I think you know what I mean, but should we stay in our relative "anonymity" or should we as a community strive to make connections to the real world and bring the public in on what we're all about?
I guess part of my thinking is that Dwell has done so much - good or bad - to bring the user to design and architecture, shouldn't we capitalize on that? I love shooting the shit, but damn if I don't want to make some kaching and have this community make a deeper impact in the world.
i think that is an excellent idea. i don't know exactly how we would go about it. perhaps you're thinking about design competitions aimed at bettering the human experience of architecture? on the same lines as the Dwell Home? something to awaken the prefab consciousness? or maybe get involved with individual cities to help facilitate master planning of cities and/or mass transit? i already do something like this with my local YAF group, Emerging Architects. we've been mildly successful so far. we haven't had a whole lot of press yet, but we're getting there.
Well, I have proposed - gosh I'm nervous saying this, like I'm going to be castigated for dumbing down the profession or something! But I have proposed an "Architecture Appreciation" course in the adult education section of the local Art Center's curriculum. My proposal has been positively received and is being reviewed right now, so we'll see.
I'm thinking the type of educated people who go to the art center - they offer film appreciation and Asian art appreciation courses in addition to art-making classes - are interested in architecture, and what with Gehry, Rem et al in the news right now, it seems at the very least they might want some good cocktail party chatter material! I figure it gives me a chance to show people the frame of mind of someone who has been thinking about architecture for 22 years, help them critique their built environment, know a little bit - but only a little - about history/architecture movements etc.
So I'm attempting to reach out. I've heard from lots of people - mostly clients - that they see how passionate I am about it and they are grateful that I share that passion with them, so I figure if I can get people signed up it will be successful. I hope, because I think teaching it would be a blast!
i think that is an excellent idea. there's nothing wrong with that and you're not 'dumbing down' the profession. personally, i don't think architects reach out enough. people in other professions reach out by having contributing articles, editorials, continuing ed classes or by having people ask them questions through media. i see this in the professions of accounting, law, medicine, by home builders and insurance agents.
i am trying to pursuade our marketing department at my office to compel our in-house 'experts' to write articles that would be published through a publicist.
i suggest architects 'get the word out' any way we can.
I think that these are all excellent ideas, not to sound redundant, but really....
Also I want to point out that if we are talking about something organized, we need to make sure it is in keeping with, and with the blessing of, the original vision of the site as laid out by its creators.
However, with our collective knowledge and geographical flexibility, I've often wondered what the potential could be to the profession. Along the same lines as lb's class (which is a tremendous suggestion), I've thought about giving tours before. I think the preservation society here recruits volunteers who give them, but I am interested in giving tours that engage the community with discussions not only of history but of development and regional planning potential. I feel like the impact might be greater if I could identify myself as a "member of an international architectural outreach organization", or something maybe a little more succinct. Like "Archinect", perhaps, LOL.
lb, your architecture appreciation class is brilliant... i'll have to bring that idea up at our next emerging architect's group meeting...
our local aia and emerging architects group has been making a little headway with getting word out to the public here recently... we just had our second annual "archifest"... we got some media coverage (newspaper) for a modern home tour that we had that was open to the public and sold out... we also got some tv news coverage for a house tour/bbq that we had at a house that a local architect is design/building...
we (emerging architects group) also just had an urban design charrette for an economically depressed neighborhood... we had some print media coverage and participation by the neighborhood, city council, city staff, etc... i made a presentation of the results at an aia luncheon last week and have been asked to present it again at the city council, historic preservation commission, and architectural review board... we were also just approached by a small local history museum to do another charrette to produce some preliminary design ideas that will hopefully help them get a grant to build a new facility... finally, we were also approached by a neighborhood group that has had some materials donated to build some sort of pergola type structure in the neighborhood park... we'll be meeting after thanksgiving to have a quick design charrette to put together some schematic designs which will then be presented to the neighborhood and city...
I was always a proponent for architecture education for kids...you know, get them while they are young...my friend does some great work with the outreach program at Carnegie Mellon's School of architecture...
lb- I don't think it's dumbing down the profession at all, as long as they come out of it thinking that they know how to choose a good architect, not that they know how to do architecture. It could only dumb it down if they became those clients who go, "This is terrible, I don't know what I'm paying you for, and I know terrible because I took an architecture appreciation course one time at a community center." But if they come out of it able to hire and correspond with a good architect and make good choices when it comes to their homes and other buildings in their lives, then good for you!
Question: Should Archinect Reach-out To The Public
I think you know what I mean, but should we stay in our relative "anonymity" or should we as a community strive to make connections to the real world and bring the public in on what we're all about?
I guess part of my thinking is that Dwell has done so much - good or bad - to bring the user to design and architecture, shouldn't we capitalize on that? I love shooting the shit, but damn if I don't want to make some kaching and have this community make a deeper impact in the world.
i think that is an excellent idea. i don't know exactly how we would go about it. perhaps you're thinking about design competitions aimed at bettering the human experience of architecture? on the same lines as the Dwell Home? something to awaken the prefab consciousness? or maybe get involved with individual cities to help facilitate master planning of cities and/or mass transit? i already do something like this with my local YAF group, Emerging Architects. we've been mildly successful so far. we haven't had a whole lot of press yet, but we're getting there.
Well, I have proposed - gosh I'm nervous saying this, like I'm going to be castigated for dumbing down the profession or something! But I have proposed an "Architecture Appreciation" course in the adult education section of the local Art Center's curriculum. My proposal has been positively received and is being reviewed right now, so we'll see.
I'm thinking the type of educated people who go to the art center - they offer film appreciation and Asian art appreciation courses in addition to art-making classes - are interested in architecture, and what with Gehry, Rem et al in the news right now, it seems at the very least they might want some good cocktail party chatter material! I figure it gives me a chance to show people the frame of mind of someone who has been thinking about architecture for 22 years, help them critique their built environment, know a little bit - but only a little - about history/architecture movements etc.
So I'm attempting to reach out. I've heard from lots of people - mostly clients - that they see how passionate I am about it and they are grateful that I share that passion with them, so I figure if I can get people signed up it will be successful. I hope, because I think teaching it would be a blast!
liberty bell,
i think that is an excellent idea. there's nothing wrong with that and you're not 'dumbing down' the profession. personally, i don't think architects reach out enough. people in other professions reach out by having contributing articles, editorials, continuing ed classes or by having people ask them questions through media. i see this in the professions of accounting, law, medicine, by home builders and insurance agents.
i am trying to pursuade our marketing department at my office to compel our in-house 'experts' to write articles that would be published through a publicist.
i suggest architects 'get the word out' any way we can.
happy thanksgiving to the 'necters in the US.
what are we all about, though? who is 'we'?
I think that these are all excellent ideas, not to sound redundant, but really....
Also I want to point out that if we are talking about something organized, we need to make sure it is in keeping with, and with the blessing of, the original vision of the site as laid out by its creators.
However, with our collective knowledge and geographical flexibility, I've often wondered what the potential could be to the profession. Along the same lines as lb's class (which is a tremendous suggestion), I've thought about giving tours before. I think the preservation society here recruits volunteers who give them, but I am interested in giving tours that engage the community with discussions not only of history but of development and regional planning potential. I feel like the impact might be greater if I could identify myself as a "member of an international architectural outreach organization", or something maybe a little more succinct. Like "Archinect", perhaps, LOL.
lb, your architecture appreciation class is brilliant... i'll have to bring that idea up at our next emerging architect's group meeting...
our local aia and emerging architects group has been making a little headway with getting word out to the public here recently... we just had our second annual "archifest"... we got some media coverage (newspaper) for a modern home tour that we had that was open to the public and sold out... we also got some tv news coverage for a house tour/bbq that we had at a house that a local architect is design/building...
we (emerging architects group) also just had an urban design charrette for an economically depressed neighborhood... we had some print media coverage and participation by the neighborhood, city council, city staff, etc... i made a presentation of the results at an aia luncheon last week and have been asked to present it again at the city council, historic preservation commission, and architectural review board... we were also just approached by a small local history museum to do another charrette to produce some preliminary design ideas that will hopefully help them get a grant to build a new facility... finally, we were also approached by a neighborhood group that has had some materials donated to build some sort of pergola type structure in the neighborhood park... we'll be meeting after thanksgiving to have a quick design charrette to put together some schematic designs which will then be presented to the neighborhood and city...
as long as the architecture appreciation class is taught by a bunch of people in 'Architecture Sucks' t-shirts, Im on board!
mdler if you show up in your arch sucks shirt and the elephant penis thing, you can give a guest lecture!
I was always a proponent for architecture education for kids...you know, get them while they are young...my friend does some great work with the outreach program at Carnegie Mellon's School of architecture...
http://www.arc.cmu.edu/ae/index.html
She's got some great stuff going on....
lb- I don't think it's dumbing down the profession at all, as long as they come out of it thinking that they know how to choose a good architect, not that they know how to do architecture. It could only dumb it down if they became those clients who go, "This is terrible, I don't know what I'm paying you for, and I know terrible because I took an architecture appreciation course one time at a community center." But if they come out of it able to hire and correspond with a good architect and make good choices when it comes to their homes and other buildings in their lives, then good for you!
lb, you're going to get to make friends with all the chanel women who can make those little triangle sandwiches for your classes!
rationalist, I would always only spin it that intelligent people know the value of hiring an experienced professional.
Steven, shut the computer and get back to the beach!! And eat some yummy Thanksgiving mahimahi with mango glaze while you're at it! Aloha!!
LB
elephant penis thing w/ parsley...happy Thanksgiving
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