Archi-Bashing

I felt kinda bad for bashing the latest building by OMA. Architects get a tough ride and not many pats on the back when their buildings work well and are loved by the public. Koolhaas is quoted as saying that they get letters from grannies in Rotterndamn saying that they really like the development and that the riverside development is great for the city and stuff.

Anyway, so, like way over a month ago Christine Outram caused a stir by with this article and in case you haven't been reading the newsfeeds recently, the architecture worlds has been going something like this : OMG ARCHITECTURE HAS NO DIRECTION. PROFESSION TEARING ITSELF APART. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BUILD STUFF? URGH! You know, the usual stuff chatter that peaks and troughs every few years.

Outram's blurb is a very black and white opinion baiting piece in this noise of discussion by a career academic trying to tell the plebs who actually work in the field they're doing it wrong. Maybe she graduated and didn't get offered the salary she though she deserved or maybe she just wants attention, I don't know but she caused a stir to say the least.

Now, apologies for the 'us and them' attitude on the outset, I am at heart an idealist as well, honestly! I'd love to be able to just do fun sparkly projects, but reality is so many more shades of grey and I hate people who can't see the grey, even dogs can see shades of grey.

To be fair this reads like a clumsy, spontaneous, maybe honest post of one woman's huff and love for obvious banal public machines. It is confusing because I can't tell if she's saying that all architects are like Howard Roak or Peter Keating, a repugnant selfish idealist or a 'second-hander'? Rory Scott thinks they're both while Sherin Wing points out that obviously there are some good guys out there that make excellent architecture that is never chirped about half as much as the tosh. Finally, Guy Horton has clever rounded rebuttal pointing out the obvious about how attitudes like this are poisonous to society not just the architectural profession. That one profession can not move forward in one linear direction and that in fact it is retarded to think in one dimensional shapes like this.

'Just set up a poll online to predict empty depressing looking high streets' she proclaims. What the actual fuck are you talking about mrs? I'll tell you what your talking about, your talking about a negative lazy populist view of architecture that illustrates that she obviously never started architecture let alone had time to leave it.

I've only been working in offices for about 10 years but I'm pretty sure that the reason coffee shops mostly have round tables because you can fit more people in and it feels more open, not because of any retrospective bullshit starbucks can come up with. Don't get me wrong, Starbucks do some good things I'm sure, and you can comfort yourself in the knowledge of the fairtrade coffee and the recyclable cups, but wake up and smell the avid social irresponsibility. I suppose that is an extended opinion post best kept for another day.