Howard Roark, the protagonist of the 1949 movie “The

Fountainhead”, was portrayed as an individualistic architect who alone

faced a battle against his conservative society. In the beginning of the
movie, it was shown how the Dean rejected his unique works that were
considered disrespectful to tradition and to the taste of the public. As the
Dean said, “There’s no place for originality in architecture.” There was an
implication that the only acceptable architecture is what has been existing
throughout generations; in other words, unoriginal and merely copied
architecture. One of his colleagues advised him to compromise instead,
which is clearly what Howard was lacking – the compassion in designing
for the sake of others. So did Howard’s father, also an architect, believe
that one must give in, in order to please the public; after all, it is society
that must be served. Whether it be common, vulgar, or the trite, as long
as it is what the people wants, it is what matters most to society.

Howard’s father stood up for what he believed in, “that the form of a
building must follow its function. The new materials demand new forms.
That one building cannot borrow pieces of another’s shape, just as one
man can’t borrow another’s soul.” In contrary to the perception of the
public, Howard’s father acknowledges the individuality of architecture.
The people were used to accept traditional designs, as if the architectural
features be it Greek, Roman, or Gothic are just templates that have to be
followed throughout history and the future. However, on his last breath,
the late architect changed his perspective and influenced his son to see
architecture as something that adjusts for the people. Howard followed his
father’s last wish – to burn all of his works, but Howard remains the
egoistic and ambitious architect that he is.

As the face of dreamers, Howard is a great example for his

persistence and work ethic. He had faced temptations and trials, including
his affair with Dominique, who had thought Howard’s ambition for
architecture had no chance. Despite all of these, Howard remained
unbothered; his passion for architecture was not driven by his clients’
needs, rather by his own. He even said, “I don’t build in order to have
clients. I have clients in order to build,” which proves that his motive in
pursuing architecture is to build his designs into reality, rather than
designing for others.

From the title itself, Howard represents the “fountainheads” of

society – those who have passion for creating and destroying boundaries.
As an architect, he was unaccepted for his unique designs. From then
until now, the people settles for what is conventional and convenient, and
that is the sad reality for the creative and the ambitious. Architecture aims
to provide utility in a space without compromising the comfort of its users;
however, it seems as if the people find comfort only in the familiar things.
Change is constant, but it is also society’s greatest fear.

However, as an architect, Howard is too selfish. It is understandable

how his character revealed more of its egoistic and individualistic side
because society had deprived him from having freedom – the rights,
ambition, will, hope, and dignity. This face of an architect is too ideal and
personal because it is undeniable that the architect’s profession is
inseparable from the service to the public.

Being the fountainhead, Howard became too obsessive in

establishing his pride. His yearning for having his design built without
adjusting for the opinions of others had pushed him to willingly design the
Cortlandt Homes for Peter. The idea of creating a humanitarian project did
not convince Howard to design Cortlandt, but having full authority to the
design was what driven him to accept the offer. Coming from Howard
himself, “My work, done my way. Nothing else matters to me.” In reality, it
is important to consider external factors besides the opinion of the
architect. Architects do not simply design for themselves, but for the users
and the society.

Having found out that the Cortlandt Homes was built the way he did
not design it, Howard had gone to the extreme of destroying the actual
and built Cortlandt Homes. He even used Dominique in order to do the
deed of bombing the construction site. As an architect, although he had
designed the project himself, it is unacceptable for him to destroy a
property just because the design was different from his own, after all, he
was not involved in the official contract. Moreover, he had caused major
physical damages, including the sacrifice of Dominique. Howard
mentioned during his trial that his ideas are his property, but in reality, the
ideas he was holding onto were not actually the priority, but it is the people
who would make use of the building.

Architects, as designers, must always have dignity not only on his

own work, but also as a member of society. Architects do not only give for
to a structure or a building, but they also shape the community, which is
why it is important to consider public service as a priority. An architect
must also be able to stand for his personal beliefs, as well as to be open
and to adapt to his work environment and clients, after all, the clients are
the ones who allow an architect to do his/her job as a designer.