School me...

Oh man, I'm getting old. I know because my wife told me, while I was being passed like I was standing still on the freeway distracted while talking about the weather. So, dismiss this post as the rantings of an almost middle-aged out of touch grouch if you want. But, this grouch is troubled by the ever widening gap between the architectural profession and the education of an architect.

The University of Nebraska chancellor has proposed a 25% tuition increase exclusively for architecture students. . He claims it is necessary to keep up with technology. It is an expensive major. Nebraska is not alone. These moves are happening all over the country.

Problem is: With all the focus on technology, with the tricked out computers and latest in software, schools are not producing graduates any more ready to "go to work" than they ever have. These students are producing stunning works of art...on the screen(or paper), but this school "work" is increasingly detached from what 99% of building designers will do with their careers.

We're currently looking at resume's from prospective summer interns. The use of technology is amazing. The graphics are fantastic. More than a little impressive, what these students can make a computer do. But, the work being shown is so void of tectonic understanding, so far from considering what it takes to make a building stand up, it is hard to see what they can offer to our firm. Oh yeah, they can help our graphics...that is if they are familiar with the software that we use. That changes quickly and with the universities spending to be at the forefront of technology there is a really good chance we're not using it...yet.

This is an old problem. The academy has diverging from the profession for decades. I went to a school where throwing a mattress on top of the kiosk in the quad, scaling said kiosk like a monkey, sitting on the mattress and eating a sandwich was the culmination of one student's thesis project. And, that student graduated, like the rest of us... An education in Architecture has always been a great liberal arts education. It teaches problem solving and critical thinking. It allows a mind to be opened and encourages looking at the world from different angles.

Unfortunately, with the focus shifting to technology more than ever, more time is involved in learning software and solving problems of rendering and printing and effects than actual designing.

All this means, for us, new fresh graduates are not particularly usefull for sometime after they join our firm. That's fine with us. We're happy to do some of the training. In fact, some would argue it is a great thing. The mentor/ mentee relationship in the workplace brings back the apprentice system and can, in the end, turn out some great professionals. But, this system comes at a cost.

We don't pay fresh graduates a lot. We can't. They're not worth that much. I'm not talking about their value as people. These are super smart, savvy, articulate people. They're presence makes us better. But, there is a limited amount they can actually contribute on day-to-day project tasks. The learning curve is pretty steep. They'll get there.

The question is: Can they afford to "get there"? With the salaries that we pay and student loan debt(made worse by tuition increases) can they make the ends meet? Architecture has long been derided as a rich man's profession. I hate to think that a recent graduate might have to work a second job in order to pay the rent, but that's reality for many graduates in their first couple of years out of school, unless the parents have paid for college or are subsidizing their lifestyle.

I think schools need to take some responsibility for this dilemma. Instead of charging students more tuition to fill the pockets of the latest software maker who dazzled the faculty, how 'bout getting in touch with how design firms actually work. How 'bout asking the places, where these students will eventually work, what they might need to know. Without the profession and the academy coming together we will continue to see the flight of architecture graduates to careers other than architecture....

Don't take the easy route

Nothing great was ever accomplished by taking the easy route.  I know it’s tempting.  After all, there are only so many hours in the day and there is a lot to do.  Cutting some corners to make your life simpler is only natural, right?  Sure…unless you want to be proud of what you do, create something original, or move the discourse of design forward.

Have you ever seen a new building and thought, “I feel like I’ve seen that before”, or “that looks a lot like…”.  It happens all the time.  Designers get out the books or the “Archiporn” online and create a building with an assemblage of parts from various sources.  They fail to realize that the sources they are using were created to solve specific problems, respond to certain context, or make use of available materials and technology.

Don’t get me wrong.  Genius doesn’t come out of ignorance, either.  I think it’s great to read, absorb, and soak up every bit of information there is out there.  It is how you use it that matters.  It all needs to seep into your brain, slosh around, and come out as new and different.  It needs to be thrown into the collective pile in your head, dismantled, pulverized and reconstituted as something original.  It is true that architecture has built on itself since the first people decided to put a door on their cave. But, the best designers draw from their knowledge bank for inspiration…only inspiration, not content.  They create, they don’t assemble.

It’s tougher this way.  It’ll lead to sleepless nights.  It’ll rob you of your sanity.  It’ll make you try and try and try only to fail and fail.  But, when you finally hit it, when it all comes together, when you realize that your solution is good and new and original…oh what a great feeling it is not to take the easy route.