base – Leonie Csanki

In 2018, I wrote my architecture manifesto as part of my studies in the Master of Architecture course at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

What I believe architecture must achieve comes from a very personal experience of mine: succumbing to a life-changing illness that forced me to rethink how I lived and the world around me. Perhaps because of this, I chose a journal format of personal diary entries for my manifesto, handwritten retroactively from the time I experienced my worst symptoms.

I believe architecture must be kind. When I was ill, I often thought some spaces I encountered were cruel, indifferent and uncaring – and if spaces could be these horrible things, then surely they could be the opposite. I began to play with this idea in what I called ‘kind architecture’. Now, I have sufficient clarity and health to really explore what kind architecture means in my six-part manifesto.