liberated12boarhead

In this class, we have asked the question, what is an architect?

A character in The Matrix Reloaded?

http://www.answers.com/topic/architect-the-matrix?cat=entertainment

Howard Roark from The Fountainhead?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/10_house_a_wiki.php

Adam Sandler in Click?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13543986/

A relatively unknown band?

http://www.anodynerecords.com/bands/architects/

College students in studio?

http://ncsudesign.org/content/index.cfm/fuseaction/page/filename/architecture.html

A service like Rural Studio?

http://www.cadc.auburn.edu/soa/index.php/people/faculty/andrew-freear/

Someone who receives a license?

http://www.americanstampco.com/CALIFORNIA%20SEAL%20PAGE.htm

A wild visionary like Santiago Calatrava?

http://www.stephengates.com/Blog/2007/05/meeting-santiago-calatrava.html

A person like Chad Surprenant from I&S Engineers & Architects in Mankato?

http://www.mankato-freepress.com/mankatomagazine/local_story_157182525.html

http://www.mcphee.com/items/11520.html

Or is an architect someone who thinks about architecture and its implications?

I’m still unsure as to what the full meaning of architecture is or who an architect is, and over the past few months, I have become even more confused. This is a good thing. Architecture is all I thought it would be and more. I have to admit that prior to becoming involved in architecture last semester I was one of the many who thought an architect was “someone who builds buildings� or “someone who draws blueprints�. I have learned that architecture is something more. In terms of the discipline of architecture, I believe that all of the possible definitions of an architect are possible. There is, however, the understandable fact that most people need to become licensed in order to become fully immersed into the profession of architecture.

In the education system of today (and actually for a long time now) many students feel trapped by the homework and grading system. I sort of happen to be one of them. By receiving homework, in the forms of worksheets, papers, and studying for quizzes/exams, students have set items they need to learn and free exploration into topics of interest is generally constricted by the set curriculum. Another phenomena of today is that of the media, aka movies, the internet, and especially television have caused us to become, to use the cliché, “dumbed down.� It’s much easier to mindlessly watch a TV show than read Discourse on the Method by René Descartes for example. I guess I can see how increased free time due to technological advances has lead to the increased use of monotonous “luxury.� What I have noticed starting way back in Junior High is that my generation has entered the paradigm of thought that it is “uncool� or “lame� to learn. Peer pressure has driven many to pursue “fun� instead of knowledge. It is kind of curious, nevertheless, that in this epoch of luxury and innovation that an increasingly common phrase is, “I’m bored.� Unfortunately, though I was very curious and in awe by learning on my own back in elementary school, though the years, I have become a procrastinator who tends to surf the net or watch television in my free time. It’s sad. I really wish that I would be able to find that interest in learning just for fun that I had back in the day, but my peers tend to fuel my lack of motivation. I am probably also guilty of killing the motivation of others. To come full circle with this digression, I realize that the system of scheduled schooling is necessary to measure and see if students are learning. The only problem is that many times the students don’t want to be forced into studying something they aren’t interested in. This can actually be a good thing though, because we can had the opportunity to learn about something we never even would have thought of. Either way, studying in school or studying in freedom, has pros and cons, and although the system is necessary to keep students studying, it may have the adverse effect of causing some people to refuse to discover.

When I first began pre-architecture, I was interested in the construction/design aspect of the field. Now that I have a better idea of what architecture actually can be, I have become even more attracted to it. I have always had a seemingly unlimited supply of interests from theatre, reading, hiking, ballroom dance, travel, history, philosophy, etc. and the multidisciplinary facet of architecture has made my curiosity grow. At this point in time, I like to think of architecture as a practical art. I especially like Mario Salvadori’s image of an architect in his book Why Buildings Stand Up as someone who knows “nothing about everything.� By this he means that architecture is a multi/interdisciplinary field in which the architect knows a little bit about an intense variety of topics.

Another opportunity offered to me through my current architectural education has been the increased technological awareness through SketchUp, CAD, and Revit.

A masterpiece, whether physical, educational, or spiritual doesn’t emerge instantly or just out of nothing. It all begins with a simple plan. The Weisman didn’t simple spring out of the riverside. Like my education, and blog entries, the full realization of the contained potential has to start out with a vague idea.

http://www.weisman.umn.edu/architecture/weisman/c1a.html

As another subjective example, a poem doesn’t (normally) emerge in full bloom with the first transcription. Here is an example of one of my poems which still needs a lot of work.

Wise Man

There he gleams with wistful strength
He faces river waters
Moonlight reflects into midnight
And knowledge floats around
His defined inner self
Is concealed by a mystified facade
Art inside him changes with time
And even without his teachings
He is a landmark for his students

The actual question which was presented to us was, “If you were completely released from the constraints of the ‘architecture school’ program, what would you do architecturally, artistically, bodily, lyrically, etc that would still have an impact on your environment. Describe a real or imagined place which might allow you to do this.� I honestly have to say that I am currently in the ideal place at the U of M. Without being “forced� into classes I most likely would never have been presented with so many opportunities. For example, I will be attending the Spring Greening in New Orleans over spring break and I am currently a part of the Community Engagement Scholars Program. In regard to impacting my environment, I would probably have less of a useful/global influence because, although I would still seek out knowledge, I need the ideas and experience of others to help me discover activities which I can physically do to help out our global community.