I've had several comments from educators who seem to believe they are in a classroom with a helpless student, and from several professionals who should know better. I can certainly take it, but don't expect to hand it out without hearing from me.
At first I was chagrined, but then I realized this is part of the problem facing architecture. Opinion is the language of talent and it has become a substitute for knowledge. This is convenient because knowledge is won with great effort; but opinion is spontaneous and can be defended with emotion, intimidation, bibliographies, vocabularies and a list of credentials. The student is the loser as he or she learns the marketplace value of investment in opinion while the profession declines in credibility. This is why some are asking where architecture should go from here and what represents design excellence?
I take this question seriously as more seem to be considering the path to improvement in knowledge, value and credibility. More of the same will leave the profession in decline while parents counsel their children that architecture is a poor return on investment. It's time to get serious and turn this around, since educators represent a partial answer to the question, "Where do we go from here?" A few still seem to believe that criticism based on opinion is direction. This may be the chosen goal, which should be the focus of this discussion, since design excellence will always be judged as a function of the goal defined. I'll leave this debate in your hands since I've already made my suggestions.
I should add that I understand the desire to avoid mathematics and statistics. I even sympathize with it, but I also understand the suffocation that occurs when opinion rules without a foundation of proof. We are left with religion that prays for direction when the priesthood can't deliver, and the priesthood attacks heretics who question its leadership. It's a very old story with many chapters. It has led us in two directions and both have merit, which makes it a matter of emphasis. Architecture seems to be writing its own chapter in the face of adversity, and I certainly can't predict where it will go. I do believe, however, that design excellence awards will retain their current format based on opinion until greater emphasis on research and knowledge begins to build a new foundation.
In summary, we need less spontaneous reaction from opinion and more commitment to the inspiration and research required to build knowledge. This is where I think architecture should go from here, but it will require new ideas that are an architect's specialty. They just haven't been called hypotheses seeking proof without opinion.
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Walter Hosack
Author
Walter M. Hosack
Dublin OH
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