. Excuse me (my dear architect), but you’re being an ass. Yes, kind of sort of maybe a little bit Am I bothering you with my petty contract? Is this job just not your “ideal” project? Doesn’t it fit into your “body of work”? your “oeuvre”? Is this project not going to win you any awards? I know you’re talented. … Read More
Talking to Clients
. First of all, they probably don’t know what they’re talking about anyway. And, I think they asked for some kind of pastel. So, just nod often, eventually, they’ll go away. If not. Say things like: “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Or: “No, that’s not going to work.” Or: “No, because it doesn’t fit with the “vocabulary” of … Read More
Important Places
. Important places In 1969, when my father was at war overseas, my mother and I were on the front porch of our 1910 Bungalow in Kansas. The wind pushed my toys over the edge and into the grass. My mother was leaning on the railing, talking quietly to our neighbor. I crawled across the painted wood and reached through … Read More
A Conceit of Architects
What do we call a gathering of Architects? When animals gather in groups, we refer to them by an array of elegant terms: a Flock of Birds, a Herd of Sheep, a Swarm of Bees, a Smack of Jellyfish, an Array of Hedgehogs, a Pack of Elephants, a Clan of Bears, a Troop of Chimpanzees, an Exultation of Lark, … Read More
2012, New Plan
. Hey Architecture, Let’s be honest, 2011 could have gone better. For me, the wind came out of my sails somewhere around June (or February, whatever…) I did not do the best work of my career in 2011. I didn’t define the character of my generation in elegantly proportioned board-formed concrete, mainly because I was exhausted. Somehow, my highly held … Read More