This is an opinion editorial by Frances Hogan Steffian, a writer, bitcoin investor, and wife of an award-winning architect.
What should be the architectural styles of Bitcoin? In our world’s history, our enduring buildings honor our best ideas and enshrine our fundamental beliefs. If Bitcoin realizes its potential to remake the global financial system, and as Bitcoin communities spring up around the world, how should our ideas and ideals about Bitcoin be expressed in these newly built environments?
The power of architecture
Don’t underestimate the power of architecture. Live through the ages. It always conveys the worldview of those who built it, be it an individual architect or a cultural project built over time. The physical act of walking through a building imbues each visitor with a visceral experience of the ideas the builders and architect intended.
Medieval fortresses, for example, tell the story of the people they housed and protected. They typically don’t have a single architect or builder, but these structures have evolved over time, so their message can be less controlled and more honest. These ancient strongholds convey our best and worst ideas of safety, family, compliance, control, materialism, and triumph over the physical world.
And what do our best buildings express? Very often, it is the human desire to transcend our daily physical limitations and live on another level of beauty, freedom, and connection to the divine. The classical order interior of the Pantheon in Rome is centered by an oculus open to the sky, which is a constant reminder of the vastness of existence, far beyond human comprehension. In India, the sublime Taj Mahal can provide the experience of being in a higher dimension that is based on a physical basis. We can walk in heaven now. This is similar to the best reality that most hopeful Bitcoiners dream of.
Expressing the ideals of Bitcoin in the built environment
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park electrified the Bitcoin 2022 conference with her talk on how secure and private financial independence is critical in the fight against human exploitation. Her link to her chat went viral, even being tweeted by Jack Dorsey. His personal triumphs over human trafficking demonstrate the greatest hope for Bitcoiners: breaking the chains of financial slavery that fetter our planet. Bitcoiners also crave personal wealth that is private and secure. If there is global adoption of Bitcoin, the potential value could really go to the moon.
As such, now is the time to think about the messages that Bitcoin’s architectural style will convey and how we want to express these ideas in our built environment. As discussed above, the global community could start with concepts such as freedom, empowerment, stability, privacy, and elegance.
However, the architectural style of Bitcoin should not be based on or adapted to a single earthly civilization. The point of Bitcoin is that it sets the world free and unites. This means that the architectural style of Bitcoin that is expressed in Asia will differ from the style transmitted in Central America, for example. Different stories and cultural experiences will be built.
Now, at this time in the world, Bitcoin communities are springing up all over the world. The best known are in Central America, but are emerging more constantly throughout the world.
In El Salvador, there is a Bitcoin community built in El Zonte and a extraordinary city planned for the base of the dormant Conchagua volcano. There is Bitcoin Lake in Guatemala and Bitcoin Jungle in Costa Rica. Bitcoin Ekasi has sprung up in a South African township, as well as other communities in Africa. Similarly, Bitcoin communities in places around the world, including thailandare participating in the World Bitcoin Festival.
Architectural styles must convey beauty and the desire to live beautifully. This is really a very practical point. Civilizations tend not to bother to maintain their ugly buildings. Again, we want our visions to have permanence.
Existing Bitcoin communities already express a sensitivity to their ecological environment. A vision of peace and harmony has already emerged in the green designs of proposed new developments, particularly at El Zonte in El Salvador. But do they also express beauty and self-confidence?
It is important to note that Bitcoin is decentralized. Everyone who participates in the Bitcoin economy uses Bitcoin in the same capacity as everyone else. It has been called “egalitarian” and “basic”. The efforts of some famous modern architects come to mind in their attempts to incorporate similar ideas into physical form: Le Corbusier, Mies van de Rohe, and Walter Gropious, to name a few. These architects are famous for creating spaces that are equally accessible and non-elitist. They used everyday material that everyone can access, and their designs focused on elevating everyday life. They created spatial experiences, not ornate displays of architectural expense. The intention of modern architects was to use mundane material to create an extraordinary and uplifting experience that anyone could enjoy.
What should Bitcoin’s architectural styles do? not to be? let’s start with the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, DC The giant scale of the building can make visitors feel insignificant. Narrow windows and minimal details are not welcoming and convey a feeling of impenetrability. While the Federal Reserve describes the style of his building as “stripped classicism”, This building, completed in 1937, exhibits many of the traits of Fascist architecture.
Nearby, the Washington DC outdoor commons known as national mall It was designed to impress the visitor with the grandeur and size of the American capital. Intentionally or not, the big mall gobbles up most of the crowds and conveys the idea that no matter how big the mass of the crowd is, the institution of government will still dwarf the people. The sheer scale could make one feel secure in its sense of immutability or, conversely, leave the visitor feeling helpless.
We also need to be very aware of all the possible interpretations of Bitcoin’s architectural styles. For example, a Bitcoin cynic may joke that Bitcoin’s dangerous volatility was perfectly expressed as a city built on a volcano. To counter that feeling, now is the time to demonstrate the efficiency, stability, strength, beauty, and serenity of harnessing the geothermal power of a dormant volcano.
The 20th century saw the destruction of local culture across the planet. We must pick up these frayed edges and connect them to our future. We must recover even our smallest achievements. We must be extremely idealistic when envisioning the built environment where we want to live in the future. Through Bitcoin’s architectural styles, we have the opportunity to recapture the best of human efforts and build a carefully considered vision of our future.
This is a guest post by Frances Hogan Steffian. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
