Ayn Rand - The Fountainhead

‘I don’t build in order to have clients; I have clients in order that I may build!’ ...Howard Roark

Written as a novel by Ayn Rand in 1943 and adapted for screen in 1949 by the famous King Vidor, ‘The Fountainhead’ tracks the life of Howard Roark, an individualistic and uncompromising architect.

Watching the film enabled me to grasp a better understanding of the plotlines, and it was particularly interesting to watch Vidor’s adaptation of the story for screen. So, I sat down and watched as an enormous monolithic skyscraper appeared on screen and turned to reveal the film’s title (cue overly dramatic music).

After being virtually excommunicated from architectural schools for his radical ideas in architecture and when his mentor dies telling him he must conform if he wishes to succeed, the story tracks Roark’s refusal to conform to what the masses want. The film shows his battle with the public, which is represented in the form of a critic at the popular and powerful newspaper ‘The Banner,’ who wages a war against his individualism. This ends with Roark protecting his integrity and ideas by any means possible, and in the end finishes with him going on trial for blowing up one of his designs that had secretly been changed by the paper. After an eloquent and heartfelt speech in court, the paper is destroyed and Roark is commissioned to realise his dream. With a Hollywood style romance throughout, the story involves a variety of stereotyped characters making the whole episode almost farcical.

I think the most important thing to draw from this story is, once again the idea of balance in the architectural world. I had never heard of this story before, and couldn’t believe just how important a film like this was for us to watch and understand. It shows how easily we can be misguided and corrupted by the masses and mass media in particular, and it shows a triumph of individualism over the collective being.

I must admit, I put my foot in it a little in the session by raising a hand and saying I saw myself in Howard Roark. I phrased this slightly badly. I don’t, by any means, get struck down by girls on horses, and certainly don’t plan to stand atop my first completed enormous phallus like project with a damsel on my arm. What I see, is myself as a student striving to be an individual, and refine my ability in order that I can design with a certain sense of integrity and virtue. However, this, like many things in modern day life is almost impossible to achieve.

Modern society has been shaped and moulded so much by the mass media that it fundamentally comes down to a simple choice between going with what most people want and being ‘accepted’ and going with what you believe is right and being shot down for it. Most tend to simply be ‘accepted’ as it’s the easy choice and unfortunately, the ones that don’t follow the norm can often be so arrogant and blinded by their own ideas, that everything else is disregarded.

This film has really made me think the most so far about my stance in the architectural world. I don’t really think there necessarily is an ideal balance between the two camps, as bowing to one will always destroy the values of the other.

How will I fair when a client tells me that the only way I can win a job, a job that will keep my financial and family life secure is by changing an element of the design that I believe to be essential? We shall see.