Along for the ride
By PATRICIA
When I married Tom the Biking Architect, I did not understand what being an architect’s spouse would mean. I was just along for the ride in that area of our marriage. Oh what a ride it has been – a joy ride.
Soon, very soon, after our wedding we went to our first Regional AIA Conference. I did not know what to expect so I thought I would share my discoveries about these Conferences with you. My observations may only hold true for the Northwest Regional Conference which supports community and does not hold on to the formality that I have experienced in the South or the East.
Many people ask me what a spouse can do at these conferences, and I always say learn and explore. There has never been a shortage of events or activities at any of the many meetings I have attended. When the members are having a closed session or voting session, why I just go on one of the tours offered or hang out and visit with the many product peddlers who have wondrous and marvelous displays of the “latest” in design tools and building enhancements.
I have found some of the discussions of the sales reps. to be very significant pieces of information and I have had numerous notes and cards from the reps. telling me how glad they were to share their information with me.
I am going to share with you some information I learned from the various key note speakers. These three in particular are memories that stay with me for all the knowledge that was imparted and that the concepts have been important to my daily living and experiences.
The very first conference I went to, the keynote speaker was David Scott, the head of the Washington State University Department of Engineering and Architecture. Mr. Scott was one of Tom’s favorite Professors and he came to visit Tom’s office several times just for informal visits. Mr. Scott was a ‘draw you in and allow you to feel comfortable by the fire’ kind of speaker. He saved all the drama for the end, when he knew he held you right in the corner of his ideas.
His first words after the greeting were, “Don’t Build on Your Food Supply, is one of the oldest idioms in the history of China, and that is what I am going to talk with you about tonight.” An hour and a half later, we knew exactly why Mr. Scott had picked that as his topic and I have never forgotten his words and his explanations.
I see that we have not followed this wisdom every time I drive the Interstate and see all the houses, apartments, stores and strip malls building upon the river deltas, valleys, and the most productive farm land in our area.
The second memorable speaker was Michael Graves, an architect whose practice was in Princeton, New Jersey; a haunt of mine. He spoke to us at the small support lodge at the ski area of White Pass. He was currently working on the design of the Portland City Hall. You know the one, with the Winged Victory or Angel of Justice flying across the side.
Mr. Grave’s message was that buildings needed to be grounded and substantial and that when it came to design you were really only limited by your ability to make the puzzle pieces fit together. No rules, codes or buyers expectations limited your resolve for good design. Only you could limit yourself. A good designer found all the codes and financial situations to be the frame of the door of possibility, and oh what amazing possibility lay beyond an open door.
Mr. Graves went on to design the new Disney Headquarters with the 7 Dwarfs as the pillars of that campus.
The third speaker was just this year in Hawaii and his name is Edward Mazria of the www.Architecture2030.org
Mr. Mazria’s message was about energy use and was a most exciting presentation about how we can get our country free of coal and foreign oil dependence, clean up our environment, create millions of new jobs, and not cost the billions of dollars wanted by the Energy Companies now in existence. Mr. Mazria’s building designs in the past 10 years have all cut energy consumption by 50%. I have been working on sharing his message with others and would invite you to go to the website and see the presentation yourself. www.Architecture2030.org.
“The road to energy independence, economic recovery and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions runs through the Building Sector.”
-Edward Mazria
There are many more conferences I could recall or look up in my notebook of writings about each one I have attended. I hope I have intrigued you to explore and discover one of these conferences. They are worth the price of admission to hear the keynote. I also will say that prior to the conferences, I did not understand how powerful and significant the role of the Architect within a community is. What a huge responsibility they undertake when they design our structures and put pen to paper or stylus and code into programming.
It is a wonderful journey and experience I have shared for the last 30 + years. Hope you will check it out and share your own stories of design and community building you have experienced?
How was an Architect an important part of this process? Was it a joy?
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