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. |
| April 26, 2010 Forms We have reached a point in the profession at which we are generating the forms of architecture in very different ways than the past. This change represents a new way in which architecture is created and presented and the way it is understood (or not understood). It seems to be in danger of having less to do with the people who will use the buildings and more to do with architects who create them. There was a time when natural forces, such as the sun, wind, rain, and cold generated the forms of buildings; then we shaped them to tradition, human understanding and expectations, and human values and emotions. The clarity, discipline, and rationalism of modernism, having emerged amid its own controversy, are now accepted and comfortable; maybe the new forms in the hands of masters will become so as well. The goals and intentions in designing in this new way must be clear and we should understand who is in control of the process. We live in a time when we can create anything technologically; tasks only recently beyond our grasp are commonplace. Our tools are so powerful and their processes and products so impressive that it is easy to abandon reflective thought and careful consideration of alternatives to an artificial intelligence rather than human intelligence. New masters may make magnificent new forms that work wonderfully; it is the ones who come after those who can use the tools but do not fully comprehend what they are creating that will have the challenge. |
| April 19, 2010 Mediocre It takes a lot of effort to be a good architect. It is a profession that always changes, and the changes come quickly. It is difficult to keep up. There are changes in technology, both the technology of buildings and the technology of tools we use to do our work. We are expected to keep up with both. As building system technology changes we need to keep abreast of the changes, how those changes will affect the design of our buildings, and how the introduction of new systems may affect the costs of those buildings. We need to learn new computer programs, financial reporting systems and professional standards for practice, to avoid the risk of liability or errors and omissions, and a seemingly endless list of other things to be at our best. Because of the responsibilities upon us, architecture is a profession that demands us to get better and better at what we do even as the environment in which we practice gets more and more difficult. There is a wonderful quote from the French diplomat and novelist Jean Giraudoux that should be a reminder to continue to strive at improving ourselves: "Only the mediocre are always at their best." Keep striving. |
| April 12, 2010 Real At the AIA Convention I had the opportunity to speak with a number of individuals whose companies have come out with products based on either new or re-imagined materials. They all seem to be doing their best to make them look like old materials. A number of companies are manufacturing rubber shingles that are so durable that they come with a 75-year guarantee; every one of them I saw was trying to look like slate. I spoke with the people at AZEK Building Products well. They have a PVC product that has been enormously successful in replacing wood trim in harsh climates and has even become the material of choice for Walpole Woodworkers Company fences and pergolas as a substitute for wood. It is a good material in its own right. AZEK has recently started to manufacture it as a decking material to compete with wood and other composite materials such as Trex. I asked the rep at the booth why they had decided to emboss a wood grain texture rather than introduce a unique non-skid pattern that they could design for efficiency and visual interest. He thought I was crazy. He said people wanted to replace their failing wood deck materials, so why shouldn't it look like wood? This country has a disconcerting attitude about materials in which we presuppose there is no value to developing a new material and utilizing it as just that--a new material. If an existing material is inappropriate for some reason--too expensive, too hard to maintain, or some other legitimate reason--then whatever we use to replace it must pretend to be the original material. It's as if wood-grain Formica has set a precedent from which we can't escape. |
| April 5, 2010 Grammar The proper use of the English language has always been important to me, but I certainly don't consider myself a grammarian. I can, however, remember diagramming sentences in fifth grade and, while suffering through it, learning something about how to write and speak English according to the rules. I came to believe that educated people understand the basics but, like most of us, occasionally lapse into slang and vernacular and stray from the accepted rules of correct usage. But I still believe that educated people have a responsibility to know proper English and at least in professional settings, use it as it is meant to be used. It therefore startled me to hear someone in the office begin a sentence with, "Me and him went out the other...." I almost fell over. For those of you whose education didn't include rudimentary English, hang onto your hats: The Grammar Police are coming! |
