Before I go deeper into this post, I need you all to step back and take a look at the buildings around you. What do you see? Do you see beautiful buildings? Maybe. Do you see lifeless, plastic fabrications? Yes, there's so many more of those. Townhouses, condos, apartments, shopping centers, all culled from what appears to be some template of cost-cutting, profit-driven efficiency. Do we need architects for this stuff? Well, at one time, maybe, then they just rehash the same things, over and over. Are these the kinds of buildings you went to school thinking of creating? I doubt it.
Before I go deeper into this post, let me just say, by what many archies have allured to, they just are not happy with their careers. They are stuck arguing with contractors and more, communicating about how to construct lifeless structures. They rarely get to design anything, and if they do, it just doesn't seem to be anything of substance. Who wants to design bathrooms and not the real purpose rooms of a building? I sure don't. And that's why I took my vision of architecture to the next level. Unfortunately, for many of us, Jacque Fresco can only be a pipe dream. The world doesn't seem ready for innovation. What they call innovation in the economic world is how to screw the consumer.
For, you see, I told all those contractors and bosses to go, well, you know what I mean. I left all that corruption behind me. I love buildings, don't get me wrong. I love to design them, but I want to design structures with substance, with meaning, with beauty and allure. Until the world is ready for innovation, what we really need is less architects, not more. We need to stop sprawl, stop building lackluster structures all around every other road. It need to stop, so I just had to pack my bags and leave. But, don't fret, there still is hope for all you archies out there. Let me explain.
Why don't the architects of the future bring their love of buildings into the realm of video games? Why not? Do you know what real architectural understanding can bring to a video game? It's already being done, but still, so many of our structures just don't have that extra touch that you archies can bring. With the rise of VR and augmented reality on the rise, we will have no choice but to rely on the needs of architects more than ever. I mean, most gamers today want something other than lego-block buildings, you know? We want to bring our love of the neoclassical, of the Greek Revival, of the Victorian, even of the modernist, of well, maybe even the megafuturist, who knows? We'll give it a new name. And at least, you'll be designing, not complaining, but designing, bringing new life into our beloved structures. And you'll likely be making far more money than you ever did trying to design your first building, when all you're designing is bathrooms and basements.
So, what do you say? Want to give it a shot? I did, and it's great. Yeah, I know, I've never posted here before, but I just had to get this out in the open. I just had to.
curtkram
Feb 27, 19 10:16 pm
i make buildings with exits. i get that gravity can be a pain in the ass, but life safety can still be gratifying.
karyssa2
Feb 27, 19 10:26 pm
So that's all you do? Punch out squares? And I thought bathrooms were bad. I would hate to work for someone who was having me punch out squares all day. But wait, what about the entrances? Aren't those squares, too? Or maybe, exits could be round? Yeah, maybe there's some creativity there. I don't know.
curtkram
Feb 27, 19 10:45 pm
life safety code is more concerned with exits. if there is a fire, they're less concerned about how you get into the building (though the location of the knox box is important too).
Non Sequitur
Feb 27, 19 11:17 pm
Kar, sure sounds like you've never worked a day in the real world. Must be nice not having to make a living tho.
Almosthip7
Feb 28, 19 10:49 am
My first project in school had a huge round component to it. I quickly realized that it was a terrible area to utilize with space planning, and even worse of an idea when it cam to detailing the constriction documents. Embrace the golden rectangle Karyssa!
tduds
Feb 28, 19 8:03 pm
'Creativity' isn't doing something different for the sake of difference. It's solving the problem in a better way than it was done before. Gratuitous creativity is superfluity.
Non Sequitur
Feb 27, 19 11:21 pm
". I love to design them, but I want to design structures with substance, with meaning, with beauty and allure."
Fun... but interesting fact is, so does everyone else that has the capacity to tie their own shoes. You're in the overwhelmingly large majority of folk there so what makes you so special? The reality is, someone has to pay your salary as you "design" all this substance and allure... and then someone needs to fund it so that it becomes a real building. That shit costs someone (ie. not you) a few dollars and most clients don't have the patience for immature romantics.
gibbost
Feb 28, 19 11:08 am
Wow. There is a lot to unpack there. I'm sorry to hear that you've graduated and started your career with such delusional visions of grandeur. Unless you're going to bankroll your own projects, ain't nobody got time or money to spend on you dry-humping a design somewhere. Most buildings you look upon with disdain are there to serve a purpose--to help someone generate revenue. Unless you make a really good argument that your design is going to help the client generate even more revenue, then check your ego at the door. Architects are here so serve the public and help police the health/safety/welfare of the built environment. Once you've checked all those boxes, and there's still time left on your contract, then perhaps you can add some design to it. And for what it's worth, I'm not sure that most gamers really care about the Taj Mahal in the background when they just came to blow shit up.
I wish more young architects understood that we were born to be problem-solvers . . . not esoteric designers. This constant need to design everything is why we've been marginalized. Paying customers don't want an artpiece, they need you to solve a very basic problem for them. If you're lucky, every once in awhile a client will come along looking for an aesthetically pleasing solution to their problem.
Non Sequitur
Feb 28, 19 11:29 am
"Paying customers don't want an artpiece, they need you to solve a very basic problem for them. If you're lucky, every once in awhile a client will come along looking for an aesthetically pleasing solution to their problem."
Very well put.
The above should be permanently placed in all studios... in 4' tall letters.
randomised
Feb 28, 19 12:45 pm
Architecture shouldn't be about "helping" to generate revenue but about providing shelter first and foremost im(h)o.
randomised
Feb 28, 19 2:46 pm
There is simply something fundamentally wrong with building for profit and speculation and not for meeting a real tangible need.
gibbost
Feb 28, 19 3:04 pm
Random, I don't disagree. But I would argue that mankind has a way of meeting this very basic of needs all on their own. Shelter is an inherent component to architecture, but could also be accomplished without an architect. Nearly all buildings touched by architects started out as a proforma by someone that identified a need, determined a budget, built it, and then turned a profit . . . thus allowing them to afford another one. It's the way schools, hospitals, strip-malls, churches, libraries, and corporate office buildings all become real. Someone saw a need for a container to generate some cash. But the beautiful thing is, those same spaces allow for life, and art, and learning, and tragedy, and happiness to all occur.
randomised
Feb 28, 19 3:44 pm
When the sole "need" is profit you get this linear destructive production model that simply isn't sustainable, developers and others wanting to make a quick buck or generate revenue are creating havoc on our planet, they're like a plague of locusts and should be treated as such.
mightyaa
Feb 28, 19 7:34 pm
"A cardboard box does that". Um no. Power, heat, able to withstand the elements, structural sound and safe, etc. are the basic requirements. Then it goes onto functional uses; classrooms, sleeping, circulation, etc. Architects are the only ones with any formalized education & national testing to make those considerations in a design. Basically, 'the public' needed the government to designate & test those capable of providing designs to protect the general welfare and safety of their populace. That is what we do and the need. Aesthetic concerns aren't needed; it is the additional value we bring to the consumer. It is nothing though if you can't design the basic needs. And it is the consumer who decides the value of those aesthetics. (even in computer gaming... i've seen some flops of beautiful game graphics when the game itself sucks to play and some fun games with terrible graphics do very well; Fallout '76 versus Minecraft)
randomised
Feb 28, 19 12:33 pm
Why this thread isn't about stairs, elevators and/or escalators?
tduds
Feb 28, 19 2:14 pm
You don't hate Architecture, you hate capitalism. -Zizek, paraphrased.
Volunteer
Feb 28, 19 4:29 pm
I am the last thing from a liberal but when you have starchitects designing a baseball park in Oakland, California, while some children there live in tents you have to wonder at what point do architects just walk away.
Miles Jaffe
Feb 28, 19 9:07 pm
Architecture (and pretty much everything else) is the result of a failed value system. When money is the only measure the only thing that has value is money.
karyssa2
Feb 28, 19 9:23 pm
Interesting that this thread took a bit of a different turn as it progressed. It started earlier with a few rants that sounded like they came from owners of an architectural firm. I'm not saying they are owners, but they sounded as if they certainly would have served the elite quite well in a managerial position. It's the stuff business folk want, you know? Remember, corporations are not much more than private tyrannies. Their supporters are going to have to echo that tyranny, or else the poor might get richer, and the richer might get poorer.
Exits are cool, if you're placing them in the larger context of what you're designing. But if all you do is design exits, then, well, you're no better than a person who is told to pick thorny cotton all day, you know? Sounds like wage slavery, even worse if you're salary - cause then, they can force you to work however long they desire, depending on what you're making. Wasn't it Obama who made it just under $50,000? If you make over that, you're screwed. I guess that's still in effect.
And then we come to the baseball park. Nice one, but what about the starchitects called in to design the buildings and structures for the Olympic games? Cause if you do your research, you'll find out what really happens even before the Olympic games go into effect. Believe me, for the local peasants of those countries, it's often not a pretty sight. But we here in the US, we have the media telling us how great it all is, how it brings solidarity to nations, and all. If architects turned their backs on stuff like this, then there's no stamping the structures, and then? Well, you get the drift ...
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 12:02 am
...and you wrote all that nonsense by yourself? If you run out, I know where you can get a shiny new tin foil hat when your current one grows tired.
archi_dude
Mar 1, 19 8:58 am
Exactly because in a communal society where equal outcome has been assured....every building will be exactly the same for the masses, woot?
tduds
Mar 1, 19 12:57 pm
Don't confuse an accurate assessment of reality as an endorsement of said reality.
tduds
Mar 1, 19 1:00 pm
Exits aren't "cool" they're necessary. Some people take great pride in providing necessities to paying clients. Don't knock it till you've got a mortgage.
Wilma Buttfit
Mar 1, 19 1:14 am
I believe Thorny Cotton is a Sherwin Williams paint color.
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 7:26 am
It is. It’s our go to paint for all non galvanized exposed steel.
Miles Jaffe
Mar 1, 19 1:07 pm
Horny Cotton is my underwear brand.
tduds
Mar 1, 19 1:01 pm
No offense Karissa but you sound extremely 19 years old.
karyssa2
Mar 1, 19 10:18 pm
Let's not get the wrong impression here. I don't, and never really have, found much enjoyment out of playing video games. But you have to admit, they do have some spectacular artwork.
tduds
Mar 4, 19 12:48 pm
That wasn't what I was getting at.
Rusty!
Mar 1, 19 1:46 pm
Do Architects play video games? I remember in school there was really no time for any of that, and after not having time for them for 5 plus years, you just get over them completely.
Actually 2 of my classmates were games. Barely passed. Both ended up being renderers. Nothing wrong with that but a bit of a waste of education.
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 2:05 pm
Of course. Just finished putting in 300+ hours in Witcher3. Fantastic game. I remember playing the shit out of GTA 3 & Vice City while in undergrad. Great diversion for those that can manage their time. Ah, those were the days.
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 2:06 pm
Also played a ton of classic smash brothers with my arch classmates.
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 2:07 pm
Damn it Rusty, now I feel old as fuck.
Rusty!
Mar 1, 19 2:57 pm
Sounds like you went to Carleton. Us over in UW took our studies more seriously!
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 3:34 pm
I did, for undergrad. Studies were taken very seriously. I just knew how to manage my time and, perhaps more importantly, had advanced standing hence could take one less elective. 8-)
Peter Normand
Mar 1, 19 4:09 pm
To the original question/ statement, that not all of what we do is important or worthwhile (this is my summary of the O.P.)
I think you need to understand the importance of what we do, not every space is going to be a masterpiece but every space we design has to work. For example the failure of architects to design sufficient fire walls and suppression systems lead to the Marcale Paper fire which spread and destroyed several city blocks and wiped out hundreds of the middle class jobs in a small town. This is part of what we need to do, detail fire blocking and door ratings so a small fire doesn't destroy so much when one should break out.
We need to design buildings to best serve their function first and foremost. karyssa2 what is it about designing bathroom layouts that is so beneath you? We need to get those spaces designed correctly so that all people, especially folks with disabilities, are accommodated. Screwing up a bathroom layout is a serious problem, if you can master this task then maybe you are ready to move on to things you think are important.
I fear that you are not going to like architecture as a career if you are not able to carve out some satisfaction in the pragmatic side of our work. If you can find a creative outlet designing the environments for games then go for it, but I don;t think your criticism of the state of Architecture as a profession is well informed nor does it reflect much of the knowledge one would gain from meaningful professional experience.
Over and OUT
Peter Normand
tduds
Mar 1, 19 5:56 pm
Wonderfully put, Peter.
karyssa2
Mar 1, 19 10:04 pm
It's not that bathroom layouts are beneath me, but one would think there should be more variety even for an entry level position. Well, in my case, not really bathrooms, but two small basements, which were like crawlspaces, as well. Oh, yeah, and one attic. Apparently, where I was working, you don't get to do the real interior layout until you've been there for quite some time. I don't even know who was doing exteriors.
karyssa2
Mar 1, 19 10:08 pm
I should ask you a question, though. Would you allow two layers of three-millimeter-thick aluminum sheeting around a flammable polyethylene core to be used as a kind of clad siding for a tall building? And would you sign off on this if your superiors told you to?
Non Sequitur
Mar 1, 19 11:03 pm
I think you’ve answered your own question as to why you’re not given more varied work.
curtkram
Mar 1, 19 11:51 pm
do you mean a visqueen vapor barrier karyssa2? maybe in NS's neighborhood, but i don't like it in my neighborhood. old people still want it though. i sign stuff that i choose to sign, never been in a position where someone told me to sign something. if they want to tell me to sign it, they can sign it themselves.
Everyday Architect
Mar 2, 19 12:53 am
If that plastic and aluminum sandwich can pass an NFPA 285 test I don’t have a problem with it, and neither do the code officials.
Non Sequitur
Mar 2, 19 7:15 am
Why you dragging my hood in here Curt?
randomised
Mar 2, 19 9:06 am
Ah yes, the Grenfall Tower cladding. I would've totally signed off on that...
Peter Normand
Mar 2, 19 10:28 am
karyssa2, Are you working for a residential design firm? If so you should know by now that these clients are consumers of services and the "style" of your firm. Most High end residential architects are small operations with demanding clients that need a surprising level of personalized attention. High end clients typically expect the personalized touch of the architect that owns the firm or an experienced associate with whom the clients may have developed a friendship with. Nothing infuriates these clients more than to have to deal with anyone other that the person in charge and they take every mistake, missed call or deadline as a personal affront. Home design for anyone is very personal and it is a huge investment for any person no mater their wealth. A junior designer in one of these firms is not going to get to design a whole floor of a house until the firm and the clients trust you, and that is a very hard place to get to and any errors will be hard to overcome.
curtkram
Mar 2, 19 10:53 am
Your hood is colder than mine NS
Non Sequitur
Mar 2, 19 11:59 am
Good point. Heating the exterior, even if only temporary is a good reason to spect that combustible cladding.
archi_dude
Mar 3, 19 8:10 pm
Why should there be more variety in an entry level position? What are you offering in value that everyone should take time from their own stressful deadlines and make sure you have variety?
Anon_grad2.0
Mar 1, 19 4:20 pm
sounds like a jawknee split personality fest here...
x-jla
Mar 3, 19 4:56 pm
“Creativity” without craft and discipline IS easy. Doing real work for clients is hard. Getting clients is even harder.
randomised
Mar 4, 19 12:55 pm
Nah, just show 'em some skin and bend over.
David Bruce Lee
Mar 4, 19 11:58 am
The posts by the original author are haaaard to read. jesus. easy up on the commas. they read like an undergrad student trying to sound intellectual. I find it odd that this person to decided to come on here and complain about the profession and then say the left it.... to design video games.
randomised
Mar 4, 19 12:53 pm
I can totally understand that, OP is bitter and disappointed that it didn't work out and is kind of lashing out. If I wouldn't be able to work in architecture on MY own terms I would also leave this fucked up yet potentially amazing profession and burn all possible bridges and lash out like an angry teenager and go play my video games.
David Bruce Lee
Mar 5, 19 12:32 pm
do you have your ow
n office?
randomised
Mar 5, 19 1:17 pm
Yes and no, my linkedin status should read "it's complicated".
archiwutm8
Mar 4, 19 12:29 pm
I bring architecture to over 9000.
David Bruce Lee
Mar 5, 19 12:32 pm
yeeeeehaaaw
Non Sequitur
Mar 5, 19 12:42 pm
In a now nuked thread, it appears local fucktard-extraordinaire "Jawknee" has "quit" architect for ever.
randomised
Mar 5, 19 1:12 pm
Sometimes people need to be protected from themselves for their own good, I wish him all the best.
Before I go deeper into this post, I need you all to step back and take a look at the buildings around you. What do you see? Do you see beautiful buildings? Maybe. Do you see lifeless, plastic fabrications? Yes, there's so many more of those. Townhouses, condos, apartments, shopping centers, all culled from what appears to be some template of cost-cutting, profit-driven efficiency. Do we need architects for this stuff? Well, at one time, maybe, then they just rehash the same things, over and over. Are these the kinds of buildings you went to school thinking of creating? I doubt it.
Before I go deeper into this post, let me just say, by what many archies have allured to, they just are not happy with their careers. They are stuck arguing with contractors and more, communicating about how to construct lifeless structures. They rarely get to design anything, and if they do, it just doesn't seem to be anything of substance. Who wants to design bathrooms and not the real purpose rooms of a building? I sure don't. And that's why I took my vision of architecture to the next level. Unfortunately, for many of us, Jacque Fresco can only be a pipe dream. The world doesn't seem ready for innovation. What they call innovation in the economic world is how to screw the consumer.
For, you see, I told all those contractors and bosses to go, well, you know what I mean. I left all that corruption behind me. I love buildings, don't get me wrong. I love to design them, but I want to design structures with substance, with meaning, with beauty and allure. Until the world is ready for innovation, what we really need is less architects, not more. We need to stop sprawl, stop building lackluster structures all around every other road. It need to stop, so I just had to pack my bags and leave. But, don't fret, there still is hope for all you archies out there. Let me explain.
Why don't the architects of the future bring their love of buildings into the realm of video games? Why not? Do you know what real architectural understanding can bring to a video game? It's already being done, but still, so many of our structures just don't have that extra touch that you archies can bring. With the rise of VR and augmented reality on the rise, we will have no choice but to rely on the needs of architects more than ever. I mean, most gamers today want something other than lego-block buildings, you know? We want to bring our love of the neoclassical, of the Greek Revival, of the Victorian, even of the modernist, of well, maybe even the megafuturist, who knows? We'll give it a new name. And at least, you'll be designing, not complaining, but designing, bringing new life into our beloved structures. And you'll likely be making far more money than you ever did trying to design your first building, when all you're designing is bathrooms and basements.
So, what do you say? Want to give it a shot? I did, and it's great. Yeah, I know, I've never posted here before, but I just had to get this out in the open. I just had to.
i make buildings with exits. i get that gravity can be a pain in the ass, but life safety can still be gratifying.
So that's all you do? Punch out squares? And I thought bathrooms were bad. I would hate to work for someone who was having me punch out squares all day. But wait, what about the entrances? Aren't those squares, too? Or maybe, exits could be round? Yeah, maybe there's some creativity there. I don't know.
life safety code is more concerned with exits. if there is a fire, they're less concerned about how you get into the building (though the location of the knox box is important too).
Kar, sure sounds like you've never worked a day in the real world. Must be nice not having to make a living tho.
My first project in school had a huge round component to it. I quickly realized that it was a terrible area to utilize with space planning, and even worse of an idea when it cam to detailing the constriction documents. Embrace the golden rectangle Karyssa!
'Creativity' isn't doing something different for the sake of difference. It's solving the problem in a better way than it was done before. Gratuitous creativity is superfluity.
". I love to design them, but I want to design structures with substance, with meaning, with beauty and allure."
Fun... but interesting fact is, so does everyone else that has the capacity to tie their own shoes. You're in the overwhelmingly large majority of folk there so what makes you so special? The reality is, someone has to pay your salary as you "design" all this substance and allure... and then someone needs to fund it so that it becomes a real building. That shit costs someone (ie. not you) a few dollars and most clients don't have the patience for immature romantics.
Wow. There is a lot to unpack there. I'm sorry to hear that you've graduated and started your career with such delusional visions of grandeur. Unless you're going to bankroll your own projects, ain't nobody got time or money to spend on you dry-humping a design somewhere. Most buildings you look upon with disdain are there to serve a purpose--to help someone generate revenue. Unless you make a really good argument that your design is going to help the client generate even more revenue, then check your ego at the door. Architects are here so serve the public and help police the health/safety/welfare of the built environment. Once you've checked all those boxes, and there's still time left on your contract, then perhaps you can add some design to it. And for what it's worth, I'm not sure that most gamers really care about the Taj Mahal in the background when they just came to blow shit up.
I wish more young architects understood that we were born to be problem-solvers . . . not esoteric designers. This constant need to design everything is why we've been marginalized. Paying customers don't want an artpiece, they need you to solve a very basic problem for them. If you're lucky, every once in awhile a client will come along looking for an aesthetically pleasing solution to their problem.
"Paying customers don't want an artpiece, they need you to solve a very basic problem for them. If you're lucky, every once in awhile a client will come along looking for an aesthetically pleasing solution to their problem."
Very well put.
The above should be permanently placed in all studios... in 4' tall letters.
Architecture shouldn't be about "helping" to generate revenue but about providing shelter first and foremost im(h)o.
There is simply something fundamentally wrong with building for profit and speculation and not for meeting a real tangible need.
Random, I don't disagree. But I would argue that mankind has a way of meeting this very basic of needs all on their own. Shelter is an inherent component to architecture, but could also be accomplished without an architect. Nearly all buildings touched by architects started out as a proforma by someone that identified a need, determined a budget, built it, and then turned a profit . . . thus allowing them to afford another one. It's the way schools, hospitals, strip-malls, churches, libraries, and corporate office buildings all become real. Someone saw a need for a container to generate some cash. But the beautiful thing is, those same spaces allow for life, and art, and learning, and tragedy, and happiness to all occur.
When the sole "need" is profit you get this linear destructive production model that simply isn't sustainable, developers and others wanting to make a quick buck or generate revenue are creating havoc on our planet, they're like a plague of locusts and should be treated as such.
"A cardboard box does that". Um no. Power, heat, able to withstand the elements, structural sound and safe, etc. are the basic requirements. Then it goes onto functional uses; classrooms, sleeping, circulation, etc. Architects are the only ones with any formalized education & national testing to make those considerations in a design. Basically, 'the public' needed the government to designate & test those capable of providing designs to protect the general welfare and safety of their populace. That is what we do and the need. Aesthetic concerns aren't needed; it is the additional value we bring to the consumer. It is nothing though if you can't design the basic needs. And it is the consumer who decides the value of those aesthetics. (even in computer gaming... i've seen some flops of beautiful game graphics when the game itself sucks to play and some fun games with terrible graphics do very well; Fallout '76 versus Minecraft)
Why this thread isn't about stairs, elevators and/or escalators?
You don't hate Architecture, you hate capitalism. -Zizek, paraphrased.
I am the last thing from a liberal but when you have starchitects designing a baseball park in Oakland, California, while some children there live in tents you have to wonder at what point do architects just walk away.
Architecture (and pretty much everything else) is the result of a failed value system. When money is the only measure the only thing that has value is money.
Interesting that this thread took a bit of a different turn as it progressed. It started earlier with a few rants that sounded like they came from owners of an architectural firm. I'm not saying they are owners, but they sounded as if they certainly would have served the elite quite well in a managerial position. It's the stuff business folk want, you know? Remember, corporations are not much more than private tyrannies. Their supporters are going to have to echo that tyranny, or else the poor might get richer, and the richer might get poorer.
Exits are cool, if you're placing them in the larger context of what you're designing. But if all you do is design exits, then, well, you're no better than a person who is told to pick thorny cotton all day, you know? Sounds like wage slavery, even worse if you're salary - cause then, they can force you to work however long they desire, depending on what you're making. Wasn't it Obama who made it just under $50,000? If you make over that, you're screwed. I guess that's still in effect.
And then we come to the baseball park. Nice one, but what about the starchitects called in to design the buildings and structures for the Olympic games? Cause if you do your research, you'll find out what really happens even before the Olympic games go into effect. Believe me, for the local peasants of those countries, it's often not a pretty sight. But we here in the US, we have the media telling us how great it all is, how it brings solidarity to nations, and all. If architects turned their backs on stuff like this, then there's no stamping the structures, and then? Well, you get the drift ...
...and you wrote all that nonsense by yourself? If you run out, I know where you can get a shiny new tin foil hat when your current one grows tired.
Exactly because in a communal society where equal outcome has been assured....every building will be exactly the same for the masses, woot?
Don't confuse an accurate assessment of reality as an endorsement of said reality.
Exits aren't "cool" they're necessary. Some people take great pride in providing necessities to paying clients. Don't knock it till you've got a mortgage.
I believe Thorny Cotton is a Sherwin Williams paint color.
It is. It’s our go to paint for all non galvanized exposed steel.
Horny Cotton is my underwear brand.
No offense Karissa but you sound extremely 19 years old.
Let's not get the wrong impression here. I don't, and never really have, found much enjoyment out of playing video games. But you have to admit, they do have some spectacular artwork.
That wasn't what I was getting at.
Do Architects play video games? I remember in school there was really no time for any of that, and after not having time for them for 5 plus years, you just get over them completely.
Actually 2 of my classmates were games. Barely passed. Both ended up being renderers. Nothing wrong with that but a bit of a waste of education.
Of course. Just finished putting in 300+ hours in Witcher3. Fantastic game. I remember playing the shit out of GTA 3 & Vice City while in undergrad. Great diversion for those that can manage their time. Ah, those were the days.
Also played a ton of classic smash brothers with my arch classmates.
Damn it Rusty, now I feel old as fuck.
Sounds like you went to Carleton. Us over in UW took our studies more seriously!
I did, for undergrad. Studies were taken very seriously. I just knew how to manage my time and, perhaps more importantly, had advanced standing hence could take one less elective. 8-)
To the original question/ statement, that not all of what we do is important or worthwhile (this is my summary of the O.P.)
I think you need to understand the importance of what we do, not every space is going to be a masterpiece but every space we design has to work. For example the failure of architects to design sufficient fire walls and suppression systems lead to the Marcale Paper fire which spread and destroyed several city blocks and wiped out hundreds of the middle class jobs in a small town. This is part of what we need to do, detail fire blocking and door ratings so a small fire doesn't destroy so much when one should break out.
We need to design buildings to best serve their function first and foremost. karyssa2 what is it about designing bathroom layouts that is so beneath you? We need to get those spaces designed correctly so that all people, especially folks with disabilities, are accommodated. Screwing up a bathroom layout is a serious problem, if you can master this task then maybe you are ready to move on to things you think are important.
I fear that you are not going to like architecture as a career if you are not able to carve out some satisfaction in the pragmatic side of our work. If you can find a creative outlet designing the environments for games then go for it, but I don;t think your criticism of the state of Architecture as a profession is well informed nor does it reflect much of the knowledge one would gain from meaningful professional experience.
Over and OUT
Peter Normand
Wonderfully put, Peter.
It's not that bathroom layouts are beneath me, but one would think there should be more variety even for an entry level position. Well, in my case, not really bathrooms, but two small basements, which were like crawlspaces, as well. Oh, yeah, and one attic. Apparently, where I was working, you don't get to do the real interior layout until you've been there for quite some time. I don't even know who was doing exteriors.
I should ask you a question, though. Would you allow two layers of three-millimeter-thick aluminum sheeting around a flammable polyethylene core to be used as a kind of clad siding for a tall building? And would you sign off on this if your superiors told you to?
I think you’ve answered your own question as to why you’re not given more varied work.
do you mean a visqueen vapor barrier karyssa2? maybe in NS's neighborhood, but i don't like it in my neighborhood. old people still want it though. i sign stuff that i choose to sign, never been in a position where someone told me to sign something. if they want to tell me to sign it, they can sign it themselves.
If that plastic and aluminum sandwich can pass an NFPA 285 test I don’t have a problem with it, and neither do the code officials.
Why you dragging my hood in here Curt?
Ah yes, the Grenfall Tower cladding. I would've totally signed off on that...
karyssa2, Are you working for a residential design firm? If so you should know by now that these clients are consumers of services and the "style" of your firm. Most High end residential architects are small operations with demanding clients that need a surprising level of personalized attention. High end clients typically expect the personalized touch of the architect that owns the firm or an experienced associate with whom the clients may have developed a friendship with. Nothing infuriates these clients more than to have to deal with anyone other that the person in charge and they take every mistake, missed call or deadline as a personal affront. Home design for anyone is very personal and it is a huge investment for any person no mater their wealth. A junior designer in one of these firms is not going to get to design a whole floor of a house until the firm and the clients trust you, and that is a very hard place to get to and any errors will be hard to overcome.
Your hood is colder than mine NS
Good point. Heating the exterior, even if only temporary is a good reason to spect that combustible cladding.
Why should there be more variety in an entry level position? What are you offering in value that everyone should take time from their own stressful deadlines and make sure you have variety?
sounds like a jawknee split personality fest here...
“Creativity” without craft and discipline IS easy. Doing real work for clients is hard. Getting clients is even harder.
Nah, just show 'em some skin and bend over.
The posts by the original author are haaaard to read. jesus. easy up on the commas. they read like an undergrad student trying to sound intellectual. I find it odd that this person to decided to come on here and complain about the profession and then say the left it.... to design video games.
I can totally understand that, OP is bitter and disappointed that it didn't work out and is kind of lashing out. If I wouldn't be able to work in architecture on MY own terms I would also leave this fucked up yet potentially amazing profession and burn all possible bridges and lash out like an angry teenager and go play my video games.
do you have your ow n office?
Yes and no, my linkedin status should read "it's complicated".
I bring architecture to over 9000.
yeeeeehaaaw
In a now nuked thread, it appears local fucktard-extraordinaire "Jawknee" has "quit" architect for ever.
Sometimes people need to be protected from themselves for their own good, I wish him all the best.