BERKELEY PRIZE COMPETITION ESSAY PARTICIPANT Mr Charis Philippou COUNTRY United States UNIVERISTY Arizona State University DEPARTMENT School of Architecture and Environmental Design MAJOR Interior Architecture YEAR 5 FIRST DRAFT The ability to shape our environment, so that we can live a comfortable, productive and fulfilled life has enabled human civilization to evolve and reach this significant stepping-stone in our evolution. Changes all around us are making us rethink the role that architecture as a social art can play in our future and what aspects of this change should guide it. Technology has reached a phase where it is an intricate part of our life. In addition advancements in information technology have blurred any boundaries that were separating us and have created a global village that everyone belongs to. Finally people are more informed and play an active role in shaping their environment. With the ever increasing speed of change, designed solutions have repercussions, that are felt much sooner than in the past, and because of that people are ready to criticize any badly implemented aspects of their surroundings. Society has entrusted us, as qualified professionals, with the task of shaping their material culture into a more engaging setting, one where the past traditions are reinforced and integrated with the increasing advances in technology. Architects must integrate all these requirements, and must balance the rational, sensory, and emotional expectations of a society that needs their environment to run alongside the progress and changes that are being observed. It is imperative that Architecture and design professionals present a profession that is responsible, that stems from the needs of its users and one that is a necessity to our society’s evolution. FIRST SOURCES