Super Duper Superteams & why they matter
In Habraken's "Questions that won't go away", he says that "creativity cannot define a profession" because creative people are found in all walks of life. Architecture often feels like a profession that tries to define itself by its creative qualities, but what should really define us? Habraken offers an answer, but it's one that many a creative mind may not like...
"The new skills we all need have to do with COOPERATION..."
DUH DUH DUHHHHH
We all have at one point or another in our lives dreaded group projects for sure, but guess what we've signed up to do for our career as architects? GROUP PROJECTS.
The question now is not IF we work alone or in teams, but HOW. I think this is precisely why we all find ourselves not just in building teams, but "superteams" that we did not even choose. The field of architectural education is finally catching up to this idea that young architects need to be trained and have extensive opportunities to learn the "methods" of cooperation. To have opportunity to learn how to cooperate with a group of peers given to us is probably one of the best ways educators could possibly simulate what it must be like to work in an architectural office with many different minds. Not only will we find ourselves on teams of architects in the future, but also teams of many different disciplines trying to battle it out for a common project goal.
Maybe the best architects are not the most creative, but rather the most collaborative?
How might that thought change the way we approach architectural education?
Maybe "Superteams" are right on the money.
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the change in curriculum from individual work to teamwork is a positive for the architectural profession. Often times we get caught up in our own ideas because we think we know best and miss out on an opportunity because it maybe came from someone else. I hope as architectural education continues to develop we move more towards community engagement and larger group projects and remove this current idea that architectural competitions will make us be more collaborative.
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you remember learning about Authorship in Andreaa's theory course, but this idea of cooperation is one in the same. The perception of a sole architect has really never been a reality. FLW and others in history have had a huge amount of influence from others in their lives, and to help realize their projects, have had tremendous help in design. Authorship/Cooperation has been prevalent in the joining of names on firms in recent decades, and will continue to be a common theme, especially economically going forward.
I personally love it, because as our profession allows the ego to flourish, I like to try and always take the humble route on design.
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought the current structure of our studio into the discussion this week. I am, like you, really content with the structure of this semester's architectural education. Not only is it the collaborative format within the studio that I think really is fueling our creativity, but the comprehensive format in which every class ties into the rhythm of studio is extremely helpful. Even though this class is not directly tied to studio, its pace helps me soak in the information more. Certainly there is need for studio's where the individual can craft their own position and skills, but I can only imagine the impact this comprehensive structure would have had during our COTE semester.