Shock and Awe-some
Wow CW, those are some awesome remarks you recieved there from some of the biggest American architects... Well done.
So are you shocked my what I said because I exposed some lack of vision? Or was it that I seemed cynical about how the world works... I agree, Those with the Ideas have the power in this world because they have the future in their hands. True. Ghandi defeated the wealthiest country and most powerful navy in the world with his idea, his commitment to that vision and his actions consistant with that vision. Those are the three things needed to make a difference. Commitment, Possibility, and Action. An Idea alone doesn't make a difference.
Sprawl is a powerful force, even more powerful than the British military that Ghandi faced. I have a problem with our destructive relationship to nature, and sprawl is a great symptom of that relationship. I read Ishmael in High School and became so vocal about the ideas expressed in that book that I became despised by that administration and eventually thrown out. I didn't care... All I knew was that I was going to find a way to transform our relationship to our natural environment, even if it killed me. There is no reason, with all the technology we have today that we can't transform our relationship to nature from one that is parasitic, to one that is symbiotic.
So when I muse about how wealth controls growth, I speak in the memory of Nicola Tesla who was backed by JP Morgan. He was building a shooter that took the electricity that resides naturally in the earth's crust out to the ionisphere. From there we could draw all of our electricity needs. Morgan loved the Idea, and many others that Tesla had ( AC instead of DC, remote control, internal combustion engines...). But once Morgan realized that he couldn't put a meter on that system of natural electricity, he pulled the plug on the project. Now we are left with big heavy and cumbersome systems that waste space, pollute, and are prone to blackouts just so profits can be made.
Cynical? If I stopped there, Yeah I would be. But I see the value of profits in this capitalistic society we've created, so I strive to cause this transformation while including that mindset. Besides, the new economies that could arise out of transforming our relationship to nature could be extremely profitable. So instead call me a skeptic. Skeptics want to know the cost of everything, Cynics know the value of nothing.
I talk about the power of wealth to transform, because i'm considering who must be inspired by the new possibility to bring forth the reality of an idea. Average people have to be inspired to desire such symbiotic dwellings, and the financeers who fund projects have to be inspired by the profits and the positive contribution to society. I should modify my claim that Architects are tools in the hands of developers, and say that they have been recently. There is so much focus on making things look pretty or funky and spatial juxtapostition of [Criticality] that they've alienated people with practical concerns. A great NYT article had the headlines to the effect that mortar isn't all that architects lay on thick. Architects have become the sophists of our time. No wonder these "great thinkers" have been passed up by walmart for someone who is practical and capable to get the job done without jargon and with profit in mind.
See, the way it works, the AIA has stifled any possibility of advertisement or pro-active aquisition of clientel. Somehow its honorable to just sit back and wait for the clients to roll in 'cause they like ya. So what is created in that space is a situation where the client comes to you and says here's what I want. This even happens to the big names, Richard Miers clients are rolling in saying "I want a white house and a flat roof". Puff Dady rolls into Miers office saying "I want a white house in the hamptons so that everybody can where white to my parties". So then Mier makes him what he wants. What needs to happen if we are to counter the trend of sprawl and get your ideas out there is to be able to cruise up to clients and say 'This is what you want, need and desire'. Until then, the people who do the wanting aren't going to know anything different than what they allready want.
What does this have to do with your focus on urban sprawl? Well i've avoided specific solution because i'm the big picture type. If we can get into the manual that all sub-urban sprawl builders use and tinker with that standard we can alter the results. We can't demolish what is already there, but we can alter the pattern of growth and development. Starting at the source of the problem will have a greater impact on the results. The source is the financeers who develope these projects (supply) and the people who buy into them (demand). Supply and demand are the key aspects to any economy along with land labor and capital. The results can be transformed into whatever you dream it to be. If you inspire the suppliers and demanders to strive towards your vision anything is possible.
So are you shocked my what I said because I exposed some lack of vision? Or was it that I seemed cynical about how the world works... I agree, Those with the Ideas have the power in this world because they have the future in their hands. True. Ghandi defeated the wealthiest country and most powerful navy in the world with his idea, his commitment to that vision and his actions consistant with that vision. Those are the three things needed to make a difference. Commitment, Possibility, and Action. An Idea alone doesn't make a difference.
Sprawl is a powerful force, even more powerful than the British military that Ghandi faced. I have a problem with our destructive relationship to nature, and sprawl is a great symptom of that relationship. I read Ishmael in High School and became so vocal about the ideas expressed in that book that I became despised by that administration and eventually thrown out. I didn't care... All I knew was that I was going to find a way to transform our relationship to our natural environment, even if it killed me. There is no reason, with all the technology we have today that we can't transform our relationship to nature from one that is parasitic, to one that is symbiotic.
So when I muse about how wealth controls growth, I speak in the memory of Nicola Tesla who was backed by JP Morgan. He was building a shooter that took the electricity that resides naturally in the earth's crust out to the ionisphere. From there we could draw all of our electricity needs. Morgan loved the Idea, and many others that Tesla had ( AC instead of DC, remote control, internal combustion engines...). But once Morgan realized that he couldn't put a meter on that system of natural electricity, he pulled the plug on the project. Now we are left with big heavy and cumbersome systems that waste space, pollute, and are prone to blackouts just so profits can be made.
Cynical? If I stopped there, Yeah I would be. But I see the value of profits in this capitalistic society we've created, so I strive to cause this transformation while including that mindset. Besides, the new economies that could arise out of transforming our relationship to nature could be extremely profitable. So instead call me a skeptic. Skeptics want to know the cost of everything, Cynics know the value of nothing.
I talk about the power of wealth to transform, because i'm considering who must be inspired by the new possibility to bring forth the reality of an idea. Average people have to be inspired to desire such symbiotic dwellings, and the financeers who fund projects have to be inspired by the profits and the positive contribution to society. I should modify my claim that Architects are tools in the hands of developers, and say that they have been recently. There is so much focus on making things look pretty or funky and spatial juxtapostition of [Criticality] that they've alienated people with practical concerns. A great NYT article had the headlines to the effect that mortar isn't all that architects lay on thick. Architects have become the sophists of our time. No wonder these "great thinkers" have been passed up by walmart for someone who is practical and capable to get the job done without jargon and with profit in mind.
See, the way it works, the AIA has stifled any possibility of advertisement or pro-active aquisition of clientel. Somehow its honorable to just sit back and wait for the clients to roll in 'cause they like ya. So what is created in that space is a situation where the client comes to you and says here's what I want. This even happens to the big names, Richard Miers clients are rolling in saying "I want a white house and a flat roof". Puff Dady rolls into Miers office saying "I want a white house in the hamptons so that everybody can where white to my parties". So then Mier makes him what he wants. What needs to happen if we are to counter the trend of sprawl and get your ideas out there is to be able to cruise up to clients and say 'This is what you want, need and desire'. Until then, the people who do the wanting aren't going to know anything different than what they allready want.
What does this have to do with your focus on urban sprawl? Well i've avoided specific solution because i'm the big picture type. If we can get into the manual that all sub-urban sprawl builders use and tinker with that standard we can alter the results. We can't demolish what is already there, but we can alter the pattern of growth and development. Starting at the source of the problem will have a greater impact on the results. The source is the financeers who develope these projects (supply) and the people who buy into them (demand). Supply and demand are the key aspects to any economy along with land labor and capital. The results can be transformed into whatever you dream it to be. If you inspire the suppliers and demanders to strive towards your vision anything is possible.
posted by Kristoff at 10/05/2003 11:42:00 AM
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