What architecture is to me....

The problem with Architecture is the disagreement on what it is or what it should be. I believe architecture should be selfless, intentional, and practical design. Architecture is not for the Architect. Buildings are designed in first world countries as monsters that function impractically and use unnecessary amounts of material and energy. They harm the environment and are deemed insufficient within a few years. They are built to please the architect, not to provide for the client. To me, that is not architecture. Architecture to me is entirely for the users. “Form follows function”. Architecture is for living and for sheltering. Architecture can be art, but art is not architecture. Art does not function in the practical way that Architecture does. Architecture to me is to improve the lives of others. Architects have the ability to create practical things that will change the way people live but many have been clouded by their own pompous desires to design abstract art. I want to design buildings that run efficiently and sustainably. In serving my community I want to simplify architecture. In the United States, where A/C’s blast at 65 degrees and the average person uses almost 200 gallons of water per day, I want to change the way people think about how they live.