I hear that Rem Koolhaas is always sleeping... And I also hear that in a stunning move, he is making a building that looks not like a glass cock, but like a concrete vagina. When you sleep more, you get vagina. You can all take a lesson from Rem Koolhaas.
Apparently though I think she should of added penis fetish as glass dildos/cocks is mentioned over and over again. I really don't most architects know where they leave their genitals
I force them to discuss far more interesting topics, like turkey eggs. Why do we eat chicken eggs, but not turkey eggs? They are bigger. And people really like turkey. See? I am not afraid to ask the tough questions.
Ricardo Porro was doing monumental tits and concrete vaginas before Annie Choi was even born!! She needs to get her frickin' facts straight...Or soft and curvy...
that was some of the worst commentary/writing i've read in a long time, including some of the worst of archinect. truly dreadful. the only reason we all read it is that she talks about architects. so how did she ever get published? maybe just picked out a lot of different navel-gazing groups and wrote about them and then made sure they saw snippets of her writing about them?
you know, we keep bitching about the state of things in the profession here on the 'nect and i think its funny and all, but seriously, how the FUCK do we change it? How do we go from being underpaid to overpaid? How do we go from powerless to powerful? I'd like to see some ideas, especially from you older cats who've been in the trenches for years now.
I love the analogy and I've only recently figured that mass appeal and fame is not for me; but instead what an archi-mate has - a living room practice that turns over about 20+ decent projects internationally. He walks around barefooted and enjoys life. He looks 25 but is in fact closer to 40 - damn I hate/envy him - its really a good life to have
Apurimac – excellent points. So for those folks that have been in the industry for a while, what are your thoughts? I have some ideas but I have to reflect and post later.
i've been in the industry for a while, there are things that i IMPROVE to make my life better -
my ratio of (architects friend: non architect friend) has been reduced from 80:20 to now 10:90... i've learn that ppl who would be helpful to better my life are mainly non-architects.
i still work alot but reduce my work time spend on architectural office, more time on stock and investment... however, that doesn't mean i spent less time in architecture, since most of the work done in architectural office are not quite architectural, and time spent on researching global market trend, global energy distribution, the emergence of developing country, the noise in the stock market, that i found extremely architectural.
...how...do we change it? How do we go from being underpaid to overpaid? How do we go from powerless to powerful? I'd like to see some ideas...
if you read daniel pink's book 'a whole new mind', you'll learn that what we do will be the growth field in the 21st century: combined left-brain and right-brain thinking, he says, is the key to business in the coming decades as all of the old left-brain tricks are moved overseas. the future is not about technical skills but vision, empathy, the ability to channel play and create stories. if he's right, we can be patient and the riches and glory will be ours. i can't say i believe him, but it's an interesting book nonetheless.
i've seen again and again that architecture is a squishy, slippery field. there's a reason that people don't understand what we do; its very nature is to be about doing everything, anything, but nothing in particular. i've joked before that the architecture studios that liberty bell and i teach for high school students aren't really a fit for kentucky's governor's scholars program (gsp) which is more academic (math, science, history) OR a fit for the governor's school for the arts (gsa) which is more arts-oriented (dance, visual arts, creative writing, instrumental music, vocal performance). the other disciplines in both of these programs watched what the architecture students did and were baffled. the final exhibits/performances are always sort of off-putting for those who come see them because at gsp exhibits are sort of beside the point and at gsa exhibits are as much about process as finished beautiful final products.
so...riches and power. the success of places like ideo is encouraging. they've figured out something that most designers haven't: a way to charge for, to quantify, something as unquantifiable as idea generation, concept building, and resolution of ideas and concepts into tangible product. i know that they're notoriously expensive. and maybe they're just charging by the hour. but people are paying for it; ideo has built a reputation on making the (physical and mental) space that real design thinking requires and they're respected by the business world.
the architecture business is currently set up as part of the construction industry, for better or worse. (ask me a different day, i'll give you a different assessment of this.) unless we're able to gain respect for 'wasting time' within the construction industry, we're already hobbled a little.
when you layer on that the fact that the profession has been chastised in the past for price-fixing, basically establishing a shared fee scale, and has had to abandon that idea; that we are now simply part of a competitive market in which somebody will always come in with the 4% fee proposal, it's going to be really difficult to raise fees across the industry to something that would put our salaries at something equivalent to those of other professionals.
all that said, what is it you want, apurimac? i feel that i've got the respect of my peers, my clients, and those in metro gov't and the business community with whom i come in contact. my opinion is solicited on a regular basis. our projects are getting bigger, more 'public', and we're slowly getting more opportunities to play out some of our design goals. my pay is not luxurious but allows us to have an old house in an urban neighborhood that we love and renovate it. my wife gets to stay home with the girls. i make a point of, whenever possible which is most of the time, limiting my work week to 40-45 hours so that i can clean the attic, fix my daughter's tricycle, and go for long walks. i can't buy every little thing i want but, as i get older, i find that my bigger struggle is getting rid of things and acquisition of things is becoming less impt.
so i feel like i've got riches covered ok. power, not so sure. the little tastes of power that i've had scare me anyway. with power comes accountability and the potential ire of 50% of the population. why would i want power when i can work away at building consensus from the inside for things that i support? building committees, stewardship committees, landmarks and design review boards, etc are good places for that kind of activity.
tell you the truth steven I never know what I want. I guess what I want the most is one day, far from now I'll be able to walk down the street, or drive down the road, pass a beautiful, useful building and say "My firm designed that, and we got paid well enough for me to compensate my employees fairly and for me to live comfortably." What "fairly" and "comfortably" means is highly debatable, but truth be told I'd like to be wealthy enough to actually afford to live in a place like the ones I design for my well-heeled clients.
Include yourself on the business side and team up with developers who are like minded (take the ability to visualize for them as well as educating and selling your ideas to them - not monetarily necessarily, but conceptually) and willing to partner in projects in your local community.
And as aspect spoke earlier, try and get some relationships that are not architects, i.e. doctors, lawyers, entertainment, etc...these are the people you need to be able to convince that your ideas of architecture are worth their investment. You have got to be part salesperson, part business person, part graphic designer, etc...if you want to do something besides just being a lowly paid anything really...get your hustle on.
Steven, excellent post as usual and I'm in 100% agreement with all of it (especially, interestingly, that "trying to get rid of stuff" part. I've recently decided two major parts of our home have to be done with built-ins not furniture because I can't bring myself to buy/fabricate yet another single piece of furnishing that eventually I'll have to sell to move, because I guarantee you next home I choose will be smaller than this one.)
As to critiquing the original article: I did laugh at it, but also agree with Steven that the writing isn't brilliantly good; it reads to me like a 'zine from the early 90s - not especially personal in style. That said, I'm sure Annie is young (right? college or just out of?) and there is LOTS of time to develop a voice - in which case architects and Annie may have more in common than she would like - it takes us a decade or two to mature into our own voice, as well. I also think there is something to be said for aspect's point that really only architects would read that and find it funny - we're so overly concerned with how we appear to others.
Jul 23, 07 10:26 am ·
·
Personally, I don't care at all how I appear to others, and getting architects to say "i am sick of your shit" is a constant source of amusement.
'if you read daniel pink's book 'a whole new mind', you'll learn that what we do will be the growth field in the 21st century: combined left-brain and right-brain thinking, he says, is the key to business in the coming decades as all of the old left-brain tricks are moved overseas. the future is not about technical skills but vision, empathy, the ability to channel play and create stories. if he's right, we can be patient and the riches and glory will be ours. i can't say i believe him, but it's an interesting book nonetheless.'
This is true, but it won't be straight-up architects doing this. They call themselves 'designers' and there's actually a growing number of them consulting to software companies and other businesses. You hit the nail with Ideo, 'Interaction Design' is the big thing and yes, these people are very well paid. There are tons of other firms and individuals doing this stuff, but it has very little to do with designing buildings which is something that I actually like to do, lousy pay or no.
Turns out, not all architects understand irony or humor, this is because they are not humans. They are robots with a soul made of steel and concrete. Except they are not as cool as Transformers because they do not blow shit up.
"dear architects...
Brilliant and highly amusing. Also, unfortunately quite close to the truth.
-burritos
-hedgehogs
-coffee
Naturally. :o)
ditto....dildo!
I am an architect and spend more time discussing burritos that architecture
an architect friend emailed this to me. if this person gets paid to write, perhaps i'll make a career change.
thanks cris!
was Annie a guy or a girl? Couldn't tell
Apparently though I think she should of added penis fetish as glass dildos/cocks is mentioned over and over again. I really don't most architects know where they leave their genitals
absolutely brilliant.
ostrich's eggs are even bigger than turkeys they will do better for omelette's
simple answers - things are bigger doesn't mean it taste better... the same goes with architectural firm.
dear annie choi,
u need to appreciate the fact that we are the only professions who would spare our supposingly precious time to read ur letter and respond to it.
yes, i know, we are sick of our own shit too. u not alone.
cheers
I have very few friends who are architects for the very reasons Ms. Choi outlines.
choi is just jealous that s/he isnt an architect too. In the immortal words of Lil Kim - if I was you, I'd hate me too
I think Annie doesn't really like her roommates' friends. At least Heather is hardcore....
I have a whole piece on hipster writers...
/may not be the writer in question.
What's with the weird hyper-political correctness? Do any of you actually know any guys named Annie? I think she's a she.
least it ain't a boy named sue..
/how do you do?
(now get that ditty out of your head.)
*raises fist* damn you cameron!
I know a guy named Annie. sHe performs at Micky's on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood on Monday nights ;)
I was just talking about that song tonight.
Did you know that Shel Silverstein wrote it? Ha!
Ricardo Porro was doing monumental tits and concrete vaginas before Annie Choi was even born!! She needs to get her frickin' facts straight...Or soft and curvy...
that was some of the worst commentary/writing i've read in a long time, including some of the worst of archinect. truly dreadful. the only reason we all read it is that she talks about architects. so how did she ever get published? maybe just picked out a lot of different navel-gazing groups and wrote about them and then made sure they saw snippets of her writing about them?
It's just humor, I thought it was funny, her implied ambivalence ...
OF- are you buying the band a round?
…at least Annie has one thing in common with some Archinets – she likes coffee and burritos :) ...and hedgehogs? hummm...
you know, we keep bitching about the state of things in the profession here on the 'nect and i think its funny and all, but seriously, how the FUCK do we change it? How do we go from being underpaid to overpaid? How do we go from powerless to powerful? I'd like to see some ideas, especially from you older cats who've been in the trenches for years now.
dry wit shaken not stirred, Old Fogey style
I love the analogy and I've only recently figured that mass appeal and fame is not for me; but instead what an archi-mate has - a living room practice that turns over about 20+ decent projects internationally. He walks around barefooted and enjoys life. He looks 25 but is in fact closer to 40 - damn I hate/envy him - its really a good life to have
Apurimac – excellent points. So for those folks that have been in the industry for a while, what are your thoughts? I have some ideas but I have to reflect and post later.
i await your wisdom with patience and expectation, and I wouldn't mind Steven Ward' thoughts on this either.
i've been in the industry for a while, there are things that i IMPROVE to make my life better -
my ratio of (architects friend: non architect friend) has been reduced from 80:20 to now 10:90... i've learn that ppl who would be helpful to better my life are mainly non-architects.
i still work alot but reduce my work time spend on architectural office, more time on stock and investment... however, that doesn't mean i spent less time in architecture, since most of the work done in architectural office are not quite architectural, and time spent on researching global market trend, global energy distribution, the emergence of developing country, the noise in the stock market, that i found extremely architectural.
which also in resonance with anne choi's point.
if you read daniel pink's book 'a whole new mind', you'll learn that what we do will be the growth field in the 21st century: combined left-brain and right-brain thinking, he says, is the key to business in the coming decades as all of the old left-brain tricks are moved overseas. the future is not about technical skills but vision, empathy, the ability to channel play and create stories. if he's right, we can be patient and the riches and glory will be ours. i can't say i believe him, but it's an interesting book nonetheless.
i've seen again and again that architecture is a squishy, slippery field. there's a reason that people don't understand what we do; its very nature is to be about doing everything, anything, but nothing in particular. i've joked before that the architecture studios that liberty bell and i teach for high school students aren't really a fit for kentucky's governor's scholars program (gsp) which is more academic (math, science, history) OR a fit for the governor's school for the arts (gsa) which is more arts-oriented (dance, visual arts, creative writing, instrumental music, vocal performance). the other disciplines in both of these programs watched what the architecture students did and were baffled. the final exhibits/performances are always sort of off-putting for those who come see them because at gsp exhibits are sort of beside the point and at gsa exhibits are as much about process as finished beautiful final products.
so...riches and power. the success of places like ideo is encouraging. they've figured out something that most designers haven't: a way to charge for, to quantify, something as unquantifiable as idea generation, concept building, and resolution of ideas and concepts into tangible product. i know that they're notoriously expensive. and maybe they're just charging by the hour. but people are paying for it; ideo has built a reputation on making the (physical and mental) space that real design thinking requires and they're respected by the business world.
the architecture business is currently set up as part of the construction industry, for better or worse. (ask me a different day, i'll give you a different assessment of this.) unless we're able to gain respect for 'wasting time' within the construction industry, we're already hobbled a little.
when you layer on that the fact that the profession has been chastised in the past for price-fixing, basically establishing a shared fee scale, and has had to abandon that idea; that we are now simply part of a competitive market in which somebody will always come in with the 4% fee proposal, it's going to be really difficult to raise fees across the industry to something that would put our salaries at something equivalent to those of other professionals.
all that said, what is it you want, apurimac? i feel that i've got the respect of my peers, my clients, and those in metro gov't and the business community with whom i come in contact. my opinion is solicited on a regular basis. our projects are getting bigger, more 'public', and we're slowly getting more opportunities to play out some of our design goals. my pay is not luxurious but allows us to have an old house in an urban neighborhood that we love and renovate it. my wife gets to stay home with the girls. i make a point of, whenever possible which is most of the time, limiting my work week to 40-45 hours so that i can clean the attic, fix my daughter's tricycle, and go for long walks. i can't buy every little thing i want but, as i get older, i find that my bigger struggle is getting rid of things and acquisition of things is becoming less impt.
so i feel like i've got riches covered ok. power, not so sure. the little tastes of power that i've had scare me anyway. with power comes accountability and the potential ire of 50% of the population. why would i want power when i can work away at building consensus from the inside for things that i support? building committees, stewardship committees, landmarks and design review boards, etc are good places for that kind of activity.
my rambling thoughts for the morning.
tell you the truth steven I never know what I want. I guess what I want the most is one day, far from now I'll be able to walk down the street, or drive down the road, pass a beautiful, useful building and say "My firm designed that, and we got paid well enough for me to compensate my employees fairly and for me to live comfortably." What "fairly" and "comfortably" means is highly debatable, but truth be told I'd like to be wealthy enough to actually afford to live in a place like the ones I design for my well-heeled clients.
get into the design of public buildings (schools, park structures, etc) and you are at least part-owner!
i agree that designing obscenely large and over-the-top houses for the wealthy IS demoralizing. that's why i quit.
Include yourself on the business side and team up with developers who are like minded (take the ability to visualize for them as well as educating and selling your ideas to them - not monetarily necessarily, but conceptually) and willing to partner in projects in your local community.
And as aspect spoke earlier, try and get some relationships that are not architects, i.e. doctors, lawyers, entertainment, etc...these are the people you need to be able to convince that your ideas of architecture are worth their investment. You have got to be part salesperson, part business person, part graphic designer, etc...if you want to do something besides just being a lowly paid anything really...get your hustle on.
j, you are correct as usual.
Steven, excellent post as usual and I'm in 100% agreement with all of it (especially, interestingly, that "trying to get rid of stuff" part. I've recently decided two major parts of our home have to be done with built-ins not furniture because I can't bring myself to buy/fabricate yet another single piece of furnishing that eventually I'll have to sell to move, because I guarantee you next home I choose will be smaller than this one.)
As to critiquing the original article: I did laugh at it, but also agree with Steven that the writing isn't brilliantly good; it reads to me like a 'zine from the early 90s - not especially personal in style. That said, I'm sure Annie is young (right? college or just out of?) and there is LOTS of time to develop a voice - in which case architects and Annie may have more in common than she would like - it takes us a decade or two to mature into our own voice, as well. I also think there is something to be said for aspect's point that really only architects would read that and find it funny - we're so overly concerned with how we appear to others.
Personally, I don't care at all how I appear to others, and getting architects to say "i am sick of your shit" is a constant source of amusement.
I think the writing style was quite amusing. I found it thoroughly entertaining and have forwarded to many of my former studiomates.
My favorite part is her bullet choice (hearts!) for her itemized list of things she cares about.
@ Steven -
'if you read daniel pink's book 'a whole new mind', you'll learn that what we do will be the growth field in the 21st century: combined left-brain and right-brain thinking, he says, is the key to business in the coming decades as all of the old left-brain tricks are moved overseas. the future is not about technical skills but vision, empathy, the ability to channel play and create stories. if he's right, we can be patient and the riches and glory will be ours. i can't say i believe him, but it's an interesting book nonetheless.'
This is true, but it won't be straight-up architects doing this. They call themselves 'designers' and there's actually a growing number of them consulting to software companies and other businesses. You hit the nail with Ideo, 'Interaction Design' is the big thing and yes, these people are very well paid. There are tons of other firms and individuals doing this stuff, but it has very little to do with designing buildings which is something that I actually like to do, lousy pay or no.
someone is cranky because they didn't get an advance on their manuscript and has eaten way too much ramen.
omg i want to marry this woman
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