2024-05-07T11:34:03-04:00 https://archinect.com/features/article/150313643/architecture-beyond-design-in-which-we-consider-what-makes-architecture-significant Sean Joyner 2022-06-17T08:50:00-04:00 >2024-01-06T11:46:09-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/6b/6becbcf74179f26d4e0f502255b74340.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p><em>"In our darkest moment we were given a miracle, the candle became a magical flame that could never go out and it blessed us with a refuge in which to live&hellip;And our house, our Casita itself, came alive to shelter us."</em></p> <p>- Alma Madrigal, <em>Encanto</em></p> <p>When we discuss the agency of architecture, we can easily make the error of assuming that architecture <em>alone</em> causes an impact or change to occur within a community. A school, for example, no matter how masterfully designed, is nothing more than a complex assembly of materials if there are no teachers, students, administrators, and staff to give it life. Human beings must first imbue a building with life. That building, having been <em>activated</em>, can then serve as a vehicle that enables its inhabitants to become more themselves, to become <em>more human</em>.&nbsp;</p>