The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead opens with Howard Roak maintaining a small firm by himself, with out a few successfully completed projects. As the film progresses, we learn that he refuses to compromise his art to anyone else who wants to maintain the status quo of architecture. As a result, he quickly goes bankrupt, and needs to work in a marble quarry to sustain himself. Dominique Francon, under the employment of Gail Wynand, supported Roak’s works before Roak ended up working for Francon, unknown to her. After some affairs, Roak leaves for the city, hired for a major project. As he battles major opposition, his building is a success, and Peter Keating begs Roak to design a development he could not do himself. Roak agrees, demanding his design not be changed, but it does, and Roak destroys parts of it. While on trial, Wynand supports Roak, but eventually gives in to the public. At the end, Roak is found innocent, and is commissioned by Wynand to design his final building, before committing suicide.
The word “fountainhead” refers to someone who is an originator. Perhaps this film was misnamed; I disagree with this title appointed to our protagonist, Howard Roak, who did not originate anything per se. Certainly he was innovative, refusing to concede, but all he did was remain true to his individuality. I find it difficult to believe all other architects at that time lacked some sort of personality that they wanted to express. Historically, I think this film is simply an exaggeration of the extremes of architectural practice, in part to glamorize the life of an architect. Produced in 1949, just several years after the end of World War II, it would seem logical that the United States would want to shift the mass influx of war veterans into a civil niche; what better than the development of buildings and housing throughout America? It certainly would partially explain the (quite blatant) anti-communist sentiment still lingering throughout the entire film (IE compromising to the masses and the presence of a strong, composed figure bravely fighting it). By making the architectural profession seem (much) more exciting than it actually is, and by emphasizing the possibility of expression of individuality, the producers of the film may have very well intended to attract more architects to the field.
Regardless of the producers’ intents, I feel The Fountainhead epitomizes why many young students now consider architecture as their professions. Historically, one would “learn” architecture by example; I recall from last semester’s research of how students would be lucky to receive a basic school education, and then be placed in the apprenticeship of a master architect, where he or she would work and perform tasks without guidance until the master decides that student is ready for learning the master’s architectural style. Even the architectural schools proposed by Thomas Jefferson in the later years had one master teach many students the same styles, basically replicating the same design over and over. Ever since individualism became such a well sought-after commodity, the schools of architecture have shifted dramatically. Even in the first year studio we have experienced thus far, we have only received a base guideline, and have been left free to express ourselves as we wish. Such methodology is surely affected by our history, and in particular, the notions expressed in The Fountainhead.