Scholarly Architecture: Is it Real?

 Giancarlo De Carlo's essay discusses issues within the architectural education system that I believe are still relevant today, despite essay being published decades ago. De Carlo notes that an architect designs for the public but calls into question which "public they might be designing for. An architect's public could be that of their architectural scholastic colleagues, or it could be for the building users and occupants. I think that this is an important distinction to make in the scholastic atmosphere, as projects presented by an architecture student during final reviews are critiqued exclusively by architects in the scholarly realm, not by a hypothetical building user: a high school agriculture teacher reviewing our comprehensive project for example. The scholarly side of architecture, designing with this as one's "public," instils a certain way of thinking about what makes a project successful. A project with a complex concept and strong narrative is often viewed as a successful project, without necessarily considering how well a project addressed client needs. What's more: the precedents labeled as successful projects by scholarly architects often fit this bill as well. 

In a field hell-bent on portraying a level of thoughtfulness so complex, almost as a means of self assurance that no one could possibly think in the way they do, thus no one could replace them (think of how often the word juxtaposed is used in our field), the needs of the individual can be easily forgotten in the academic realm. In an effort to maintain relevancy among academic peers, architecture students (and architects) are lead to believe that the success of a project is measured in its complexity. 

It is a great experience to take a step back from the academic realm from time to time, explore your community, and remind yourself that the academic realm is not necessarily the real world. Simple, thoughtful projects that meet client needs can still be successful, and are often times some of the most beautiful.