Not Greedy

More than anything else, I've learned how much having a job with purpose means to me. I would much more prefer working at a firm that has some sense of social obligation than one with desire to "push the envelope" in the design, or kiss ass to the greedy-ass developers, no matter how high profile. There is for sure a part of me that says design is arbitrary, like writing a novel. It's an aesthetic judgment that's not right for everyone, but architecture, as it has an ubiquitous physical presence, affects us functionally, making theory and all that ideological bullshit irrelevent to if someone has a clean house with sunlight and running water. If I worked for a star arch with no sense of such purpose, I will feel like another tool to stroke that person's own ego, spending all my days in mental masturbation -- a lovely time with no fruition. Ahem ... Rem Koolhaas -- I've been reading El Croquis 53+79 Koolhaas compilation. His aesthetic bothers me -- those creepy fantastical drawings of his from Delirious New York -- but his interviews are totally beautiful and nuts:

"We know better now how to engineer the creative processes and to create the right conditions, the right mixture between passion and contemplation ... you could even talk about the composition of the office as a 'design issue' a composition of national accents and complementarities.

It almost becomes the creation of an artificial condition of unconsciousness. I believe in uncertainty. In order to be really convinced of something you need a profound dislike for almost everything else, so that it's crucial in certain projects to explore your phobias in order to reinforce your convictions....

In a way, it is an engineered schizophrenic structure. To some extent, we have always insisted on a critique of the myth of the professionalism of the architect. And of course this has created us many problems, because at the same time I have been insistent in acquiring this professionalism, at least in my own terms; ... so at the same time I have a secret life of making projects credible in their own terms, or on my own terms, and simultaneously believable, or unbelievable, as the case may be in terms of detail and material culture ..." (18)

(If only the detail of the building matches his rhetoric!)

I've considered going into development. I think there is enormous opportunity to develop things the right way globally -- the NOT greedy way (ridiculously high FAR's, imposing designs). I'm talking about formulating something with people who are unable to organize themselves. Assist and petition for them to get the resources they need, create a more comfortable environment by their standards, with a reasonable budget, and generate some income so they can sustain and possibly grow. I am talking about low income hypergrowth areas, and renovation of unoccupied industrial zones. Maybe take a page out of Europe's book (not so much the blatant and ugly gentrification we see in the States). Anyway, just a thought.