What would you do, if you could pursue your interests without compromise?

Before I went to grad school and had spent much time working directly in preservation, my true passion had been to share and promote the core values of preservation and architectural history to a broad public and professional audience.

I agree with Irene (below) that serving as an architectural tour guide is one such opportunity to share the specialized knowledge we’ve acquired over the years with other people, to generate excitement, promote an understanding of the history of the built environment, and demonstrate the greater value and relevance of our profession.

To illustrate this, as a relatively young professional living in San Francisco where technological innovation continues to be a current local obsession, many people have an untapped appreciation – almost a reverence – for the historic forces that made the current-day tech culture possible. I read an article in the NYT a month ago about how Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg courts potential executive-level recruits by hiking up a hill behind the Facebook HQ in order to tell the story of the history of Silicon Valley by pointing to the garages where Hewlett-Packard and Google were conceived. Is Mark Zuckerberg a preservationist? A devotee of history? Perhaps… But this is just one current example of how the record of our civilization and of human achievement, is indeed manifest in the physical environments that surround us. This legacy does not just belong to scholars of architectural history. A knowledge of the built environment, and of the greater role of historic preservation, is immensely relevant to the current age, and moreover, appeals to a much larger audience than the one we currently reach as a profession.

Encouraging dialogue between preservationists and professionals far outside of our immediate field is essential. Some compromise is inevitable but we can’t get too wrapped up in the details; we must think about the big picture. Our profession is technically challenging and multifaceted. Our role is to ensure that physical authenticity and cultural history are not only equally represented in the monuments and sites that are saved, but that these historic resources are broadly appreciated and understood.

Thursday, July 14 at 8:06pm

My comment is not a response to the idea that the question excludes ‘social’ issues. On the contrary I think the question includes cherished but harmful ideas that need to be excluded. Mine is a response to the general attitudes and values loaded into the question that makes the representation of ‘social’ concerns seem facile.

In terms of this kind of critique being ‘interesting’, well yes indeed I think it is. More than this I think it is very important because most designers are far too expert at delivering the kind of ‘critique’ that reinforces a damaging way of thinking about our engagement with material things. Delivering critical critique, or trying to delineate the difference between what does good and what simply preserves privilege, is a neglected skill that I think warrants serious attention. It is necessary in order to unpick the social, political, and economic foundations of architecture culture that continues to compromise practitioners even when they think they are being progressive (something like Garry Stevens’ “The Favored Circle” is a good start).

Now, on the question of what is to be done. For this I take my cue from someone like Tony Fry who proposes that we concern ourselves with becoming redirective practitioners: people not just concerned with ‘doing good’ within the given coordinates, but with transforming the culture of what ever practice they are engaged with into something that can instigate and sustain broad-scale social changes. At the moment I’m a young design educator who does the odd bit of writing. So I try to work out ways of teaching designers about the power of design and the need, possibility, and methods of it being another way. At the same time I try to teach myself how to do this better. I do this in the hope that one day designers will be able to pose far more powerful questions than the one we are discussing, to an audience who is capable of responding in kind.

Wednesday, July 13 at 10:02pm

Matthew, it’s interesting how you’ve interpreted this question and premise, as well as another commenter on Twitter, Cameron Tonkinwise. You both seem to choose social or cultural issues that you would not dedicate your career to – though have not specified exactly what would be a better or more worthy pursuit!

Interestingly there is also the interpretation that the conversation question is not inclusive of design/work for the social good. I think that, to the contrary, the question is asking you exactly that – of all things what would you do? Would you work for Public Architecture? Would you join the Peace Corps? Invent a new way of purifying water? Or tackle issues in your own community by forming a new non-profit or school?

work dedicated to social causes is one of the most significant fields today in which many people strive to work without compromise, and it seems that “compromise” in our varying interpretations here really means financial reliance – be it corporate sponsorship, arts patronage, or simply the need for a paycheck to put food on the table vs. the luxury of pursuing a career that might seem more “fun.”

Some young leaders in the design-world (such as Emily Pilloton and John Cary) have created institutions around the idea of non-profit design to benefit others, they have built the financial infrastructure necessary to support that type of work, and ensure that it will be able to continue to grow and evolve in the future while remaining a not-for-profit enterprise, and I think that is great, completely necessary, and innovative thinking. I’m not saying that design for the social good is a flawless concept – it’s not, in fact it’s highly convoluted, and harshly criticized, but it has it’s good intentions, and in some cases good results.

So, what would I do? I think I’m doing it, or on my way at least. I love design, I think that it is worth studying, promoting, supporting, and preserving for future generations. I’m pretty content – I have the hands-on joy of being an Industrial Designer, and also working with the Glass House and the National Trust to preserve and make accessible to the public some of America’s most influential/historic works of art, architecture and design – how cool is that?

Wednesday, July 13 at 4:46pm

well, the knicks do need some backup running the point, especially if this shumpert fellow doesn’t pan out. would conveniently bring me to all those fine nba cities where pj has his works–visit pennzoil by day, take down the rockets by night, for instance.

i’m afraid johnson wasn’t much of an athlete, though. what was that old wilde [sic?] chestnut so often repeated by the family? “when i feel like exercise i sit down and wait until the feeling passes”?

and so, alas, there’s no backboard at popestead.

Tuesday, July 12 at 4:06pm

“I always did what came up if it interested me. I never worried whether I had a job or not. I just ran into these situations where I became close to these people who are now all gods. But they weren’t then.”

David Whitney on his career in the arts and his artist friends, “The Golden Boys” by James Reginato, W magazine, July 2002

Tuesday, July 12 at 2:54pm

Hmmm. If I were fortunate enough to be in this situation, I am absolutely certain that I would have 3 or 4 (probably more) consecutive and/or concurrent careers in vastly different fields.

Full disclosure:

For example, in college, I secretly wanted to work as a tour guide for the Grey Line bus tours. What would be more fun than riding on upper level of an open double-decker bus all summer long, chatting with tourists, sharing my knowledge of New York City’s urban, architectural, and social history?

Another secret college summer job, that I did not pursue but wanted to: Fly-girl. Yes, a dancer for a hip hop act. I thought that would be the bomb! Tour all summer. Dance. What could be more fun?

Instead, what did I actually do? Worked in a design firm. Interned at an art museum.

Now, if I could go back, I would not necessarily change my choices, but I think would approach work more creatively: perhaps split my schedule, pick up a second/side job, maybe even audition…

Tuesday, July 5 at 9:43am