Expanding

I have spent the last year or so trying to squeeze out my pure stances on everything. Purism pretty much. Side effect of that is I have purposely avoided reading philosophic texts, religious texts, etc. And with the fall of Purism, yes its a historic event, I have realized that it may be time to reopen the walls of influence. People toil in their head for years on ideas of life, love, personal significance, death. To just brush all that work off as reference isn't fair. I should be able to acknowledge these forays and build on them or reject them as I see fit. I guess the Purism project was to build myself up so I would not get swept away by one specific doctrine. To know what I have questions about, if not to know where I stand. 

I think it was a barbershop discussion in the summer of 2011 that I really felt stuck in an opinionless pit. The guys were talking about the black race and how they are still being kept down by the man. I didn't agree with them, but I didn't disagree with them. I was just like, hey, who am I to question their thoughts? They are older than me and have been through more 'life' than me. (sidenote: I was thinking the other day if they made my life into a reality show it would be so juiceless. All of the relationships I have with people are so straight forward, which I am proud of, but there is no drama there. Well, I mean, if you dig deeper there are many issues with my human interactions, but day to day it is fine.) Anyway, I think I would feel comfortable going into battle with them now with my thoughts on things. A significant shift was over the summer, I was telling Muhammad how I don't feel I have the place to talk in like family discussions or anything because I am a younger kid. I felt like I hadn't had enough life/experiences promoting personal growth and discovery. Muhammad simply told me I do have the place, I can be respected. It's amazing how someones words can really shape the way you feel about yourself. 

I went to a career fair on Monday. That was embarrassing looking back on it. What I failed to realize was that it was an expo too. They had structural, insulation, building materials manufacturers there. I thought they were looking for interns or hires. Nah, I now realize they were just marketing their products. That was the thing I was most interested in though, I asked all of them if they had internship programs, so awkward when they were caught off guard. I talked to some other architecture firms and was turned off. You have to pretend to be so high on thoughts and pristine in your design mind, not in tune with reality. I wish architecture was much more comfortable being ugly than it is taught. I have a parking lot in the project I am working on right now, my professors told me I should change that out with an art gallery of something, 'that would be much more attractive'. That is my charge in architecture!!!! You cannot pick and choose beauty! I want a world where the everyday is beautiful and is appreciated as such. A parking lot can be is beautiful. Everything is, everything is perfect. The architect should not be afraid of discovering the beauty in 'mundane' things. The idea that there aret hings that are mundane and things that are special are completely based on importances, reference (Purism makes a comeback, lol). 

Just as in your self, architecture should have no shame. Do not hide the air conditioning unit if it would perform much better in a public place. Let the animal of the building express itself. It has needs. The problem with architects is they often act on wants. There really isn't any room for that. There is so much going on in a simple building that the architect needs to become a discoverer of perfect solutions rather than a dictator forcing itself onto a building project that needs something completely different. My goal is to live without shame, build without shame.

Endnote- Really random blog, I was happy today for a reason I can't put a finger on. That feels good. :)