I think you answered your question with your last sentence.

Truesay. Thanks for offering a poignant, pertinent, well-informed opinion. Will certainly take your advice.

Garner power as architects...oh stop it! Can't you tell by the posts architects will never garner power, not like they ever did except over their employees.

Architects are a class of beta individuals in general, if you are an alpha still in it you must accept the presence of this pathetic excuses for human existence. Don't bother coaching them into greatness...

Detailing cool though...let's talk Curb cuts in the city? Any stories of the complications of sidewalk vaults and tunnels made of rubble walls well over 100 years old.

yea i've seen posts like that over and over. but you have the choice to click that link or a link you're actually interested. the magic of most message boards..

so... my question is.. do you really care? and if yes, i'm sorry but its one thing for someone to be insecure and pair-less.. but a total other to be the person who has to be bothered by things that don't have to be your business..

so you have a choice to ignore and avoid like all human beings. but i understand if you haven't evolved from "douchebag" yet

you could always start a discussion thread about one of said topics you know.

odn, I think if we collapsed 'architect' and 'project manager' and 'construction manager' into one construct, we might have something both interesting and powerful.

nbn, i can tell you're new here, so i'll acquiesce. how would you like to enter into a discussion with me about liability, responsibilty, micro economics and how they effect the mean?

CC, I could. Do you think it's profitable to put forward a post with the title 'Liability: Eat It or Don't' in this forum? I'm interested, totally, in the 'banal' issues that effect all of us.

I'm not interested in bitching. I'm interested in discourse. And while I think there are those who do contribute [Steelstuds, UG [all you haters... blah.], Donna Sink, and there are others.] I don't think there's enough contribution to make this forum interesting, to be frank.

Amen..design build-what an architect should be and not a developers beotch.

Convince AIA beta types of this...oh lourdey

odn, is it allright if i call you the 'Old Durtay Ninja' in my mind?


I think a few firms are already doing this. I don't want to get into trouble though by naming names. However, I think it is the way of the future [and perhaps the only way...].

I would love a firm that was two headed. One head that did the crazy design, and one head that built it. And I do not for a second think the twain are mutually exclusive. They are [or should be] mutually dependent.

im not new, i've actually been visiting archinect for a decade. i just made a new account. probably will recognize my former name. but as a professional, im not really one yet..

but i do know that you sound like a nerd. in a good way. like a book-smart type but wouldn't last in a major city seeing how such petty things seem to bother you on this message board. deal with it. the real world is dirty. go ask your people. that's right i said it. your people.

Sure thing ol dirty ninja has a ring to it...that's my stomping the bars...
I too have been on here for a decade under different names and I am doing exactly what you are saying jp...designing crazy and building crazy, its fun and doing things no else could figure out is great. I spend a lot of time with engineers but stick with crazy, that's ther challenenge whcih sets you apart from the design intenters and buildings.

No design intent..its desaign build develop profit research cut the edge.

nbn, i lived in bedstuy, brooklyn for 7 years, and in brixton, london for about 2. i 'grew up' in south boston. where are you from, again? Care to expound in an intelligent manner? Or would you prefer to make yet more silly comments?

old durtay, cut the shit! design/build on the next scale. seriously, highrise design-build is entirely possible. i'm not going to name names, but there's a few firms who already have it down. and why not, i think it's plausible on any scale.

jp, there really aren't any great online communities for architects. Perhaps architects are disinterested in this format of communication? I too wish this was a much greater community with a much larger scope of discourse. Maybe archinect v.7 will bring that 28 years from now?

That said, some of the dumbest topics posted here often turned into very interesting discussions. Some very smart topics went straight into the toilet by the 4th post (aka the Unicorn effect). You never know...

Some of the self-help therapy posts can test even my patience, but these are incredibly hard times for the profession, and I have to sympathize with the fear-uncertainty-death state of mind...

The Unicorn effect-- priceless!

RS, I don't know. I'm just disappointed with the same thing over and over again. And it annoys me that here we have a very broad forum for topics that some or most of us are either too scared or too shy to voice in person. [Let's face it, of course the internet offers a certain level of anonymity.] And the discourse is debased to the level of ''do youse guyse think i can get into [insert boring school here]?

I honestly think it's a bit of a lost opportunity.

atlanta, bedford park bronx, downtown los angeles. bedstuy proves nothing, unless u were there more than decade ago. and living living in brixston as a student doesn't count either. don't try to check me. you've said nothing but silly comments from the very start.

what what, in the butt.

everyone and 'lil'waynes' mother think's their 'hood' is harder than all others... ready to chat about liability yet? or are you still concerned with who in your high school was a 'blood' or a 'crip'?

you were the one trying to make a point, asked a question, and i answered.



im done talking with you jplourde. i lost interest.

jp a massive AEC/CM is building complete prison facilities, hospitals, etc...prefab moduler structures. warren buffet is hardcore behind this.

if you read ENR you would know this...but most architects are disinterested in the construction industry and think they are reinventing shit.

maybe we should be hanging out on the ENR...oh wait people who build don't have time for this shit...

"If worthwhile content received remuneration, there'd be lots of discourse."

That's a big problem with architecture.

When another company in another field makes a marketing device, it is called a pamphlet.

When an architecture firm makes a pamphlet, they call it a "monograph," charge $139.95 and sell it to other architects while the general public is still scratching their head wondering what the hell a firm actually does other than make really, really expensive mailers.

Perhaps a coffee table book on extension cords is in order!

jplourde - lets see you talk about "talk about such topics as detailing, or materials, or semantics, or theory, or pseudo philosoph" when you are $100k in student loan debt and without a job, lets see how much will you like architecture then!

jplourde you are absolutely correct. And as such I think a little archinect based terrorism is in order. Let's all find the detailing, or materials, or semantics, or theory, or pseudo philosophy, even so that we can stop being utterly dis-un-mis-interested

so I'm leaving now to go find a few awesome threads I remember back in the day and hope they will replace the crappy ones by Monday am when I sneak in some archinect time.

Yay techno good luck hunting!

diabase used to start some really good philosophy/theory threads at the start of his workday in NZ when I was finishing up my late-night workday in the Midwest. That was always fun.

jplourde, thank you for considering what I do here to have some value. I do try to contribute, mostly in ways I think will be helpful, though I definitely derail threads into silliness on occasion. I just think this is a wonderful place and i frankly LOVE architects, in all our ridiculousness (which is high) and earnestness, there's no one else I'd rather talk to (a few authors I know are fun, too, and some artists).

Personally, I don't even click on any school question or portfolio-review threads. They just don't interest me. Talk about liability and practice, yeah, that interests me, and very arcane theory threads but! in plain speaking language, intrigue me a lot - I'm just too impatient to wade through academic speak, these days, because I'm a cranky old practitioner.

As another old practioner....I always, always put on my fly fishing waders and fisherman rain hat ( the big yellow floppy one) before I go into any academic thread.

nbn, I'll pull a 180. I apologize for being needlessly harsh. It was stupid of me to combat negativity [or banality or mediocrity] with yet more negativity. It's just a logical fallacy, and I could have and should have chosen my words with more precision and politeness. My apologies.


odn, ds, techno, I think you're right to say that there is some worth to this forum. I have experienced intelligent, eye-opening responses in the past, and it's silly of me to disregard those so readily. I'm going to pull a little experiment and post some [quasi-related] threads on topics that I think are pertinent and apt and see if it garners any viable responses.

HAHA dude, i honestly dont care. whether you're right or wrong, it doesn't matter cause it doesnt really change anything.

im funemployed, i dont have a architect license but i have a medical marijuan license that helps me forget about stuff like this every morning when i light my j anyway

emergency I was greeted with the following when i clicked on your youtube link;

This video contains content from Comcast Entertainment Group, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.

the man is trying to stick it to the little man again

You should never start a post with an apology.

Or a crit.......

jplourde.....we can argue over the philosohy or theory or detailling, but THOSE are boring too. we'll argue about them, then we'll die. so what? that seems to be as useless as an asshole on an elbow.

something bigger like the future of the profession seems to be the root of this insecurity, and therefore it might be more important than you think. i agree, i am done hearing about which school someone thinks is best, etc. but don't knock the employment/subsistence threads. as much as we'd like to think we are above that whole materialism thing, we still have to make money to pay bills to be ABLE to talk about all that theory and pretentious stuff.

unless of course you're rich or have some great job (and you are for some reason beyond the clutches of the american economic treachery) in which case. you SHOULDN'T be here. go work!

either way, i think this little slice of architecture sheds light on the actual profession. i left because my actual experience has been similar to my e-experience. architects can't see forest for the trees. and thus we fail, EVERY recession. we fail with money during the ups, the downs, and it makes our lives worse whether we want to admit it or not. it makes our work worse. architects kind of suck now. it is like a pretentious club that will go to GREAT lenghts to pretend it is still healthy when it is actually on life support - to th point of self-destruction. that's why i left. i am not staying with the ship on its way down.

so yell at the potential students who whore after name brand degrees for the wrong reasons. not the kids actually trying to make it and having (great) difficulty. good luck, all.

whilst i agree with you, C, on some accounts, I disagree with others.

What do you think drives architectural economics? For example, why are concrete and glass and steel such big materials right now? Could it be perhaps that what was once the avant garde [Loos, Semper, Sullivan, Wittkower, Terragni, in no particular order] simply wanted to move past traditional materials? And concrete was the carbon fiber of it's day? Therefore, it's not about theory and it's not about practice, it's about theory AND practice.

To be more plain, the question of 'which school' is just as important as 'which portfolio' or 'which geography.' I'm not advocating one type of discussion over another, rather I'm merely advocating deeper, more pertinent discussions in any subject.

I'm perfectly at home discussing first year pedagogy, or international economics, or detailing and materiality. I just want a more profound discourse. One not centered on individual needs of the moment, but centered on moving the profession forward firmly.

For example: I hate posts on individual portfolios, but I love posts on the idea of the portfolio [and how it fits into an agenda] in general. I hate whiny posts on how 'I lost my job' but I love posts on 'how can the profession garner and accept more responsibility' {and therefore respect, and perhaps higher fees}].

Do you see the difference?

i see the difference. but that has to be the most selfish thing i have read in a long time. it is not necessarily about what jplourde "loves" all the time. sometimes this place is for therapy, sometimes for theory. it is a community. just don't read the threads you don't want to. or else, offer your criticism and move on. ESPECIALLY the "i lost my job" threads should be supported. who else CAN we complain to? i have lost many gifted friends in the field. i cannot bring them back. but at least i can sympathize with them....there is a macro and micro level of discourse. and there should be. NONE of us is powerful to really do much at the macro scale...so it remains and WILL remain in the realm of theory (excluding the actions of the AIA which we theoreticall control...however i think that ship sailed long ago).

Dear Donna,

I have been most remiss. I will endeavour to sort out a thread for you to get stuck into.

At the moment, I am involved in 2 architecture/construction hybrid start-up companies [talking to investors for one, and physical prototyping for the other], a full time job, some architectural side work, 3 boys and [most importantly] She Who Must be Obeyed.

I still do have the odd philosophical thought but - mostly stemming from an ongoing project I have been tinkering with for the last 7 years or so.

And I finally got around to reading The Black Swan which is very interesting.

Life is good and interesting.

JP,

Lots of people in these times now need assurance and advice. There is no harm in asking and this is a good place to start.

From my NZ perspective [where although we are affected by the GFC, we are doing ok] I find some of the situations that people on here find themselves in to be pretty incredulous - unemployed for more than 99 weeks etc. Its quite hard to believe.

I dont know how some of you guys are surviving.

There's no harm and much benefit to offering advice to those in the most need. There's no harm and much benefit to offering condolences and camaraderie as well. Am I being painted as a cynical elitist?

I merely think the posts on 'micro' topics on portfolios or job loss or financial concerns would actually be better served by posts on 'macro' topics such as responsibilty, liability, or 'hegemony'. There are deep seeded problems in the profession that go well beyond the current economic climate, and we would be doing those who lost their job a huge favor by discussing them and creating or distilling solutions.

I guess some people are cynically more concerned with their own current situation than the profession as a whole and thereby the wellbeing of the next generation. Isn't it the ultimate elitism to think that one's own generation is the only generation that matters.