Down Detour Road : An Architect in Search of Practice

238 Pages·2010·3.75 MB·English

Down Detour Road

Down Detour Road
An Architect in Search of Practice
Eric J. Cesal
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Cesal, Eric J., 1977–
Down detour road : an architect in search of practice / Eric J. Cesal.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0 - 262- 01461-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Architectural practice. I. Title.
II. Title: Architect in search of practice.
NA1995.C42 2010
720.23—dc22
2010002551
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1 Introduction: Refl ections from Detour Road 1
2 The Aimless Architect 7
3 The Case for Empowerment 27
4 Where We Get Power (Kings, Not Sorcerers) 43
5 Camping in the Front Yard 55
6 The Financial Architect (or, A Brief Economic History of
Architecture) 59
7 Great Architecture Is Like Pulling Teeth 79
8 The Value Architect 83
9 Horse Apples and Cow Pies 97
10 The Risk Architect 101
11 I’m an Architect 115
12 The Paid Architect 119
13 The Best Idea in History 133
14 The Idea Architect 135
15 The Basis of All Things 153
16 The Knowing Architect 157
17 You’re an Architect, Aren’t You? 171
18 The Named Architect 173
19 How to Become a Famous Architect 185
20 The Citizen Architect 189
21 How to Make a Golf Course “Green” 197
22 The Green Architect 199
23 The Difference between Hookers and Architects 207
24 T he Sober Architect (or, A Doctor, a Lawyer, and an
Architect Walk into a Bar) 209
25 Epilogue: Finding Love at a Hardware Store 213
Notes 223
Acknowledgments
An extended set of acknowledgments is necessary. This text was
written quite spontaneously, during a period of unemployment,
as both chronicle and catharsis. I would therefore like to thank
not only those who participated in the actual editing and writ-
ing, but those who formed a backdrop of support in what was
otherwise a trying time.
I will begin by thanking my mother Gloria, my father Lon,
and my stepmother Rose, who have been encouraging my ar-
chitecture since it was made from Legos, and my writing since
it was in crayon. Their steadiness during a time of uncertainty
made me realize just how much they’d always been there. They
helped in all the ways that parents do, and I’m sure that the full
scope of their contribution will elude me, at least until I have
my own children.
The support of my sister Chiara Vega was equally strong and
perhaps even more remarkable, considering she didn’t agree
with the book’s direction—she had hoped that it might be a
bit less wonkish and more mass-market. As she always has, she
threw her support behind me, even when she couldn’t fi gure out
what I was doing with my life.
viii Acknowledgments
I would also like to thank several former teachers who gra-
ciously listened over the years while the ideas in this book were
taking shape. While there have been many teachers through-
out my career without whom I couldn’t have assembled these
thoughts, the ones that participated most directly were Peter
MacKeith, Dr. Paula Lupkin, and Bruce Lindsey, AIA, all of
whom not only served as critical sounding boards during the
writing but went out of their way to send periodic odd jobs my
way, thus dampening the sting of unemployment.
Special thanks are also due to my editor Roger Conover, as
well as Susan Clark, Matthew Abbate, Yasuyo Iguchi, and the
whole staff at the MIT Press, for their invaluable assistance in
bringing this book to fruition. As much as for their guidance, I
should thank them for their patience in dealing with the anxi-
eties of a fi rst-time author.
A close circle of friends volunteered to be early reviewers
of the manuscript. I owe a special thanks to Cristina Greavu,
Andrew Malick, and Michael Heller for their generous and de-
tailed reviews. Their insight kept me honest and their company
kept me smiling.
My attorney, Wendi Chapman, Esq., in addition to being a
font of legal advice, is a constant source of optimism and seem-
ingly has always known when I needed prodding.
Thanks to Fidel Ortega, AIA, Patrick Williams, AIA, and Jate
Yonkos, not only for mentoring me during my early years but
for keeping me tethered to my professional roots while I was
meandering through academia. Their candid insights and per-
spective were invaluable.
To Dr. Andrew Tassler and Bob Rich, who have been with me
through the long haul and whose friendship and humor have
never wavered. It is no exaggeration to say that they marshaled
Acknowledgments ix
my sanity at all the right times, and provided the support I
needed to complete this book.
Finally, to my partner Cristina Garmendia, who knew that
this book was worth writing, worth publishing, and worth read-
ing, even before I started it. Her love and support were certainly
an act of pure, unconditional faith.