there have been a more than just a few things on my mind lately,
on 'architecture' off course!
i do not know why the spaces within which architecture production occurs are called offices. the very term office and its various connotations i find repulsive and oppressive. as a student you mature into a professional in spaces which are very
un-office like. these spaces (in the school) are called the studio. the studio is a space where miracles can happen and do happen on a daily basis. it is a space/platform for equals which encourages participation and competition. the office implies hierarchy as there is a sense of being
serviant to somebody who holds a place of authority (only reason being experience i.e. time spent being
serviant to someone else). the office
de-recognises the power of a fresh young mind which has just embarked onto a journey into a the new world. a mind full of ideas and energy and a hope to make a change. a mind that would be in touch with latest technology and software and able of bringing new ideas/thought process/methods of production to the table, a kind of knowledge that is intuitive and does not come by experience. this phenomenon imposes a strange sort of cynicism about the world and its functioning. a cynicism that (in the mind off course) creates a gap in-between academics and the so called/assumed 'practical' world. a cynicism that has the potential to
de-value a 5 year learning period. i do not know if the problem can be easily solved by calling an office a studio as a studio has spatial connotations of its own and work ethics that differ from the office, but, that does not mean that the work produced by a studio cannot be 'serious' architecture.
the other thing on my mind is (and i need some help here) 'what is architecture?' for someone who is trying to get a foothold in the industry will have to hear many a time, time after time, from the mouths of seniors and juniors and classmates, peers of all ages, shapes and sizes, from within the industry and without, do some 'architecture' work. i pray to thee, do tell, what is this architecture anyway? if it means 'building' then i would consider more than half of your time spent at school a waste! then i think and question myself, the only answer i can come up with is 'space making.' architecture is space making! any job that requires space to be moulded/created/ordered/modified the scale being teeny tiny too huge would fall under this 'architecture work.' in the industry the way it, for someone who starts out new, the opportunity to practice this 'architecture' may come in the most basic form such as 'make me a chair' 'design my room/home' 'what colour should i paint that wall?' and all of this is Valid architectural work. because, the course enables architects to see things within a larger context thereby making a decision informed by several factors taken into consideration and therefore different from most other professionals trained in design alone. so, for me, till the time i come by a client who wants to have a building built, i love every opportunity to practice this art of space making in whatever form.
and, the other thing was, what is this dream of the collective
yaar? for me that dream is dead. there can be no such thing as a collective. the school/studio where you mature into architects is a wonderful space, a space where everyone is happy and helping each other out, where work becomes joy, etc etc as fresh graduates, many a times architects crave for that environment as the office is depressing. what most people forget, is that, everything in
architecture school is individual driven, i.e. every architect to himself/herself. it is always about you! about 'i' and even a group is made of many a 'i' put together. the image of the architect is iconic the hero. be it a man or a woman, people only
remember the
hero's name not the office and the 500 people who worked day and night to make the work possible. the architect must therefore stand alone free from other associations. the only kind of association that is made possible, is that of such architects. there is no such thing as the collective dream where the collective is more important than the individuals within it, because every existence is a self centric one. note, post graduation, you must walk down your own paths to fulfill your dreams (and not anyone
else's) and that level playground (security) that was the school no longer exists as everyone leads different lives and are faced with a unique set
of circumstances.
therefore it is only 'i' towards the road to becoming the architect.
the last thing is a phenomenon, a very unique one that too. it is to do with success, not by any external measure, but as internal judgement. meaning, 'i think i am successful because____' and so on. you see, what happens is everyone according to their individual 'life plans' sets goals and targets and in the process learn to measure
success differently. when someone achieves their goal, (like in a
video game) it unlocks this magic chest from which this person gets the 'right to lecture' anybody who is not at the same level as him/her, even if it means telling you not to do the same thing that he/she wants to do. i have never understood it and i never will.
so that is that.
a post i write after a long time and no surprise it is a rant.
nothing here is personal, just a mere observation on the
functioning of this strange world i am exposed to.
i love my family and even more all my friends. i love all those people i have worked with and worked for. without them, i would not be able to take some of the best decisions in my life so far.
love,
eye.
