Sunday, December 26, 2021

Tempus Fugit

 
Photo by Matt Barrett on Unsplash

The flight of time never seems as fast as when we prepare to turn the calendar at each year’s end. Despite passing in what seems a blink of an eye, 2021 bore more than its fair share of virus angst, fear, division, fire, and flooding. The past twelve months have been strange, disorienting, and full of monumental events with global repercussions. 2022 will undoubtedly bring us more. My profession, like every other segment of society, can only hope to adapt to an unpredictable and constantly evolving “new normal.”

Blogging encourages me to think about the way architects can work toward building places and communities that help people live healthy and productive lives in the face of an increasingly uncertain future. By nature, I am resistant to change. Stasis is my default condition, so forcing myself to occasionally engage provocative topics is a good thing.

Below are links to one blog post from each month this past year. I chose to highlight these entries because they either directly respond to topical events or reflect the constant of change in our lives and the practice of architecture. Click on a link if you find the excerpted tease at all intriguing and if you haven't previously read the post (or read it again!).

January: The extent to which our treasured symbols endure and withstand the efforts of those who wish to undo the institutions that bind our society is important. Architecture matters for this and so many other reasons. [link]

February: Team bonding is a critical ingredient for any organization but is especially so in the creative culture of architecture. [link]

March: The fact Glenwood has laid fallow for so long is remarkable given its prime location between Eugene and Springfield, proximity to I-5, situation along the already established EmX BRT corridor, not to mention its immediate adjacency to and scenic promise of the Willamette River. [link]

April: The hallmarks of good architecture should be an attentiveness to the essence and uniqueness of each project, design intentions that translate those unique needs in a synthesized and comprehensive manner, and responsiveness to the natural, historical, and physical context of which it is a part. [link]

May: The intent of renaming is not to gloss over the historical record by imposing a fraught set of current beliefs and worldviews but to acknowledge the past forthrightly. [link]

June: While many employers are eager to get their employees back on-site full-time, it is true a substantial number of others are considering extending remote work indefinitely or the possibility of shifting to a hybrid model combining in-person and at-home work. [link]

July: Rather than designing prescriptively, we should tackle every design problem holistically, in a balanced fashion tailored to the specifics of each project and site. [link]

August: Despite the sophistication of today’s parametric tools, the level of analysis enabled by computer technology does not yet approach that which the human mind is instinctively capable of processing, nor can a limited set of primitive algorithms fully account for the profundity of our interactions with the places in which we dwell. [link]

September: The moral imperative to act has existed throughout the entirety of my professional career and yet here we are, confronted by a situation more dire than ever. [link]

October: The architectural profession and the schools of architecture that turn out its future practitioners will have come of age when an appreciation for diversity, equity, justice, and social well-being are ingrained and institutionalized. [link]

November: The value of reminiscing is its ability to strengthen our sense of identity, help us move forward with optimism, and provide inspiration. [link]

December: Fundamentally, architects bring to the project an understanding that a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. [link]

Let’s end 2021 and start the new year by building upon the lessons we have learned. Let us look ahead to 2022 with courage and optimism. Time is too short for all of us not to.

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