a grand gesture by graduates
uestiontime
Perusing through the online news sites the other week got me thinking. I had been scour- ing news sites looking for inspiration, something that would spark my interest and manifest itself into a suitable question for our esteemed pan- elists, when I was presented with news of the American Architect, Bryan Berg and recent his triumph and entry into the Guinness World Records. Berg had spent a pain- staking 44 days creating the worlds biggest house of cards and here he was pictured, standing tall and proud next to his highest hand yet- a col- lection of 218,792 cards, that’s 4,051 decks, stacked, slanted, sloped and cut into the fine shape of the Venetian Macau, which sits proudly on display in that very hotel.
This story sent a small spark of light into the little bulb above my head. It was not the extravagance of the project but the way in which Berg had applied his art to something so unique and yet basic and created a media furore around the construction. He was quoted as saying that it was ‘like a real construction project because you have to engineer every single adjacency and every support that’s supporting everything above.’ This act of artistic expression raises many questions. One, which I have often wondered about is that of graduates and their move from student to professional in the world of architecture. It is a tough leap from the confines of your course to the fast-paced world of design and I’m sure that every newly qualified architect is always aiming to keep abreast of the lat- est developments in their sector. My question this month aims to aid these graduates. What gives architects longevity in their work
6 Architects Choice
and makes them indispensible? And, how can newly qualified architects stand out from the design crowd? Is it with bold statements such as the hotel of cards, or does it come down to their qualifications on paper?
ALEX DUSTERLOH
ARK DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
This question brought two things back to my mind: the first was the image of a carefully folded and beautifully crafted paper maquette lying destroyed in the HR depart- ment of the London firm I was then working for. It was being squashed by the weight of discarded CD- ROM cases and a fluorescent yellow floppy disk at the bottom of a waste paper bin. This bin became the unnamed grave and the final resting place for the ‘bold state- ments’ of numerous graduates trying to ensure that their CV would end up at the top of the pile. Instead they never made it past the first hurdle - “too compli- cated, fuzzy or gimmicky” were the reasons for the instant rejection. The second thought was a comment made by the Post-Grad Admissions tutor for Westminster University just two days ago: Confronted by more than 800 applicants, he commented on the importance of the personal state- ment, which all potential students submit as part of the standard application form. He said it was incredible that so many students “wanted to be- come an architect from the age of six” and then continued their statement by reciting the universi- ties recent successes and confirming it’s standing in the league tables. “They are clearly fol- lowing a formula taught to them at school” he confirmed. None of them make it to the interviews be- cause they have failed to draw
attention to anything important or unique in their application. Both these anecdotes highlight the important balance that gradu- ates and established architects need to strike between acknowledging conventions and the danger of being purely conventional. No-one - I hope - would arrive at an interview wearing a chick- en-costume but equally they should stay clear off the black turtle-neck jumper. (keep the black-rimmed glasses to avoid bumping into things). It can be easy to stand out and ignoring the rules is an obvious way to get noticed but probably for the wrong reasons. Being able to successfully complete a long academic course, achieving top marks and producing a quality portfolio is a far better indication of a graduates skill then their tal- ent to temporarily capture the media spotlight.
The same thinking can be ap- plied to architecture: Designs are successful when they perform and meet the requirement of the brief, but they become great when they can do it in a way that exceeds expectations and goes beyond the minimum requirement.
Our industry experts provide a compelling insight into the design issues surrounding today’s
architecture
This month’s question: How can newly qualified architects stand out from the design crowd?
Great pieces of design and their
architects distinguish themselves from the rest by their ability to re- lease the maximum potential from any project regardless of its size or initial prestige. Too much emphasis is often placed on the glamorous flagship development, the glossy image in a magazine and publicity itself, while almost ignoring the central principle and ‘traditional skill’ of our trade: good design. The result appears two-fold. On the one hand graduates seem to often confuse outrageous with outstanding and forget the fun- damentals in their pursuit of making a statement. With the attention focused on the next front page design we are also effectively devaluing the more mundane schemes that make up the vast majority of our urban fabric. These deserve great consideration but a lack of [me- dia] attention in this area appears to have lead to a decline in stan- dards more generally. As architects and designers we would do well to remember that our buildings and interventions should be judged by their quality and value not the media coverage that surrounds them. ■
THE EXPERT...
ALEX
DUSTERLOH
ARCHITECT AT ARK
Alex is a project architect at ARK Design and Archi-
tecture Ltd in Manchester. He is a graduate from Brighton and Liver- pool University and is also a Part III mentor and visiting critic at the University of Liverpool.
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