"If the whole world were to follow you, Victor, where would you lead them?"
_AIA High School Design Competition
_giving something back to my community (high school) that lead me to architecture and helped to define my direction in life.
_tradition
_teaching something. (not necessarily academia) Informing about the practice and processes in design and architecture
_discovering passion
_rediscovering passion within myself and creatvity
_being able to hold on to that desire and passion translating into my daily work. By informing or contributing to others, I discover new things about and for myself.
_vehicle to so so: as an advisor and volunteer
Carli:
"How do address the amount of schooling required? A design competition may lend itself to art students - how can you bridge the gap to include math/physics students, or those who may be interested in construction, the environment, sociaology, economics, history -how can you open all young minds to the potential of an architecture education? Professionally can you be a mentore to someone, have them shadow you? How can you encourage undergrads to come back to Toledo once they get their degrees?"
Tim:
"I would like to be able to discuss or talk about any ideas you may have so that you can advance those ideas further. The firm I am in has a vast amount of resources that allow me to tap into for ideas. I would like to extend that to you. We have M/E/P engineers, environmental, civil, tunnel, scientists, etc. The quantity is endless. Plus all over the world."
Joe:
" Do you have a local high school "Explorers" program? I was involved in this as a high scholler. A mentor/professional volunteered time every other week and took us to local firms to hear discussions about their workm what inspired them. Also, how do you also intgrate "interns" in the office? Sometimes they lost in the daily grind - being able to be a good mentor to them too."
discussion diagram developed by affinity group: Rick, Carli, Tim, + Joe
5 comments:
The idea of dedication to your home community is an important one. And yet, the idea of "progress" often entails motion. One of the most fundamental problems of rural America and of urban low-income neighborhoods is that their kids go to college (yay!) and then have nothing to come home to. If you get a degree in economics when the only job in your town is a checker at the Kroger, it's almost certain that you'll live elsewhere.
I have a short book for you to read, probably available at your local library but certainly on Amazon. It's called Another Turn of the Crank, by Wendell Berry. Wendell grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, got a degree at Stanford, taught for a couple of years in New York, and then went back home to Henry County, Kentucky, where he's lived as a farmer/writer for the last 40 years. See what you think of his ideas on self-sustaining communities.
Here in Bangor we have an organization called the "Eastern Maine Development Corporation" which encourages people to help create the local economy instead of just finding a nitch within it... it is a wonderful resource for small business types... how can you take what it is that you have to offer and inject that into your community to make it better??? paving the way for those who come after you.... our communities need more entrepreneurs and more organizations to help them get the ball rolling...
Herb,
Looking into getting a copy of the book. Downtown library has a copy.
Pete,
Entrepeneur is a daunting task to me, but something that I think I may one day pursue. We shall see. I believe there is a local resource similar to that here in Perrysburg. At the very least, I do know that there is a "networking club" of local business owners that meets on a weekly basis... now if I could just find the piece of paper I scribbled their name on a few months ago...
~R
Rick, it may be daunting to think of yourself as an entrepreneur, but remember that we're talking about a twenty-year time frame. You'll be in your early 50s, an established member of your community, and people will listen to you when you say smart things.
Thanks for the refocusing of time frame. It is easy to get lost in the details and lose focus on a larger idea or picture.
Herb, if you have not already... would take a look at this post and comments:
http://buterastudios.blogspot.com/2007/01/studio0405.html
I am interested to see what correlations I can make between the work started with my paper and how it could eventually take on an architectural form/philosophy. And as Pete suggests, a launching point for thesis exploration.
"How can we encourage sharing and positive dialogue through architecture??? sounds like a thesis in the making.......", Pete
~R
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