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Somewhere beyond the me...

I write in response to Heini van Niekerk’s blog entitlted The Last Crumbs… (12^th April 2011.)

Let me begin by shifting our attentions away from cake. For one, it is most distracting. Cake inherently is. But more pertinently, cake exists in the most part to be consumed in celebration of self-attainment, or simply as a guilty indulgence to boost one’s mood. The aftermath of such gorging is, more often than not, short-lived elevation, a fleeting taste of sweetness and a smattering of disregarded crumbs. A consumerist model of assessing the current climate (both within and beyond the architectural profession) would see the evident allegory. But perhaps we ought not to be thinking of ourselves, and our careers, as the stale shrapnel of happier times. And let’s face it, when the cake’s gone it’s gone. Sorry about that. Perhaps it’s time we remove our rose-tinted, mirror-lensed shades and don some eyewear more appropriate to our age and situation.

Let us instead put on our goggles – lab or swimming, your choice - and look to the sea for the inspiration of an analytical model, to a much more marvelous (sorry cake lovers!) example of sponge. Well actually many. There is not just one single species of sponge living in the waters of our splendid planet. Rather, there are as many as 10,000 different types. But should (in an implausible yet illustrative occurrence) a variety of these be put through a blender and mixed into a disparate soup, each individual from each species will perform the awesome task of finding their way back to their friends. Eventually each species will reassemble as their original (albeit differently shaped) colonies.

We could do worse within our industry than to observe this natural spectacle as something of a lesson. Many will agree that we have, of late, been put through the proverbial blender. So why not, like the tiny bits of sponge, seek each other out in these sparse times, find those who think alike, and join together to form a much more coherent, solid community once more? Clinging to the edges of the jug distressed and hoping for the best is futile. Shouting loud and irrelevant mantras whilst you’re there certainly won’t help matters either.

It is an innate characteristic of the profession (or perhaps of being human) to shout about and project our successes and beliefs to the world. But this should be married, particularly in such times as these, with similar, if not heightened, levels of observation of others. It would be foolish and simplistic to suggest that we should and would all be singing from the same hymn sheet, colonising the same visions and resolutions. Neither should we be forced to hush our own voices whilst others proclaim their own accolades. Where’s the fun in either of those?

Now, it’s not often that I turn to Donald Trump for wisdom, but he is quoted to have said “Watch, Listen, and Learn. You can’t know it all yourself, and anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.” Whilst we all may feel we possess plenty of knowledge within our field and that our message is the most important, there are always those who know something different. It is not revolutionary to suggest that we respect and harness the multiplicity and diversity of each other’s knowledge. This is, however, seemingly often overlooked or disregarded through the desire for ‘originality’ or ‘foresight’. In shouting about ourselves, we often drown out or ignore the other voices, failing to see their benefits and significance to what could be a shared goal.

Whilst our forefathers may have had the opportunity to pander to decadence, within architecture today spectacular design is subordinate to social responsibility and innovation. The latter two can only be achieved through collaboration. Rather than hailing our own conquests, or whimpering in the sea of despair, we should seek conversation and acquiescence. By looking out for, listening to, and learning from one another, we can calmly travel through the crowds to find and connect to our ideological siblings. Who knows what new shapes will form, what unrealised strengths will arise, and what will then be achievable? Let’s not sit and dwell: the past is history, though lessons can be learnt. Let’s not constrain ourselves to templates for the predicted future: we don’t know quite what’s going to unfold, but we know that we shape it. Instead, let’s talk now and see where that takes us. It might look cloudy now, but somewhere in that haze there are great things brewing and waiting to happen. We just need to find others and work with them to discover and develop these possibilities together.

I could continue to draw endless parallels between the symbiosis observed in sponges and the possibilities and opportunities available to us in the current climate. However I shan’t patronise. As you’ve probably guessed, my knowledge of the topic is predominantly gleaned from that wonderful open-source database Wikipedia anyway. To draw this to some level of conclusion, though, my message is this: consumption is out; collaboration is in. It’s time to stop indulging and to start conversing.

We can all too easily use these times to sit in our offices mourning the death of the ‘master builder’ or fearing the future of the term we hold dear: ‘architect’. Alternatively, and more practically, we could be a little more positive and just crack on with it. We should innovate as we know best (having spent our years in education nurturing this gift,) and think of fresh and exciting ways to transform and progress together – not just within the profession, but across a wider community of disciplines. It is egotistical to claim that architects shape mankind. Certainly, the interventions we make shape our environments, which in turn have major affects on their inhabitants. More significantly though, as seen both in the natural and human world, communities shape themselves, particularly in the face of adversity. Those granted the opportunity to be involved in the design of new interventions accept the responsibility to harness and honor this organic process of dialogue and sustenance in order to find an appropriate direction for progress.

And anyway, who wouldn’t rather be swimming in the sea of opportunity than rolling around the plate of despair? The cake might be gone, but the party certainly isn’t over…

Welcome

Rather than start with some grand proclamation about how this blog aims to change the world and be carbon neutral, here's a picture that summarises where we're headed -

HT Nudge.

To Play or Not to Play?

To pay or not to pay? That could also be the question.

At this moment in time the NFL and NBA (that's American Football and Basketball for anyone in doubt) find themselves in a 'lockout' situation where the owners and players can't agree on how to carve up the money. These sports don't have transfer fees and pool revenue so the collective agreement of how to divide up the revenue between players and owners is a massive deal.

Unless a new agreement is reached, the NFL and NBA will not play next season. Both sports are currently in their off season so this isn't an immediate problem. However, contact between team officials and the players is strictly forbidden during the lockout. That's everything from coaches not being allowed to talk to their players to players not being allowed on their team's training facilities. This has seen some teams, such as the New Orleans Saints, organising player only training sessions. Marc Spears at Yahoo reports that things have gone even further than this with an assistant NBA coach having ask for special permission for a player to go to his wedding (the whole article by Spears is worth a read and can be found here - http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AsGup5PjI9whicPsTIa8uX28vLYF?slug=mc-spears_nba_players_lockout_impact_063011).

I think the most interesting part of the lockout is the 'us against them' mentality adopted by both sides. In the NBA the players are said to have been preparing financially for the lockout for several years and are ready to dig their trenches and sit out the entire season. The key problem is that reaching an agreement is ultimately in the interest of both sides. While there's talk of some NBA players playing in Europe or China while there continues to be a lockout, the fact of the matter is that the NFL and NBA are clearly the elite league in the world when it comes to their respective sports. Realistically they're going to have to kiss and make up at some point so why not do it sooner rather than later? I think that they're getting too caught up in their two way battle for money and are forgetting the effect they're having on their fans and others that benefit from the leagues indirectly such as bars close to the arenas which get match day drinkers.

PS For any of those confused what I'm on about, the lovely Gilbert Arenas has kindly explained the lockout in simple terms which can be found here - http://boston.sbnation.com/boston-celtics/2011/7/2/2256540/nba-lockout-2011-gilbert-arenas. Still confused? Me too.