Musings at Mid-year (in school calendar)

This is the middle of the middle. For students planning to achieve their B-Arch degree, we are half-way to the goal. Only 7.5 more quarters to graduation (assuming all goes well). The perception of time changes so dramatically as one ages. This time will pass so quickly...

Speaking of time passing, I must write that I am looking forward to my Summer break, 2010. I have attended NewSchool of Architecture & Design fulltime since Summer 2009. So by the time Summer 2010 rolls around, it will have been an entire year. While "edutopia" is a nice experience, I am looking forward to being grounded in reality again. Assuming I can find some work experience in architecture for the summer, I look forward to that change.

Reality is also, perhaps, part of my enthusiasm for the NewSchool Haiti Project as there is no getting around reality there.

One of the fascinating things about the study of Architecture and its applications is practicing a non-linear, matrix-based problem solving approach. This is one unique difference between the study of architecture and the study of structural engineering (for one example). When all the parameters of the project are considered the matrix of information, upon which one draws to solve an architectural design problem, is quite broad. It is this non-linear problem-solving skillset that seems most appropriate to use in addressing the NewSchool Haiti Project. And it is the application of this skill, in an evolving real-world project matrix that is missing in edutopia.

To elaborate, one might consider the economic implications on surrounding businesses of developing a property that houses a farmer's market, the spatial requirements for getting the variety of produce shipment vehicles into and out of the market, the transportation of customers to and from the market, the occupant loading at peak times and the safety of the occupants in an emergency, the means of egress from the space under in an emergency, the code implications (both building codes and land use requirements placed by local government) and all this before one considers the appropriate form and design of a building to house the market, the various required facilities, and so on...

The architectural design of a farmer's market structure is decidedly more subjective and complex than the matter of resolving the forces in the building so that the structure can distribute its weight and the wieght of occupants to the foundation. (I mean no disrespect to the structural engineering profession and remain in awe of the unique understanding and skill possessed. My point is that one process is decidedly more linear, and the other -architectural design specifically- is rarely linear).

It is not that student projects are not real; in fact they seem very real in some sense. Having had plenty of years of working in the design professions in the real world, I believe I can state the difference. It is the difference between a matrix that is stationary, with fixed inputs, and one that is evolving in real time. I guess I like a challenge. Dealing with an evolving, real-time matrix is far more stimulating than one fixed by convention.

In my proposal for the Haiti Project, I indicated a fear that, relatively speaking, the affluence we enjoy in Southern California would make difficult the comprehension and understanding of the circumstances, tectonic opportunities, and solutions in Haiti. (Learning this week about the lack of sewage treatment facilities in most of Haiti is an example of the challenges to be faced). Still, the real-time matrix of the Haiti project is both challenging and intriguing as it is real, and not bound or fixed by convention.

It is sobering to note that the matrix of challenge in Haiti also includes many unfortunate realities; some not directly related to the earthquake. And the challenge of any helper is to make certain that the assistance offered does, in fact, help and not hinder the lives of those for whom help is intended. Most critically, the input of those being helped is required for the matrix of information to be sufficient. Only then does the process of non-linear, matrix-based problem solving really lead to a solution.