Evelyn Waugh's 'Decline and Fall'

This week we discussed Evelyn Waugh’s ‘Decline and Fall’. This short novel tells the story of Paul Pennyfeather. This was a bit more easy-going than what I am used to from the theory lectures, and I enjoyed how quickly I could read it! The main part of the book discussed on Friday was that on Silenus, Margot’s architect. Silenus resembles Le Corbusier, and his modernist viewpoint. His attitude towards most things in life can be summed up in his approach to assessing a beautiful woman, which is by rating the efficiency of her digestive system.

Le Corbusier was obsessed with truth and order, which he tried to place on everything. Every decision made in the design process needed solid reasoning behind it - this approach led to the 5 points of modern architecture, which derived from the use of concrete in building.

Le Corbusier’s modernist perception did not allow for human needs. For his designs to remain pure, there would be no room for individual character – everyone would have the same of everything, and everything that existed would be designed to do a specific job, there would be no variation. The problem with this attitude towards design is that humans need more than the bare minimum – to bring the excitement and life to the things around us, there needs to be a higher level of stimulation. When everything is reduced to its functional form, it can mean it does not have its own unique character, and it becomes soulless.

I think that there are great rewards taken from the design process of form following function, and looking for purity in every day objects. However, it cannot be taken to the point that it neglects human nature. Homes and cars are designed for people, and so fulfilling people’s needs should be the main objective in designing them. This includes psychological needs and goes beyond the purely functional.