Every Monday morning, team members in the Philadelphia and Princeton offices gather together via video-conference to discuss firm news and upcoming events and projects. Since 2003, founding partner Allan Kehrt, FAIA, has delivered his Monday Morning Musings, weekly slices of personal insight into the design profession, to the firm. To comment on any of his posts, send an email to us. We look forward to hearing from you. |
| September 28, 2009 People (encore) A quote attributed to John D. Rockefeller says the ability to deal with people is a commodity that can be purchased, just like oil or steel. This is a critical thing to remember in a profession that involves extensive collaboration. You may be very talented, creative, and productive, but if you cannot deal with people, if you cannot make them comfortable and make them believe in you and your ideas, or if you cannot communicate with them, you will fail. This is a business of creation. It is no longer one of genius in splendid isolation. It is a business of production and hard work, but seldom of solitary labor. It is both conceptual and pragmatic, but based on shared ideas and mutual understanding of both intentions and goals. At the end of our work, it should be difficult to assign credit to an individual alone. We produce shared creations and those who can work and share and discuss and criticize and be criticized while disregarding their egos will be the most valued commodity. |
| September 21, 2009 Knots There is a field of mathematics that deals with knots; the relationship that lines have as they are bent and intertwined with each other. The mathematical knot is generally considered to be a circle, deformed to intertwine with itself and, like a circle, it has no ends and thus in this pure conceptual form cannot be untied. In mathematics, a knot is an embedding of a circle in 3-dimensional Euclidean space. I'm more interested in real knots, ones that can be tied with real lines, twine or rope. A Coast Guard Chief Bosun's Mate recently discussed with me some complex knots, and we tied and tied variations for hours. Near the end of the session he showed me a beautiful knot he had invented himself. He called it a double diamond knot and its symmetry and complexity were beautiful. He said the best thing about it was that it was not only useful, but beautiful as well. "Utility and art," he said. It's nice to appreciate the way other crafts try to find in their problems the same satisfying solutions as architects do. |
| September 14, 2009 Ghosts I rid myself of a ghost last week. It was a ghost that had followed me for a long time. It was a ghost I never believed would leave, but it did and it left me surprised and, after all the time it had spent with me, sad in an odd way. I think we all have our ghosts: things that have been with us for an extended time about which we seldom talk; ghosts who shape a little part of who we are and what we believe; ghosts who make us think in certain ways or believe in certain myths; ghosts whose presence influences the judgment we have acquired over time and who live within us and sometimes wrestle with us. There are all kinds of ghosts I presume; good and bad, kind or not, personal or less so, remnants of something or someone or some event. Some change over time, acquiring different characters as we ourselves change, and some are immutable as the sun, hanging always above our head, and reminding us of their ageless company. They can be a test of our mettle, an important check that tells us who we are and how we deal with this thing called life. How you handle your ghosts will tell you a lot about yourself. |
| September 8, 2009 Tied Up There are times when we understand that a change of direction is clearly needed. The change may involve a personal issue; it may be a work issue or any number of other things that, for some reason, have simply come to a point where you realize that whatever it is, it just isn't working anymore. You understand that you have been doing something the same way as you always have, and for some reason--either it doesn't work anymore or it doesn't give you satisfaction anymore--it simply isn't as good as it used to be. You need to move in a new direction. Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. It happens to all of us. But at some time we come to an understanding that a radical change in direction is necessary. When we do, we should make sure that the change we envision is a clear break with the past; that whatever you have been doing wrong should be clearly cast off before you set out in a new direction. Try to make a complete break with where you have been: Make sure you are no longer tied to the dock. |
