This document discusses values, aspirations, and culture. It defines values as things that are intrinsically worthy or important. Aspirations are strong desires to achieve goals or ambitions. Culture encompasses behaviors, beliefs, and products of human societies. Values and culture are related, as cultures determine what is acceptable or important through shared values within groups. The document then examines values and cultures of the Romans, Americans, and Filipinos to show examples of this relationship. It encourages future architects to understand clients' values and cultures to design spaces that enhance lives.

1. Value, aspiration, and culture
THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2

2. Values
 Value is defined by Webster as “that which is desirable
or worthy of esteem for its own sake; a quality having
intrinsic worth. “
 “The regard that something is held to deserve; the
importance or preciousness of something.”
 Values are motivative factors in human behavior. They
provide a basis for judgment, discrimination, and
analysis. These qualities make intelligent choices
possible between alternatives. They grow out of
human interests and desires.

3. Aspiration
 1. A hope or ambition of achieving something: 2. The
object of such an ambition; a goal.
 A strong desire of achieving something.
 An aspiration is a desire or ambition for which
someone is motivated to work very hard.

4. Culture
 the quality in a person or society that arises from a
concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts,
letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.
 The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns,
arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of
human work and thought.

5. Values and Culture
 While no two individuals have exactly the same set of
values there are many values which are common to
particular groups, communities, and larger societies.
 These stems from a pattern of responses discovered,
developed, or invented which arises from the
interactions between members, and between members
and the environment.
 Culture determines what is acceptable, important, right
and workable.

6. Values and Culture
 Romans
 Order
 Organization
 Discipline

7. Values and Culture
 Romans
 The dream of peace, prosperity and unity of the Pax Romana survives. It
was characterized by centralized control, the suppression of local
identities, the imposition of a unified system of beliefs and values - let
alone the enslavement of conquered populations, the attribution of sub-
human status to a large part of the workforce, and the deprivation of
women of political power.

8. Values and Culture
 Romans
 The unified empire depended on common
values, many of which could be described as
'cultural', affecting both the elite and the
masses. Popular aspects of Graeco-Roman
literary culture spread well beyond the elite, at
least in the cities. Baths and amphitheatres
also reached the masses. It has been observed
that the amphitheatre dominated the
townscape of a Roman town as the cathedral
dominated the medieval town.
 The underlying brutality of the amphitheatre
was compatible with their own system of
values and the vision of the empire as an
endless struggle against forces of disorder and
barbarism.

9. Values and Culture
 Americans
 American Values
 by Guy Reel

 What is America? What are the
values it has most fought for and
admired? A few of the first, and
most important, come to mind:
 Freedom.
 Equality.
 Democracy.
 Champion of the little guy.
 Helper of the oppressed.
 Defender against tyranny.

10. Values and Culture
 Americans
 Some of the other
values are ingrained in
American history and
beliefs:
 Capitalism.
 Independence.
 Strength.
 Rightness and
righteousness.
 Manifest destiny.
 God.
 Freedom of religion.
 Family.
 Wealth.
 Faith.
 Entertainment and
happiness

11. Values and Culture
 “Even a casual reader of these values can see where conflicts might arise
among them. Capitalism and strength have made America great, but they have
generated their own set of inequalities. Our wealth is unequaled, but Jesus
taught that our faith should make wealth meaningless. Equality is a wonderful
ideal, but frankly, not everyone is created equal. Freedom is fine until we see
our vast money-obsessed entertainment and happiness apparatus assaulting
us with base immorality, cowardly news, and stupidity.

12. Values and Culture
 Without the imagined enemies, you just have - America. It is an America
struggling with competing interests among its core values. It should try to help
the poor while building wealth for us all; it should try to lead the world without
exploiting or dominating it; it should not be ashamed of a faith in God but
should never discriminate against those of different beliefs; and it should try to
figure out balances between those "right and left" policy disputes, such as
protection of the environment versus encouraging development.”- Guy Reed

13. Values and Culture
 Filipinos
 Family
 Hard work
 Study

14. Values and Culture
 Filipinos
 Values that we aspire:
 Integrity – quality or state of being complete or
undivided. This is also synonymous with honesty –
straight forwardness of conduct.
 Discipline – Courtesy and fairness are involved when we
are called to practice discipline.
 Line
 Use of natural resources
 Hard work - Filipinos are willing to labor diligently and
consistently to earn a living and improve their lot in life.
 Justice – “fairness, objectivity, impartiality”

15. To the future architects
 As a future housing expert or interior designer, you will
be dealing with people on a daily basis. Your belief is
that the physical environment, when developed
properly according to the situation at hand, can
enhance peoples lives, fulfill them, and make them
happier and healthier.
 You need to be a communicator – to understand your
client’s problems, and to know what is valuable to
them, what they aspire for, and their belief system
which guides them. You need to communicate well to
express your own ideas.

16. To the future architects
 It needs sensitivity along with knowledge to realize
what you can change and when. Recognizing the
values of an institution as large as a country or as
small as the family can help guide your selection of an
appropriate design.
 Values can influence people’s own self-concept. It is
readily accepted that people will generally take better
care of a space and its contents if it becomes
important for them and if it is a pleasant place for
them to live and work.

17. Brainstorming
 The following are some spaces that need to become
important or a place of value to people.
 Nursing homes
 Residence halls
 Schools
 Offices
 Restaurants
 Brainstorm with your groupmates what can be done in
these places so that they can be pleasant spaces to live
or work in.