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Why I am at SCI-Arc...
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Why I am at SCI-Arc
SCI-Arc is a laboratory to test my limits and contribute to the discipline of architecture. We are an island of the avant garde - a place for personal sabbatical located at the balanced intersection of abstraction and reality. As an educational institute, our pedagogy of experimentation and culture of self-motivation fit my learning style and strengths.
Development of Practice with Paul Nakazawa
SCI-Arc | Spring 2006
Steve Fuchs, M.Arch2
24 Comments
theres a nice self pat on back...you go get'em tiger :)
are you looking in a mirror and saying that?
Tact, gentlemen.
they choo choo choose you!
he's sharing some coursework with us. isn't that one the points of a schoolblog?
Thanks for sharing, Steve.
Assignment... 55 words on why you are SCI-Arc. I like it.
Haha... mental slip. I DO NOT think I am SCI-Arc. Let me rephrase. 55 words on why you are _AT_ SCI-Arc.
(insert picture of Rush Limbaugh staring back at Al Franken)
"a culture of self motivation" ?!
"an island of the avante garde" ?!
Pleeeeeaaaasssseeeee...
Give me a break....
Yeesh...
No man is an island... unless he's looking into a mirror.
this guy thinks he's an island, and like Betadine, he wakes up, looks in the mirror, and decides how best to be a complete dickhead. Just a thought
just for the record, i was thinking about this;
i actually think the post is pretty damn good, just yankin the chain and not player hating...
when mary ann ray and robert mangurian were candidates for school directorship, one of their plans was to invite outsiders working in other fields to visit sci-arc once in a while to stir up some trouble and criticize the school...someone from the construction industry or some software developers or some politicians...they felt that sci-arc, "patting itself on the back" too much or talking about how great the school is, is harmful to the school because the school end up only focusing on what the school considers their positive characteristics...
dammson, wouldn't that be a problem for any school?
irreverie, gentlemen
It's _my_ statement, and I'm standing by it. This was something those of us in Nakazawa's seminar had to write prior to the semester starting. What would you have written about your reason for being in the school you chose? or current job, for that matter...
...my sincerest apologies for littering your post with juvenile humor.
dull anonymous commentary is mind numbing.
~marlin
do you guys ever have relay races at school? i mean, ha, the image of sci-arcers (with cigarettes in hand?) running loops around that building. you know, knowing it’s ¼ mile length. well, just, how could you not? Field day? shit, what was that: culture of self-motivation...
-head in the clouds
SELF MOTIVATION | LA Style Article on 9/1988 by Garrett White
[img src=http://www.archinect.com/images/uploads/060408-kappe.jpg]
MORE HISTORY
http://www.volume5.com/sciarc/intro.html
Oops... been a while since I posted an image in a comment field.
It's easy to lay hate on people who go to schools that have developed major reputations. It's 3am in London right now and I just got out from a rare night out. I spent half of that time defending myself against those who think the Bartlett is a load of bullshit, the projects are not real architecture and the people who go there are too full of themselves.
I get that all the time and it's getting a bit old, to be honest. The other day, I asked a few of my fellow students how they'd done in their previous courses (in the UK we do 2 seperate degrees in architecture). Most of them had got 1st class degrees (does that category translate to the US?) from a very broad selection of worldwide universities. Those who didn't have a 1st had a 2:1.
When talking about why they'd chosen to come to the Bartlett, their reasons sounded very similar to Steve's comment above (although without a lot of the archi-chat bullshit terminology). It's the best place in the UK (maybe Europe?) for them to mix their practical inclinations with an intellectual approach to conceptual exploration.
A lot of the people who slag off or diss the Bartlett do so without any real knowledge of the actual work done there. They base a lot of judgement on the work they see in the summer shows and the biased and embittered hearsay that spreads round other institutions in the UK (I know this partially because I experienced it before I took a risk and came here!).
Anyway. I'm beginning to think I'm just drunkenly venting here. But I think my point is that (however masurbatory Steve's turn of phrase might be) there's nothing wrong with realising you go to a damned good school and being pleased that you made that choice and made the grade.
Of course, the real test comes when you graduate and see how your output contributes (or detracts!) from the standards of your institution.
And then you get out there and deal with clients and contractors and bankers and bastards and no-one gives a shit how pretty your thesis was, it's all about getting it in on time and on budget and...
oh christ, I need to go to bed. I'm tired and a bit drunk and I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.
In the morning I'll probably regret typing this!
Chris, I used to write these kind of posts after a long night of drinking, too. Then, I remembered I had a family of 4, well 3 at the time, to support :) Ah, the early days of my SCI-Arc educational experience.
Mastabatory, maybe, but that was the point of the assignment... introspection--not, why does EVERYONE come to SCI-Arc? or, why should you come to SCI-Arc? This place can be a drag at times. Just like in any institution, all the "players" and "haters" can bring you down. Though, the true friends I've met here are great.
I'd like to see what you and others would write about where you are at in life in 55 words. Anyone open to the challenge (without being a complete waste of our time)?
Just to be clear, regardless of how drunk Chris' comments were, I don't think they were a waste of my time. Thank you for the colorful commentary.
Right. The hangover has died down and I thought I'd better check what I wrote last night...
Ah. Right. I've re-read it now.
Actually, I think it sort of makes sense. My turn of phrase was rather unfortunate though (the use of the word "masturbatory" was a bit harsh, I just meant that the post had an element of self-love, which is no bad thing!). Also, in the cold light of day I can see that the very architectural turn of phrase allowed more meaning to be crammed into the word limit.
Anyway, my comments were supposed to be in support of your statement, Steve. It's good to be able to be honest about how your career is going at the moment. I'm glad you found them colourful!
hehe... ya. the word limit thing led me to use a little archi-speak, BUT that is a good thing in the right context. If words like sabbatical and pedagogy are too archi-speak, then we all need a vacation. Though, I doubt my wife understands what I'm talking about sometimes, and she really needs a vacation with the new baby in tow. I have to hand it to her; she's really holding it together to get me through grad school. Those of you who have little or no responsibilities... enjoy.
I'd still like to hear YOUR "I'm at the Bartlett because..."
Hmmm... I think my 55 words will probably have to wait until they start "I was at the Bartlett because..."
I've got a good idea of what they'd say right now, but I'd rather hold off and see if they change at all once I've seen how this year turns out and I'm looking at the situation from the other side of a couple of good nights' sleep. The whole thing is such an emotional rollercoaster that one rather loses perspective on a daily basis.
Your wife sounds like a saint. My sister-in-law supported my brother through an MBA while pregnant with their second child. Stressful times.
Sabbatical is a great word. All opportunities to use it should be exploited. "Pedagogy", however, was ruined for me by the experience of living with a teacher and therefore hearing it far too often. Too much of a good thing, perhaps.
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