Williams joins artist and urban planner Theaster Gates and MacArthur Genius and architect Jeanne Gang, FAIA, as speakers who will deliver keynote addresses. ARCHITECT Live host Stephen Chung, AIA, and 2014 AIA President Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, will also give talks. And Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel may put in an appearance as well, but who ever knows with that guy. — architectmagazine.com
51 Comments
Well this architecture thing was fun while it lasted.
Architecture 500000 BC - 2014
Public Relations: 2014-?
The AIA is a joke. It's official. Looks like FLW was right:
"The architecture profession is all that's wrong with architecture." Frank Lloyd Wright (on why he never joined the AIA).
Darkman - Agree 100%.
I suspect this was the AIA's pathetic and desperate attempt to expand their membership demographic into more 20 and 30-year olds, as opposed to the grumpy old men who compose their makeup now. Nice try. Try doing something actually helpful for our joke of a profession if you want my money.
It kind of reminds me when Newt Gingrich announced that he was expanding his social media outreach for the 2012 election to young voters by using "Tweeter."
Just wanted to remind people that these are the actual lyrics to his latest hit song 'Happy':
"Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof"
I can already imagine the sing-a-long portion of his address now...
Sphinx, Darkman: I'm a mid-40s woman and I've become very active in the AIA the last two years. I was just at the Grassroots conference in DC and am happy to point out that there was an EQUAL number of women and men, not all white, on the stage as speakers. I was also at the AIA Emerging Professionals summit in January and can state that there is a large and *very* energetic community of young professionals of all types active in the AIA right now. I'll also point out that the AIA has been pushing hard for the National Design Services Act, which would provide student loan relief for architecture grads who work in community and other non-profit organizations. We're also actively investigating abolishing the word "intern" for grads, allowing work experience in non-traditional settings to count towards IDP, and loosening up the use of the term "architect". Do these initiatives sound like they're focused on bettering the profession for old white guys, or for young people?
One of the speakers at the conference used the Tom Sawyer analogy to emphasize the point: people will work if they find value in it. I used to bitch and moan and whine about the AIA like you guys do, but then when I became very active in it I realized that what people say here all. the. damn. time. is true: the AIA is you. You can't just ask those other people who are giving up their time for the AIA to do something FOR you; get to work volunteering in it and it will then do what YOU want.
The world of design is becoming much more diffuse, and the inclusion of Pharrell Williams is acknowledging that: the world won't pound on the doors of architects because of some outdated notion of our importance. Architects are excellent at visualizing better communities and using design to get there. Designers in other realms - graphic, music, film, what-have-you - are our allies in thinking about how to design a better world and making sure good design can reach more people.
If that task interests you, I invite you to ask your local AIA how you can be of use. Associate AIA memberships are inexpensive. You can get involved, meet lots of other energetic people, and get to work, or of course you can continue to sit on your ass anonymously and whine.
People will work if they find value in it. The AIA is not valuable, therefore why work for it?
AIA funds have been going to other designers for a while now, and PR and social media 'gurus', etc. to get the 'message' out. In 2014, what exactly is that message? Does anybody even know or care? And in the vacuum of meaning we get Pharrell (whom I like as a musician) to tell us what architecture means to him.
Will Peter Bohlin get a Grammy invite now? I doubt it.
It is obvious why Rem Koolhaas is organizing the Venice Biennale behind a concept like 'Fundamentals' after public relations has perverted architecture into such a mockery of specific elements that such a banal concept would seem revolutionary in contrast.
And then, the dubious notion that student loan debt can be categorized or weighed against another as more 'community' based or 'non-profit' as if some architecture lives on a holy pedestal above others because the government deems it so. AIA tries to mimic the worst parts of government instead of acting as a support system. And their mere existence is the largest barrier for minorities and women to become architects, as well as those that can't finance graduate school and years of internships.
So, the solution it seems is to join this organization, and watch your money pay public relations that is advertised back to yourself? Or perhaps I should join and become another token 'invisible man' talking to 'invisible women' to fit some demographic in the official AIA chart. I'm glad that the main point of the grassroots conference was the audience makeup and not the content. (don't think they'd want another white male, you know, its bad PR)
Perhaps you think that sitting out anonymously is laziness. But what do you say to this current way of thinking? These people that look past you, judge you based on your twitter acquaintances, those PR heads that sit around a retweet 'architects should do this and that' and Kanye quotes, and yet don't know a single thing about design.
Believe me, I've talked to these people. I've worked with them. Those that write about Prefab or Green or the latest controversy but have never looked at a blueprint or a detail and can't hold a thought for more than 140 characters. Their only solution is: Twitter! Facebook!
This is not architecture.
It seems the conversation of this younger generation (which I am technically a part of, unfortunately) is all about things that have nothing to do with architecture. It's all about how to up your social media presence, or perhaps prefab or green building. There is no lobby for what architecture really is-- an ethical, individual place, crafted and designed by somebody for a specific purpose. The map is not the territory.
And in all of this rush to 'communicate' the AIA becomes another brand crazy organization, having something vaguely to do with architecture. My only suggestion for the AIA is to dissolve itself and ask for forgiveness.
Perhaps Pharrell will intro with some of his lyrics from the song "Lapdance"? Don't get me wrong, NERD was by far his best work but if I paid to be at such an event, I would be a bit taken back by this selection..
Ask for forgiveness from whom, exactly, Darkman? And how does it throw up barriers to entry by anyone not a white old male when a LOT of what I see in membership is not white or male?
You're critiquing an organization about which you're ignorant.
This reflects a reality than many architects like Darkman are trying to resist. The autonomy of the field of architecture is fading away.
I think that Koolhaas is focusing on fundamentals because the fundamentals are the only things that will remain. As architecture firms become design firms, the fundamentals remain even as the structure of the profession falls away.
For not acting as an advocate of architecture, only 'architects' that jump through its ever changing hoops. All of the black students in my architecture school dropped when they found out about all of the barriers that the AIA put up. And how many will drop out now when all of the chatter is on demographics, celebrities (that have nothing to do with it) and not inspirational content? My take from this Pharrell thing is; to speak at the AIA convention, don't be an architect.
These are people I see at AIA events: 20s-40s, hip, white, asian, men and women. Very few minorities.
All of the talk at these events is empty sentiment. They can't see they are trying to fix problems that they themselves created five steps down the line. Sadly OMA has done more for architecture in 2 years than AIA has done in 30.
Perhaps this is a figment of my imagination.
Every design profession has their problematic organization; it's all the same: AIGA, IALD, SEGD, IAXD, AIA. All created to solidify a their founders' companies brand name, to give themselves awards.
At the end of the day, architecture is about human experience, not this branding, demographic, new media crap that has infected the profession.
Whatever happens that makes buildings more meaningful human experience is good, but that is to be defined by their specific users. The chatter about demographics, politics, architects is really besides the point.
Well Donna, if what you say is true that's fantastic. I sort of became disillusioned by the AIA after going to a few meetings, but I may give it another chance. As for Pharrell, we should welcome this kind of thing. I am all for inclusion and diversity of the field. Not talking about race or gender but that too. I'm talking about the broadening of the scope of architecture to embrace things like public art, landscape, etc. My only skepticism is that the celebrity presence will distract from the bigger issues. But I think Pharrell is a cool guy and he seems to be involved in the world of design so why not embrace that. Architects need to loosen up the neck ties a bit and start to seperate from the corporate/"professional" "business as usual" world. This world has used and abused our unique talents and treated us as cogs. I think we should break from the strangle hold of these green hands. We need to stop trying to fit in to this bs mold of the "professional". It's done nothing but subjugate our great abilities and visions to mediocrity.
"Every design profession has their problematic organization; it's all the same: AIGA, IALD, SEGD, IAXD, AIA. All created to solidify a their founders' companies brand name, to give themselves awards." Beautifully put, Darkman.
And Donna - you say that I can "can get involved, meet lots of other energetic people, and get to work, or of course you can continue to sit on your ass anonymously and whine." Why do you make the assumption that I never did get involved? I was an Assoc. AIA member for 2 years. I attended meetings regularly and joined sub-committee too. And after that experience, I can conclude that (at least my AIA chapter) is a JOKE. We spent half the meeting talking about new PR initiatives to recruit members (what we would do with these members, or why we wanted them, never seemed to get any attention, despite my best efforts), a good chunk of time discussing disciplinary issues for people who (gasp!) use their initials if their membership fees have lapsed, and the rest of the meeting deciding which AIA members to hand awards to for doing such a great job. It was an unfathomable waste of time and money. So go ahead and make false accusations that I'm judging from the sidelines, but that's entire false. I tried to get involve, and it proved what almost everyone else on this forum seems to understand: the AIA is a total joke.
Darkman, I think you're denying the nature of how today's human experiences his or her world.
Perhaps Pharell will read passages from Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle... If the godfather of cool in architecture (rem koolhaas) wants to talk about fundamentals, while the professionals of architecture want to hang out with cool people... If the greatest American architect claimed the profession is what is wrong with architecture... If the other key note speaker runs a studio gang ;)... and Steven Holl still awaits the Pritzker...what Eric Owen Moss said about architecture in the "death of architecture" book and conference must be true -"Architecture is grabbing chocolate pudding." CARRY ON.
Kanye West is going to be really pissed.
so are we going to expand the title of 'architect' to include singers and painters?
i wish i would have become a contractor instead. they still get to design buildings.
Sorry, that term is reserved for those with a license. Unless you design software or military action.
incase you have any questions about what an Architect is or can be
Vuuve
I wish I was a catfish. - Guitar Architect - Jimi Hendrix, FAIA
Curt, your talking black and white as usual. "Architecture is buildings" that seems to be your narrow understanding. Do you not understand that architecture is more than walls and a roof. Theaster gates for instance is an artist that works on projects that influence urbanism. How is this any different from the fountains and plazas of antiquity. Would you say that the Column of Tragan or the Trevi fountain is not "architecture" because it lacks windows and a roof?
Sphinx, I made that assumption based on your ungenerous tossed off line about the AIA being old men. If you'd started with a post about your own experience and how disappointing it was I wouldn't have made that assumption.
The point remains you won't change anything from the outside. I live in the conservative midwest. It's fucking hard to wake up every day and fight the fight for things that I think are important. Like this tornado resource our local AIA put together (I didn't work on it personally; I've worked on other local initiatives.) Within the AIA I'm trying to get rid of the annual golf outing because I think it's rooted in a really sexist and classist history - there are surely better ways for us to network. So far I haven't won that fight because I haven't come up with a sufficient replacement.
I can virtually guarantee you that if you go to the AIA with a well-considered initiative that you are willing to work for they will support it. You might have to prove yourself on a smaller scale first. But the AIA needs active energetic people more than anything.
that's great jla. some guy made a column once in ancient rome, centuries before any of us were born, and you think it has something to do with the fact that i would prefer to actually work with real clients to design real buildings that meet their real needs instead of bullshitting about what i think 'great art' is.
here's an urban renewal project i found on a blog online. i couldn't find a credited artist, but perhaps they should be given a complimentary license to practice architecture and membership into the aia. this might not be the same caliber as say Nicola Salvi's work (i'm sure your work is) but the contribution to the urban environment can't be dismissed. i mean, i can almost feel the soul in that flower.
Taking away golf?
wtFUCK? What's next? I'm going to stop AIA members from wearing cotton ... because of its historic ties to slavery!
stop wagging your fucking finger
Pharrell Williams to speak at the AIA National Convention...
I think that tells you all you need to know about the AIA.
Is that progress, Donna? Working to eliminate a once-a-year event where, God forbid, people have fun?
Is that what you 'think is important'?
Progressive, bitches!
I'm all for replacing the sexist AIA golf tour with a survey of topless clubs and bordellos. Or a soup kitchen for people who can't afford second homes.
Golf outings and pharrell williams. That says it all.
Donna:
"You can't just ask those other people who are giving up their time for the AIA to do something FOR you; get to work volunteering in it and it will then do what YOU want'. Unfortunately, I'm not a member myself (yet), but I agree 100% with you. We need to be more proactive and complain a little less about the profession or the AIA. Even if we are not members of the AIA we could help or becoming a member to help the organization from the inside to be better everyday.
In general:
The invitation of Pharrell Williams could be refreshing and also a great opportunity to see how people react to it. "If you never try... ". I had read most of the comments of this forum and is very interesting to read the different points of views. I just hope his participation is recorded and posted on Youtube (or any other accessible place) for those of us that won't be able to assist see it. Then, we could all "review" how his participation general made any difference or contribution.
Maybe he could relate his creative method of sampling and eclectic blending for no other reason than the joy of music. That might help some architects get "unplugged' about their art.
Curt, you post a pic of some sidewalk chalk done by an 7 year old. Ok. Like I said your black and white absolutist mentality seems to get in the way of ability to have a rational argument.
The column of tragan is an old example but there are many contemporary examples I can point to that straddle the fence between art and architecture. Maya Lin, Robert Irwin, and many many others make art that is spatial and architectural. There are also many many buildings that are not architecture. They are necessary and serve a purpose, but the Vietnam memorial, or the gardens at the Getty are certainly more architecture than the Cvs down the block. Just my opinion though. The problem I have with your exclusive rhetoric is that it, well, excludes people from any association with the thing they do the thing that history has already carved out as a niche. In doing so it marginalizes the field of architecture. The only reason for this is of course to gain relevance by default through exclusivity. Kinda reminds me of a bunch of kids putting a keep out sign on their club house. Now as far as licensure goes...the 7 year old who drew that sidewalk chalk wouldn't be stealing any work from you unless of course he/she is one amazing 7 year old, and then it would basically suck for you but be awesome for that bright little star. Its called a free market. I'm not afraid of it but you seem to be. Even if I get squashed by those better than me at least we will have a higher quality of work by increasing competition and reducing barriers to entry. Your argument is a huge contradiction to your overall idea of team work and the greater good. In reality you are a tribalist not a socialist. I'm a moderate libertarian which basically means that I don't care what my neighbors smoke or who they fuck or what barriers they skipped. So long as they don't shit on my lawn and screw up my planet I'm a happy guy.
first of all, i am kind of scared of a free market. government regulation protects me from people like bernie madoff who want to take from me, and there is definitely a point at which i would not be able to defend myself from the multitudes of greedy people without resorting to physical force. even then, if i can't afford armies and the people who want to take my stuff do have armies, i'm pretty screwed. i understand you are advocating the same "post-fordist neoliberal" economic view of patrik schumacher. i think that is a very bad thing.
second, we've already been over the regulatory requirements for the title of 'architect' and what the architect of record is responsible for in another thread. it's those regulatory requirements that make it exclusive. it's not glamorous. it doesn't mean some huge timeless artifact has been created. i'd rather not repeat the obvious truth, but the cvs had an architect involved, whether you want to consider it "architecture" or not. you can draw an arbitrary line for what you want to consider architecture and what you don't want to consider architecture for yourself if you want, but that is personal to you and has no bearing on the rest of the world or the other people inhabiting said world around you. if you consider a 7 year old's chalk drawing 'architecture' just as much as maya lin's monument, but don't consider cvs 'architecture,' what difference does it make to anyone?
of course, what the title 'architect' means to me is a little different, because i can get sued. i'm expected to maintain a minimum level of competence, which you may or may not be held to.
third, and the real problem with your outlook, is that the "market" would race to the bottom. architects don't design buildings for themselves, they design buildings for the clients that hire them. without the exclusive regulation we have, it's not necessarily the 'best' architect that's going to be hired. it might be the 'cheapest' or the 'fastest' or the one with the least integrity. i don't understand why you would think increased competition due to a lower barrier of entry would somehow lead to better architects. it's already an over-saturated market with architects fighting for the lowest fees. clients that want to pay for higher quality work can. the reason cvs is what it is, is because that's what the client wanted. bringing in more architects will never change that.
Actually curt, I feel more soul in that flower than in most building I encounter. The only soul in most of these lousy buildings is provided by the birds that shit on them and the persistent weeds and grasses that crack through the concrete and signify some sign of life. Of course the owners of such places call this weathering and wear and spray chemicals and put spikes on the roofs. Oh the lengths they go to achieve a completely lifeless sterile place.
Man, you guys are good at getting off topic. Can we get back to bashing the AIA instead of each other? That was more fun.
I'm interested to hear what Pharrell will say, but this is nothing more than a publicity stunt by the AIA. Thayer-D was spot on with his first comment.
Off to the driving range...
Ohh hell no. My views are very different from Patrik shumachers. Refer to that tread and see. I also never said the chalk art is as good as maya Lins work. I also never said that maya Lin should design a hospital or a factory. Maya Lin should do her thing and smith group should do theirs. All I said is that both should be held within the same over arching category of architecture. My view is not that Cvs should not be called architecture it's just my opinion that it is not. My view is that its all architectural and that we should leave the definitions and categorization loose enough so that it is all inclusive.
As for the free market, what we have is not free. It's heavily manipulated by govt. I am all for govt building schools and infrastructure, putting out fires, etc. I'm not for govt creating definitions about architecture that contradict our historical reality. They are doing this and the profession is doing this by creating a narrow minded criteria for title. Licensure and title are two different things. I am not anti regulation just anti bullshit. Regulate wallstreet, regulate food toxicity just don't regulate my neighbors ability to plant a vegatable garden in their front yard. Regulate the game not the players. The system is all about passing off liability. That does not sound like the state controlling quality as much as it does a game of hot potato.
it's probably worth spending some time thinking about how that happens. the architect certainly isn't going to spray roundup on a parking lot 5 years after the building's built. they aren't going to repave it either.
you seem to think that people want great architecture and picturesque places to live. that might be true to an extent, but there is a very high cost associated with that. you're talking about people who will go into debt for a big screen tv but won't pay an adequate salary to the people teaching their children. also, the idea of 'picturesque' is definitely not universal.
it might also be worth considering the person who signed the lease on that cvs doesn't live in the same state as the cvs. they will never visit the building they're paying for.
you're answer is to flood the market with more architects. does that really achieve what you're looking for?
As for pharell, no he's not an architect he's a musician but his interest in the field is obviously genuine. He's got plenty of money and does not need to be going to aia meetings. He is doing it because he has an interest in the field. That's good. Why deny him the stage. He's obviously a creative guy and a smart business person. We need more patrons and less clients. People like this may be good patrons of the arts. If we don't invite them to the party they will find another party. They don't need us. We need more of them. We need more architecturally conscious/socially conscious people with deep pockets. Lol
Geez. Your not getting it. No that's not my answer! It won't solve any problems we face as a society. The ice will still melt and the polar bears will still die. All I'm saying is that it will make things a little better for the field as a whole to be inclusive. All I'm saying is to let people in because they are gonna do their thing regardless so at least keep them on the same team. All I'm saying is that inside competition is better than outside competition. It's more productive to compete with peers than to compete with strangers. Bring people together that share a similar field of practice and broaden the scope of that field to what history has determined it to be and beyond. That's all.
Pharrell's chair:
I'm looking forward to his new Hip Hop song "IDP".... Wonder if his back up singers with have wardrobe malfunctions....being he is a fashion designer on top of being a music producer, and a media love guy!
^ like this. "You down wit Idp, yeah you know me, you down wit Idp, yeah you know me!"
OMG so many rounds of golf were played today. Will Midwest conservative's war on women (and safe routes to school!) ever end?
oh bitches, the humanity!
The guy who performs Despicable Me is the perfect choice for AIA Keynote Speaker.
A sufficient replacement must be found - if we can just stop a handful of architects from golfing once a year then the elite's stranglehold on us iPad-toting common folk will cease and we shall finally be lifted from these chains of cnc-milled fireplaces once and for all!
I hope it will be a better speech than the one he gave at the Grammys.
Oh yes it will be a much better speech! I found an excerpt of his concluding statements:
And lastly on my theme of happiness I would like to speak about one of the most pressing issues of our time, and, dare I say, of all time. It is fucking hard FUCKING hard, to wake up every day and fight the fight for what I believe in. But it is my beliefs, listen to me now, that define what you should like and how you live. With this I am honored to be here to tell every one of you the most important thing to stop, yes stop doing.
stop playing golf.
just. Stop.
it is sexist. Swinging at clubs? I mean, come ON! You just want to put your ball in a hole? A disgusting degradation of women ALL women around our collective world!
<pause for applause>
it divides the classes.
a prominent AIA member, she herself having no class, told me so. Therefore it is true.
<pause for applause>
and it is her beliefs which should be everyone's beliefs. Because if she doesn't like golf it must be wrong for everyone else no matter how much enjoyment it brings.
As an alternative i recommend protesting with your young children. tell them they cant get ahead in life because the conservative midwest won't let them. complain about everything while you complain that the ipad you bought 'just because' really isnt that great but oh well, i cant get ahead why do other people have more money?
SO! Clap along if you feel that golfiness should be stopped!
Clap along If you feel oppression's all about golf!
Clap along cuz golf's sex-ist and should be put to bed!
Clap along and object-i-fy brad's beautiful bod instead!
<bows>
thank you thank you HAPPY!
<massive applause>
maybe he'll have a powerpoint presentation of Emily Ratajowski. I'd pay for that.
Pharrell is only doing it because Britiney Spears was busy.
golf's bad, mmmkay
It's sexist. Only for the privileged upper class.
hey guys I have a shitload of extra cash can you price some mediocre paintings for me? I lust for them!
Hahhahahaha. Old white guys trying to cool by hiring a rapper. This is comedy gold. Yes, i called the AIA full of old white farts.
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