villagrán J. postulates that architecture is the art, science and technique of constructing, designing and projecting habitable spaces for human beings. Jorge Sainz Avia quoting E. Viollet – Le – Duc comments that architecture consists of two parts, theory and practice; the theory comprises: the art itself, the rules inspired by taste, based on traditions, and the science that can be demonstrated with invariable, absolute formulas [2].

In summary, we can say that, architecture is the art of projecting, transforming or creating space to satisfy the habitat needs of the human being. If the word art is implicit in its definition and classically architecture has been part of the seven fine arts, it is imperative to define art.

1.1.2 Art

According to Muñoz [3] art, in the classical conception, is a system of rules drawn from experience, but logically thought out afterwards, that teach us the way to perform an action tending to its perfection and repeatable at will, an action that is not part of the natural course of events and that we do not want to leave to the whim of chance. It is a habit or intellectual virtue that is learned through the exercise in cases, the imitation of examples and the study of doctrine through the discipline taught by the masters. Hegel sustains: “Art is a particular form under which the spirit manifests itself” “The task of art consists in making the idea accessible to our contemplation under a sensible form,” Heidegger affirms in one of his conferences: “The essence of art would be, then, this: to put into operation the truth of the entity.” Now, it is important to analyze what is the relationship between man and art, Medina analyze:

¿Can art be considered a necessity for human beings or is it simply a luxury with which they adorn their lives? From the outset, it must be said that it seems clear that art is something that belongs to the very essence of man, since man has been “forced” by his own interiority to represent or express something, whether it be the exterior that surrounds him or has surrounded him or the interior felt at certain specific moments in history. If by necessity we understand “something” without which another “something” would not be possible; and by luxury we understand “something” that is superfluous and that only serves to please reality or life more, it is clear that art is a necessity of the human being. Art gathers the present for the future and remains as the past. It is obvious, then, that art is a total and absolute necessity of the human being. Does art exist since there is man; or perhaps it would be better to ask: does man exist since there is art? Art takes us to a dimension of transcendence that is necessary for the human being and that we cannot reach in that modality in any other way. Whether through literature in general, architecture, painting, sculpture or music, man has been forced to create artistically since he is man. And something that is imposed from within as a mandate, as Kant would say, is undoubtedly a necessity The artist is the creative subjectivity that creates the work of art. Trying to reach a deep understanding of this component of art involves looking at many decisive elements that occur in the artist and lead to creation. The artist is that creative subjectivity that is capable of creating (art) from himself. A first element to highlight in the analysis of the artist is “inspiration,” which is the state in which he finds himself when he feels impelled to create. Hegel states in this regard: “Artistic production thus becomes a state to which the name of inspiration is given” [4].

The avant-garde theoreticians define: art as that human activity that produces beauty, that represents or reproduces reality, that creates forms, that expresses, that produces esthetic experience, among others; each word and concept cited allows us to articulate our analysis in a deeper way, in short, art is the process of creating beauty in an intentional way and motivated by the artist’s inspiration.

1.1.3 Esthetic

According to Acosta, etymologically, esthetics comes from the Greek aesthesis = perceptible by the senses. This term designates the science of art and beauty. Hegel considered esthetics as a sensible manifestation of the absolute. For Schopenhauer, the esthetic is the idea that liberates the cosmic pain and for Heidegger, art is realized as the putting into action of truth as the manifest presence of being. In trying to make a general definition, we can say that esthetics is the science of the beautiful, a concept on which the so-called philosophical esthetics has been built, to be distinguished from the simple philosophy of art. The beautiful involves ontological structures and also includes rational factors. In the beautiful, all aspects of the being are harmonized. Philosophical esthetics clarifies, from the point of view of being, the essence of the beautiful in general (nature) and in particular (art), a problem that has an ontological-metaphysical sense; from the point of view of human nature, it is the manifestation of an anthropological-existential problem, since it studies the essence of the esthetic experience in a double sense: that of the creator and that of the contemplator. From this analysis, derive the problems of esthetic value and esthetic valuation [5].

For there to be esthetic value in an architectural work, there must be a consensus of the social masses or of an expert group on the subject, which is why not everything can be called art and not everything can be beautiful; therefore, esthetics is directly articulated with the ethics of man.

1.1.4 Ethic

Ethics defined as a theory is the reflection on free acts and the argumentation of the motives of human action. Important factors are included in this definition: reflection, argumentation, rights and duties. Each epoch brings its own vision of the events, its complaints, its questions and difficulties. The present time has its particularities and its complaints, one of them referring to a society with a crisis of values, selfish, corrupt, godless and lawless. In the face of this complaint, a call is made to ethics as a remedy for the current “evils”; it is ethics that must take charge of these vicissitudes of the present time. Given the great transformations, it can be said that ethics is in vogue when the great summaries are not credible, rights swarm and multiple possibilities of decision open up. This is, therefore, the time of ethics where it is important to rethink it in a new way, with the characteristics of a postmodern society. As Lipovetsky rightly says: Therein lies one of the reasons for the success of ethics: it enters into a state of grace at the moment when the great ideological breviaries no longer respond to the urgencies of the moment [6].

Since ethics is the one who must respond to the moral conduct of man, good or bad, after his performance in a given social reality, within the work of the architect, it is necessary to articulate this concept with the essence of our study, esthetics.

1.1.5 Architectural ethics and esthetics

We will speak of a work of art as autographic if, and only if, the distinction between the original and the copy is significant; or better yet, if, and only if, even the most exact duplicate cannot be considered authentic. If a work is autographic, we can also qualify that art as autographic. Thus, painting is autographic and music nonautographic, or allographic. The identification of an architectural work with a design rather than with a building is less clear than that of a musical work with a composition rather than with a performance. Insofar as architecture has a reasonably adequate notational system and some of its works are unequivocally allographic, art is allographic. But insofar as its notational language is concerned, it has not yet acquired sufficient authority to divorce the identity of the work in all cases from the particular production; architecture is a mixed and transitional case.

For example, plans result from the appropriate combination of lines, data, and symbols represented on an agreed scale, but they also include certain specifications such as the materiality of the building or considerations regarding construction that cannot be considered notational. They would find their parallel in music in the verbal specifications of tempo. “The class of buildings selected by plans-plus-specs is narrower than that defined by plans alone; but plans-plus-specs form a brief, not a score” [7].

Each of the arts uses a different language, that is, a system of symbolization to order, classify, represent a world of objects. Each symbol refers to something that is not itself; it stands in place of something else. Referring to something is the core of symbolization, even if the difficulty of elaborating an infallible theory of interpretation of the work of art persists. Goodman admits that “the search for the precise interweaving of the symbol and the symbolized requires the utmost sensitivity and is a never-ending quest.” There are, then, no infallible rules of interpretation, no artistic vocabularies that link sounds to feelings, forms to emotions. That said, Goodman does not, however, renounce the articulation of an analytical system of interpretation: “pluralism and endless openness do not dispense the analytical philosopher from analysis. It merely obliges one to elaborate techniques sensitive enough to unravel the richness and complexity of aesthetic symbols.” Esthetic experience is an articulated search for meaning, placing it in the realm of epistemological objectivism, even though he recognizes that the existence of “logical gaps” in the passage from symbol to knowledge hinders its interpretation.

Architecture, whose nature shares artistic values and material principles, will not be able to continue the “theoretical discourse” for long, let alone become independent in metaphysical audacities; hence the failure that accompanied the elimination of the theoretical debate on the city and the postulates of planning globalist (according to which the construction of the industrial city should be understood as a “moral model” for the new uses, freeing man from the formal slavery of styles) should not come as a surprise. This is why our era has become a decidedly industrial-economist period and the relationship with objects is dissociated from their anthropological and functional links. The architectural project today manifests itself as integrated, as a reproductive phenomenon of objects in the spaces of culture and is inscribed in the emerging processes of the information society, whose accelerated changes constantly demand spatial structures of growing flexibility and mutation, alien to their intrinsic functionality [8].

When thinking about the relationship between ethics and esthetics applied to architecture, the question immediately arises as to what can be understood by ethics of architecture; in what sense does the notion of good intervene in the architect-creator when creating his work? We could answer that traditionally it has done so with respect to three values: constructive sincerity, suitability to function and decorum, and dignified form. These three values refer to the three classic Vitruvian principles found in all architecture: firmitas, utilitas and venusta.

1. Constructive sincerity does not only refer to the material composition of the elements of architecture according to the good rules of the science of construction (art as a way of doing something well: ST. THOMAS) but to the fact that this good work is clearly reflected in the final appearance of the finished work without deceptive appearance. This point also covers the whole field of structural stability, as well as the specific treatment of each material according to its own nature. And, logically, to the whole field of installations, the display of which has been the compositional theme of many buildings today.

2. The adequacy of the function requires a correct response of the spaces to the real needs of the activities to be developed inside, both for its characteristics (volume, shape, ventilation capacity, lighting and other elements of comfort) or the relative situation of the different spaces, as well as the possibilities of real communication, visual, auditory, etc., between them. But beyond the character of response, often the concrete form of solving the spaces has become a guiding character for the activity to be carried out, a leading character. By creating spaces, the architect has often tried to teach the user how to live them, so that architecture takes on an educational role in society. It is the architect assuming the role of social reformer through his work. To some degree, this has often been put into practice, and in a more radical way, we find it in the utopias and drawn architectures present in all ages.

3. The search for decorum, for the form worthy of the man who will inhabit the architecture, is a constant aspect, as it seeks to respond not only to the physical needs of man but also to his spirituality. It refers to the dignity of every man by virtue of the fact that he is a man, and also to the dignity added by the professional or social function he performs. In some cases, it is no longer a question of the individual man, but of the institution that will house the building, which may represent the city, the nation or even God himself in the case of temples. In certain epochs, this decorum was given preferably by the ornament, which according to ALBERTI “consisted first of all in the columns,” that is to say, in the typified forms of the classical orders. But it also consists in the spatial determination, proportions and even measures of the spaces, being the physical greatness in all the epochs a symbol of the moral greatness [9].

1.1.6 Styles

According to Córdoba [10], quoting several authors, he mentions: style is a norm that presents an order, a system, a method, which is materialized in an art form, it is the element from which archaeologists can access the logic of style. Therefore, the study of style as a construction in itself must always be, at first, a descriptive investigation that accounts for the constructive form in which it materializes, a system of knowledge-power, it is therefore the materialization of thought and of an order of rationality. But at the same time, as a material, corporeal representation of this system of knowledge-power, style becomes a social product, immersed in the fabric of social practices. Style, and in this case art, is then a social phenomenon, inserted in social practices and in the fabric of any society, defined from an aesthetic criterion proper to this phenomenal expression and therefore of historical character. As art is an aesthetic phenomenon inserted in the social, political and cultural, expressing itself as the materialization of a way of thinking and of a certain social rationality of thought, it reproduces in its interior a set of essential elements of a certain social reality. In spite of the different subjective pretensions of the author, its materialization always responds to his social being, that is, to the set of perceptions shared by the collectively of a group of individuals in a society. A style appears at a given time and place as an expression of an ideological situation that manifests itself in a set of forms and contents that represent the individual performances of creative activity, born of a certain attitude toward artistic transmission. Later, the style can gain influence on other circles, and it can be transmitted, but as soon as it goes beyond the limits of its environment, its country or its time, it loses its content of ideas and can only be “norm,” “fashion” or “model” [11].

Style can be considered as the universalization of a language in a given time; it implies canons, characteristics, and particularity, which, together with the technology of the time, allow the art object to be located in space and time. The style possesses its own syntax and the object will be elaborated within the terms of a given composition [12].

1.1.7 Trend

A trend is a preference or a current that tends toward a specific end or ends and usually leaves its mark over a period of time and in a certain place. Originally the word trend meant the direction a river takes. Later it was used to designate the course taken by events [13].

The scientific natures of tendencies are impersonal and lack the dramatic coloring of heroic personalities. The term also lacks the necessary moral and ethical implications. For example, when the marriage trend increases or when the birth rate trend decreases, it impersonally states the facts without suggesting progress or regress, although of course, they can be interpreted as good and bad. For some, a declining birth rate is regrettably for others and desirable. But the trend line alone says nothing about it. To project a trend, a past trend must be taken into account; a past trend must have a certain duration. The farther out a trend projection is carried, the greater the error, and the projection of trend lines into the future is not a prediction of what the time series will actually be like [14].

1.1.8 Project design

In order to contextualize the ontological dimension of the sciences of design, it is imperative to distinguish the origin of the object of study of our discipline: space. Great philosophers have tried to describe and define their position on the surrounding space, relating it to the inner and outer world; in the interior of each being, there is a complex system of ideas and knowledge that can be inherited or abstracted, while in the outer world, the abstract of our idea is concretized. The task of the architect is to translate these ideas, thoughts and sensations of our clients into a tangible medium capable of being verifiable. There are no preestablished laws (unlike the laws of physics) that govern the model of abstraction of knowledge, the development and reconstruction of ideas and their subsequent realization in a project proposal for our client, however; the impact of this process of creation promotes a change from the intangible to the tangible, even allows modeling the social behavior of people, because through our designs we guide the daily work of our clients, if we propose adequate spaces the activity will be adequate, but if we propose deficient spaces the activity will be deficient. On the other hand, to establish the epistemological dimension of the design sciences, we must understand that the design process is based on the transfer of knowledge through the representation of graphic signs, for example, the conception of a house begins with the idea that comes from the cultural and social needs of the individual, this idea is materialized through a graphic representation in a plan, and then made tangible in the construction. In this context, there are several systematic, rigorous and objective processes that validate the scientific character of design sciences, not only as a mere representation process but as a science that allows transforming reality.

Table 1 summarizes the relationship between the terms analyzed.

Architecture	Art	Esthetic	Style	Trend	Ethic
Art of projecting	Produces beauty	Study beauty	Regulations that materialize in the form of art	It lacks moral and ethical implications	Reflection of free acts and argumentation of reasons for action

Table 1.

Epistemological relationship.

1.2 Objectives

1.2.1 General

The objective of this academic essay is to analyze the relationship between ethics and esthetics in the design processes through critical reflection of contents in order to evaluate the professional work of the architect in today’s society.

1.2.2 Specific

• To determine the relationship between ethics and esthetics in the design process through the conceptualization of architectural terms.

• To know the esthetic evolution of architecture through time by analyzing the styles and trends used in architectural works of each culture.

• Describe the patterns of esthetic expressions, linked to ethics, that architects have used in their works and that have been socially accepted.

2. Development

Knowing the involvement of the architect, in the creation of works of art-architectural, articulating esthetic criteria in trends and styles, we proceed to analyze from an ethical point of view the architect’s actions throughout history to distinguish their motivations in the constructions made in different periods of the history of mankind (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Schematization of authors of design methodologies.

2.1 Prehistory

The human being since its inception has sought to meet their basic survival needs, protection and habitat is one of them, for these purposes, adapted natural formations as shelters, the caves have shown the ingenuity of man and the intention to create habitat spaces, but how to analyze the ethics and esthetics in prehistory, possibly the menhirs and dolmens allow us to identify the first intentions of man in modeling the surrounding space, however the final objective, its functionality, is uncertain, for example Stonehenge is a megalithic monument type cromlech, which has impacted the scientific community by the magnitude and arrangement of its elements, many theories relate this construction with cosmic and astronomical aspects, however, nothing is scientifically proven; nothing is scientifically proven, it could be said that the beauty does not lie in the physical and tangible part of the element built by man, rather it is implicit in the enigma of its creation, both in the construction process and in its functionality. There is evidence from the Neolithic and primitive cultures in which the stars represent the deity, the sun, the moon, the stars and the constellations have their direct incidence on the daily chores, and the representative architecture of that time is based on it.

2.2 The ancient age

With the development of man in the Neolithic and then in the age of metals, many cultures emerged, each one of them contributed to the progress of the ethyles, with architectural elements and constructive systems that transcended in time. The instinctive nature of protection produced the conquest of culture to culture of man by man, the protection of the strongest became the struggle for power, and at that crossroads, the ego overcame reason and humanity. The figure of representatives of gods on earth brought with it the slavery and supremacy between cultures; it is here that stand out monumental buildings representative of each culture, Mesopotamia with its ziggurats contributed with ramps, load-bearing walls, stepped pyramids, each king wanted to be more than a god, the mythical tower of Babylon is an example of the power that man wanted to achieve. The Egyptian culture shared great similarities and knowledge in the social, agricultural and construction systems, and the kings were replaced by pharaohs who maintained the vision of being Gods on earth; all the beauty of the architectural work is represented by their tombs or mastabas better known as pyramids monumental buildings that keep an enigma about its construction. Contemporary and then conquerors appeared the Greek culture, perhaps the best known for its styles and esthetic contributions of compositional principles in architecture, the detail of the ornaments on facades and columns of the temples dedicated to the gods still cause admiration among archeologists and architects who study their culture. Finally, the conquest of the Greek empire by the Romans allowed them to abstract the knowledge, transform and generate their own contributions to architecture, the semicircular arch, the barrel vault, the domes allowed the Romans to transcend in history, the beauty of the buildings were represented in the coliseums, theaters, and monuments representing the emperors of the time. It is unquestionable not to admire the beauty of the ziggurats, the pyramids, the temples, the coliseums of the analyzed cultures, for the monumentality, the details and constructive systems used; however, the question arises from the ethical point of view, is it conceivable to appreciate constructions that were the result of years of conquest, of slavery of several generations and peoples to represent the ego of the rulers of the time, or does the end justify the means, or does beauty always represent the good?

2.3 The middle age

The representative buildings and architectural styles of the Prehistoric and Ancient Ages were created for the gods of each culture, with the arrival of Christ, the world had a turning point leading to basilicas, temples and Christian churches to have greater representativeness in architectural esthetics, the building is still monumental, abstracted scale of the gods of the ancient age. The Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic styles were those that transcended in history the constructive system through semicircular arches, oval, vaults of spouts and cross vaults, domes, spires, stained glass rosettes, facades loaded with ornaments of sacred nature were the main esthetic characteristics that stood out in this age, the decoration of its interiors was also significant in these styles. It is easier now to understand the intentionality of man in this era, beauty is implicit in religion, it can be said that the incentive or motivation of esthetics was due to the faith professed by Christianity. Esthetics could be said to represent the good.

2.4 The modern age

As Christianity was the turning point in the Middle Ages in the modern age, the Renaissance is the paradigm shift that society undergoes and changes the way of seeing the reality of the physical world and the metaphysical world, it is here where man puts is crisis the existence of a supreme being and its representativeness on earth and proposes to place the human being in the center of the physical earthly world and leave the gods in the metaphysical world. All fine arts including architecture now revolve around the human being; however, the scale abstracted by previous cultures is still maintained. The most representative architectural styles and trends are the baroque, rococo and neoclassical, the first two are based on the extreme ornamentation of the facades and interiors of basilicas and temples, esthetics outweighs the functionality of space, in the neoclassical considered as the recovery of classical Greek and Roman cultures presents a paradigm shift of the Renaissance representative buildings go from the religious and imperial to the public, for example, the Capitol in North America, is a world reference but no longer representative for kings or gods is for the common man, however, its scale is still in monumental proportions. How to analyze ethics and esthetics in this era, there is a more human intention to create architectural works placing man at the center of the world; however, there is still the manipulation of faith and monarchy in these built elements. Ethically the beautiful still fulfills its function of representing the good, discerning that now the good is centered on the human and not the divine.

2.5 The contemporary age

Perhaps it is in this era where there is a transcendental leap for man, an unchecked evolution, that today we see its consequences, it could be said that in this era, there are two moments that changed the paradigm of man; one is rationalism, that is to think, if from the Renaissance man is the center of the world why is still working in architecture on a monumental scale, That is why the modulation of architectural elements on the scale of man began at this time, another historical moment is the industrial revolution, undoubtedly facilitated the life of societies by replacing the driving force of man by mechanics and steam, without considering that the CO₂ product of this development would influence future generations, now called climate change. The industrial revolution brought with it unquestionable technological and economic development, but it marked a great social gap that still exists today between developed and developing countries. In the field of architecture, the systematization of processes, mass production, the production of materials such as concrete, iron and glass, together with rationalism, allowed the birth of the modern style of architecture. It is here that the representative buildings pass from the religious, imperial and monarchical to express themselves on small scales as public buildings, skyscrapers and houses. The beauty of the architectural work passes from monumentality and ornamentation of facades to the simplicity of form and purity of the construction system and materials used. Little by little, the mechanical moved to the digital, the evolution of technological sciences allowed us to think of new styles or architectural trends such as organic architecture, high-tech, postmodern, contemporary, parametric and sustainable. Each of them responds to a need of the society of that time; however, there is no doubt that since the industrial revolution to the present, the meaning of human power has changed from the power of demand or manipulation to economic power regardless of the deterioration of the planet and the excessive consumption of nonrenewable resources, this is where the esthetics of architecture should take on a new dimension, we cannot base that the intentionality of the beauty of an architectural work represents only ornaments in facades or new constructive systems must go beyond thinking that the technological evolution must solve problems of the habitat now if as at the beginning of survival before an enemy of the man that is the same man. Can architectural ethics and esthetics in the 21st century reinvent its definition for true sustainable development?

2.6 At present and its prospective

We are currently living with the consequence of the first industrial revolution, the indiscriminate use of nonrenewable natural resources and the high production of CO₂ have caused climate change, architectural production has not been the exception, and it is of worldwide concern to seek strategies to mitigate these environmental problems, it is here where ethics plays a transcendental role. There is talk of sustainable projects, a term that involves economic, environmental and social responsibility. Here, a new concept of tectonic ethics is born. On the other hand, globalization and the fourth industrial revolution in which we live force us to project ourselves to design processes and construction processes based on current and future technology, for example nanotechnology or artificial intelligence will allow us to speed up and perfect design and construction processes, it is here where a new vision of the ethics of artificial intelligence arises, where man must program ethically so that the machine can do good and improve society, without prejudice to human activities. One of the characteristics of Modernity has been the advance of techno-sciences in almost all aspects of life. While before Modernity, techno-scientific knowledge found in nature a moral criterion for its interventions, Humea’s criticism that linked a “naturalistic fallacy” allowed the separation between both fields, scientific and ethical [15]. However, doubt is born. A machine could replace the creative processes of an architect modeling the reality of society with better and more accurate concepts?

3. Conclusions

By way of conclusion, answers are given to the main concerns that have been raised throughout this essay and that allow us to visualize the achievement of the proposed objectives:

1. How can we know what characteristics give true value to an architectural work? An architectural work has value when it serves for the good of man and society, providing comfort and improving the quality of life for which it was created; therefore, esthetics in architecture is subordinated to the functionality of the work. Ethics, esthetics, art, style and trend are part of architecture and if one of them is not involved in the design process, it could be said that the architectural work does not have the true value it should have.

2. Does the same ethical principle apply to architecture; could we say that any beautiful architectural work can be good? As has been observed, not all architectural productions considered of esthetic value are the product of good acts of humanity. Many of them are products of slavery of several generations to satisfy the ego of monarchs and empires, styles and trends were evolving from the conquest and abstraction of knowledge from culture to culture; we could not speak of modern architecture without the contributions of Greek columns, Egyptian lintels, the philosophical thought of the Renaissance or rationalism.

3. Could a machine replace the creative processes of an architect modeling the reality of society with better and more precise concepts? Artificial Intelligence is not independent and has no ethics or morals; it is man who is behind its implementation and control. The only perfect machine created by nature is the human mind, and its ethical performance responds to a spiritual conscience that has not been possible to replicate so far. However, there are several esthetic patterns that the AI can use to model society according to the architectural styles that are intended to design and build; each culture abstracts and proposes its own type of architecture based on the spatial and temporal reality that lives.