I received the email below last week and at first didn’t know how to respond.  I finally responded as best I could and it turned into some sort of personal manifesto.  In writing this I also felt a sense of renewed pride in what brings us into this crazy, sometimes frustrating, world of architecture.

One thing we have learned from doing theStudio is that there are many of us who share the same experiences.  In the hope that this might help more people, or at least cause you to think about your place in this profession, we are reposting my response here.  Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Here’s to good people and good architecture!

I graduated from Washington State University in 2002 with an naab b.arch, and just left the profession all together. I was sick of being treated like shit. I contacted the NCARB coordinator here in Washington a month ago thinking I might stand to deal with this idiot occupation in a year or two if I had the strength. And they pointed me to the NCARB web site, God knows I was having a hell of a time finding it with google.

My question is, is this still an idiot occupation, where people are treated like shit and forced to make video games all day long, or has it actually changed any? Or would you recommend that I flush my degrees down the toilet where they belong?

-Frustrated

Here is my response:

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Pop Century Resort at Walt Disney World

For many years now when I see a building that attempts to be something its not, or is outlandishly playful or misshapen I call it “Disney Architecture”.  The term isn’t meant to be derogatory towards the architects Disney has employed over the years, including Michael Graves and Frank Gehry, but more a reflection on my own affinity for honest, practical design.

Disney has been a master of using design to create illusions, whether it is the forced perspective of main street and castles in it’s theme parks, or the amazing synthetic stone and wood that it creates its attractions with.

One of my favorite blogs, Imagineering Disney, recently posted an article that highlights the worst of the worst Disney architecture:  The Era of Big and Tacky.  Michael Graves’ Swan and Dolphin hotels have received some criticism, but it is a masterpiece compared to some of the weirdness Disney has built in recent years.

Just out of curiosity yesterday I did a few generic Google searches to see what kinds of results would come up.  First, I searched for “Architecture”.  I was rather surprised by how uninspiring the links were.  Do Google’s search results give us some insight into how the public perceives architecture?  Does is show us where we as architecture professionals need change or improve how we present architecture to others?

On my Google search last night the first link, as is typical with Google results, was a link to the Wikipedia entry on Architecture.  Next we had the Architectural Record, the AIA, Architecture Magazine, and About.com’s architecture page.   Not until the sixth link on the page did we start to see something that might jump out to a non architectural professional, GreatBuildings.com.  The only news item highlighted on the page was about computer programing architecture.

Architecture - Aug 5th Google Search

As I was watching So You Think You Can Dance, I next searched for the word “Dance”.  What a contrast!  There were ads for dance lessons and then the first links were for Wikipedia, the hit dance television show “So You Think You Can Dance”, Dance.net, image, video, and news results, and then a map to local dance studios.

Dance - Aug 5th Google Search

I then performed similar searches for “fashion”, “art”, and “music”.

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Opened to the public on May 23, 2004, the Seattle Central Library by Rem Koolhaas quickly became a tourist attraction in Seattle, Washington.

The 362,987 square foot building features an underground public parking lot, hundreds of computers, an auditorium, and “the book spiral” that allows visitors to traverse the entire book collection all on one continuous “floor” that spirals over 5 stories.  I found the entire structure to be amazing in both form and function.  Practical details like having floor air registers and waterless urinals are complimented by having text embossed flooring, and vertical circulation identified with a consistent bright yellow.

During my visits on June 27th and 28th I overheard an elderly woman comment that being in the building was giving her an anxiety attack.  I would agree that the building as a whole can seem a bit overwhelming, it is very different from the traditional library.  However, I found the building to be exciting and invigorating.  The building draws you to explore it and discover.  I think libraries as a whole can be very compartmentalized, but the spaces in Seattle Central Library were very connected not just horizontally but vertically as well.  I was also surprised by the numerous intimate areas that were created on balconies, and in glazed niches.  There were many places that I could see myself sitting for hours just reading.

Overall I found the building very impressive.

(Photo essay after the break)

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