| Rant |
[Mar. 29th, 2007|11:15 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nerdy | ] |
Rant.
But first, a rave. Today was beautiful. It was a perfect day for a funeral. Nice soft, gentle rain that thoroughly and subtly soaked. I rode my bike home in it, happy to have the rain drops touch my face instead of pelt it. It was all very soft. After a half hour's nap, I woke to find sunshine gently trying to squeeze through my shades. It was golden and tired in a very beautifully nostalgic way, as if to say goodbye to this gorgeous day and provide knowledge of a new day for the post-funeral procession. (This funeral was in my head, though, no doubtedly, a funeral must have occurred somewhere in Austin today.)
And now the rant. Before all this beauty was a morning spent finishing up my interim portfolio and resume. It was a mad dash to get *something* printed and presentable for an interview I had today. I set up the interview knowing full well that I did not expect to fit into the firm. My previous conversations with architects from the firm were grotesque, at best, from a person like me's standpoint. The firm does 2,600 sq. ft. houses, downtown bars, and anything else that throws gobs of money at them. This, obviously, did not interest me. The men I spoke with, however, had a very youthful, almost playful, personality, so I thought I might sacfrice my morals to work at such a place, if only for 8 months.
However, the interview was so forced from my end. I presented my case and listened to Mark, the architect's, shpeal. He's aware that I'm in the Interior Design program and is a self-proclaimed supporter of such people. His words from there on out were full of patronage. He put down the lack of practical education in architecture school, most notably interior design. He continually pre-categorized who I am, what I'm capable of, and (most frustratingly) what I'm interested in. All these presuppositions pissed me the fuck off. He also made it clear that I'd be welcome as an asset in and of my intern capabilities, such as model-making and CAD drawing, to name a few. OH JOY. Yes, I'd love to be a CAD monkey. In "attempting" to make my skills seem valuable, he totally and blatantly disregarded the whole background of my 4 years of education and work experience. All the while he proclaimed how Interior Designers are very valuable and are equal to architecture.
Well, I was pissed. But, I find, my attention span for interviews is wretched. I cannot stare at a person's face for more than 5 seconds without quasi-spacing out. (The whole experience is extremely fruitless, constructed, and forced, in my opinion; therefore, I cannot truly find a way to be Present.) So, the act of spacing out helped quell my pissedness. In defense of my education and my own analytical skill, I broke down the thorough practical and theoretical/spatial training we receive, which, I've found, is superior to the architecture students. I gave him a list of the national and international building codes I'm familiar with, the dimensions of a true 2x4 and 2x8 (after drying shrinkage and shaving), a listing of how well prepared we are for ADA (handicap-accessible design), and sustainable criteria as defined by LEED. He looked at me with raised eyebrows and said, in a huffed voice, "Well, it wasn't that way five years ago!" That's right, asswipe. Maybe you should do your research before you come into an interview and patronize a student.
I left feeling very confirmed about not wanting to work there. They have no regard what so ever for the environment. That type of irresponsibility and disrespect totally solidified my criteria for where I will work now and in the future. I thought I might be okay to work in a place with at least an idea of sustainability, but no. I cringed so much inwardly as he described how they don't actively pursue "green" design, yet it's a good trajectory and they should pursue it, blah blah blah. But there was no serious commitment...not even to the idea! AGH!!!!!!!!!!! *run away!!*
This is Austin? Come on, guys.
At least I have an interim portfolio. It really kicked my ass into gear. Now I *really* need to hunker down and make it purdy and spiffy and ooo-y and ahhh-y and irrrrrresistable. I found that while talking him through my work, I was quite unconfident about a number of projects. This process really helped me hone in on what projects to omit and which ones to find the essence of. I sorely lack the finesse of distilling a project down to a single idea. This brain don't do that. Nope.
And....I need to find a *place* to work. I want to spend my next 8 months doing hands-on, nitty, gritty work. Work for people who don't normally receive professional work because they can't afford it or they don't know how to work the system. Oh, I met a man who works at the firm who designed the Texas School for the Deaf. I had a GREAT conversation about all the various considerations and understandings one encounters while working with a Deaf client on a type of project that is *completely* different than everything else. Consider, if you will, designing a school for the Deaf AND Blind. This firm just got a commission for that. Why a state would combine the two is beyond me....unless it's for economic (ie, purse-pinching) reasons. Anyway, one needs to understand that the two communities require almost polar physical environments. The Deaf community thrives on broad, open spaces--lines of sight are imperative for communication and information-gathering. Acoustics, as well, are imperative because a lot of information is conveyed through floor vibrations. On the other hand, the Blind community prefers smaller, more intimate spaces that are more easily understood and navigated. Way-finding is key. Materiality is also important. Floor textures are like road maps. Finishes enhance or diminish a space's acoustics. Communication with these groups is also very amazing. I asked how they found the fine line between aid and patronage. The architect responded by saying, "Well, we asked them. We asked what would be condescending and what would be constructive." In creating Braille translations for one client, he learned one of the biggest peeves of the Blind is that people tend to condense information when put in Braille. That pisses people off! They, of course, want the full script. This is logical, but it was a revelation for the firm. In short, I was very pleased to hear the types of cross-cultural learning that was happening on a professional level from day to day.
Sleep.
Oh! Revelation. Braille is obviously a French word. Those damn French! They pioneered (well, 60% pioneered) ASL….I wonder if they had their dirty little croissant hands in Braille, as well…zzzzzzzzzzz. |
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