Reflections, Part VII

After thinking it over a bit more, I really think that one thing I took from Burning Man is to keep making in some way. It really showed in my next studio project. The Columbus Museum was done almost completely in a study model. I used Revit solely for making plans and getting images and perspectives I couldn’t get in the physical model. It was really interesting, and I like to think Rob appreciated it for what it was worth, though going into it I was super nervous from my 102 year with him.

While Burning Man was a fantastic off planet trip, it was not to be the end of my travels in college. Now, don’t sigh and shrug this off, because it’s important. I got to go to Rome to study abroad. NOW SEE! I heard that sigh! And I’m sitting here in the past typing this out! Just cool it and give me a chance, there’s a point to this, I promise (I think). It was way more than “Ooooo Europe’s so cool. Let’s drink coffee and be smug about not being in America and talk about how much better it is.” There was some of that from others(I abstained from it I swear), but I still hold America dear to my heart, and firmly believe that if there was ever a place to push great architecture, really great architecture, it’s here. But, going abroad gives perspective on how we do things.

I lived with three other architecture students in my time there, three very good friends. John Kerndog Kerner, Justin Wang, and Steven Holmes. We were separated from the rest of the group, and we had our own little corner in Trastevere. There was nice little cafe at the bottom of the building where the lady behind the counter would sometimes put cocoa on top of our cappuccinos. We were down the street from a farmer’s market and bit further was the Trastevere restaurant district, with many memorable cafes, bars and tables. We cooked and ate pretty well. I was shamed into taking a sabbatical from Diet Coke (though Coke Light ain’t half bad). We worked and lived in a wonderful place. I got to discover some culinary delights like suppli (seriously why don’t we have fried rice-sauce-and-cheese balls in America? We should have invented and perfected this…).

The work was extremely light compared to previous semesters. We had three quick projects that, when I’m honest, took about a week each, maybe a bit more. Of course, the reason was that we didn’t want to be in studio. We were in the heart of Rome proper, and for all the exploring I got to do, I never saw a quarter of it. But that’s the point of it, I think. For all the work and research I’ve done at Iowa State, I was never as immersed in my studies as I was in Rome. When we were there, we lived architecture. Every day was a new discovery, looking at things in a new way. For instance, the piazza layout they have. It’s amazing how little room we need in reality. Our apartment was a small living/dining room, a tiny kitchen, small bathroom, and two bedrooms. Really, really tiny for four college guys, but maybe that’s my perspective because I was the biggest of the four. When you go outside though, and you can hang out in the piazzas outside, grab some food and wine and dine on some steps, you don’t need all that much in the apartment. It’s really different from the way most of us in America think. We feel like we need to have alot of space and alot of stuff. And, in the words of George Carlin, we always gotta get more space cause we run out of room for all of our stuff. Rome really changed that about me, and while I still like a spacious kitchen, I guess I don’t need so much space as I thought I did.

But I digress, architecture. Now here were people who had architecture figured out….several hundred years ago. It’s amazing what happens when a culture becomes so obsessed with itself, that it scrambles to preserve every column and plinth it finds, and in the case of Rome, that’s everywhere. You can’t put a spoon in the ground without pulling up a relic from one time period or another. And it hinders their growth so much. Can’t build taller than St. Peter’s, have to stop and dig and preserve everything, it’s amazing they can get a parking lot put in. Oh wait…they can’t. At the same time, it made me look at America’s way of doing things with a critical eye too. Nothing in our country is over four hundred years old, tops, and most are less than two hundred. We move fast and nothing is sacred here. And while I am all for progress, did you know that the American Folk Art Museum in New York, a building only twelve years old, was demolished? Look it up, it was one of the best buildings I saw in New York City when I was there, and nothing had prepared me for news of its raising. This should be a big warning sign to us. It’s great to revamp and renew and rebuild, but are we so blinded by progress we can’t find more sustainable ways to move forward? If a building like the Folk Art Museum can’t last a few decades, what hope is there for any good piece of architecture in this country?

Again, I have to reel myself back in, as there was much more overseas for me. I appreciate art way more now, I can tell you that. It’s one thing to go into museums and hum and haw over work, making snide critiques like “Is that art?” and “I could do that!”. We really got to know the art and architecture of Rome, I mean really get to know it. In very personal, political, and sometimes dirty ways. And knowing how artists thought, their processes, inspirations and motivations, gives a brilliant insight into their world and affected greatly the way I looked at design. My favorites were Carravaggio’s work. He was a master of lights and darks, and his paintings ushered the baroque era of art, a very theatrical time with very theatrical architecture. I could dig it. By coming to learn from the masters of the artistic form, I believe my abilities as an architect were strengthened greatly.

I have read about the old masters of architecture, and how back in the day many would take trips to Rome and Greece either as part of their studies or of their own accord. I feel like I understand now why. It’s because there were people long ago who understood the very basics of the craft, and all you had to do was look to understand. Pictures don’t cut it.

Now I do want to make sure I explain this carefully. It wasn’t that I went to Rome that was important, it was that I immersed myself in an architecture lifestyle. I think that there were many who stayed behind that semester who got a similar experience. I know that Design Build is pretty immersive in and of itself. Also, it wasn’t that I was constantly studying and sketching. I think alot of it came from living. Going out and experiencing the different cultures all around Europe was an experience I’m not going to get again, more likely than not. And I got to meet more fantastic people, from Italy, but also from Australia and Poland and Spain and many other places in between.

When I came back, there was that culture shock again, just like from Burning Man. You begin to see things as they are instead of taking them for the backdrop that they seem to be.And there are some parts of this country that really need help and really need some work. But there will be time for that discussion at a later date.

This ain’t done yet. There’s still a few more points to hit before we dig out from this nostalgia tirade and step into the real rodeo.

Current day update: Still waiting to hear back from the firms I’ve applied to. I need to start getting aggressive. Only a month and a half left before my time at BNIM is up. The pressure is on.