The impact of the Car on Irish Architecture
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Originally posted by garethace
But the almost non-existent content of academic stimulation was mostly too apparent. I happen to know personally some of these individuals and like them a lot as people, I do greatly value their talent and experience in working as designers.So it was all the more difficult for me to admit the truth – that a large number of these great architects, had stopped using a large part of their brain years and years ago. .
The SCS is strong in this regard a qualified member must do a number of courses every couple of years. It keeps them in touch with trends and new techniques.
Originally posted by garethace
By the time you are mid-20s, it seems in a lot of ways, your learning and mental stimulation days are over – and it is just one big sea of Guinness and hang overs stretching in front of you, for miles in all directions.It’s called being Irish and when you put the terrible weather into the equation it is depressing.
Originally posted by garethace
Which is why I wonder about making the AAI part of the colleges of architecture here in Dublin, and having exhibition space, not in the basement of 8 Merrion Square, but perhaps in the entrance route to an architectural school, or someplace. I wonder why planning and geography etc, could not all be part of the one campus with architecture.More use should be made of the RHA in Ely Place for sure, nothing could be more important than the population at large learning more about the Built Environment.
Originally posted by garethace
Yet courses like Law, economics, business, computing – all the things driving the celtic tiger – they all depended upon older experienced people constantly updating their knowledge and bringing things constantly up to a next level. You simply cannot do that stuck in a pub of a Friday evening talking about Corb.The days of one job for life are definitely behind us. But discussing the benefits of Corb over one off housing wouldn’t take up too much of a friday night. As flawed as Corbs work is anything is better than Bungalow Blitz
Products can sometimes be introduced into the market place from the top down, while other times, introduced from the bottom up. Education is no different. The top down, is where you release a product say at €4,000 and watch it get more competitive in price as time goes on – clothes and fashions are a bit like that. As next season approaches, it tends to reduce in price. Only to become replaced by something totally new, hip and trendy.
Then with the bottom up policy – you introduce a simpler product at the bottom and watch it grow in sophistication, as more improvements and additions are contributed over time. Eventually the difference between the low-end product, and the ‘high-end’ product might be so small, as to catipult the low-end product into the high end market. I am worried that too ideas and concepts in planning, architecture and the built environment, are just being introduced from the top-down. With very little new coming in at the bottom.
I would love to see an R&D project, part in college with a masters program or something, part out of college with existing experts done into ‘architectural space’ or something. Like the way geographers seem to grab so much R&D money to do GIS, population surveys and census analysis. Architects don’t have any R&D output at all. Except in the building materials end of it, where Duncan Stewart tests glulam beams to destruction etc, etc.
The said finding from such an R&D project into ‘architectural space’ could indeed form the basis for a lecture course to undergraduates or something. So the value of the work gets recycled back into the system over and over again – instead of just sitting on a shelf in Bolton Street Library in the form of a 5th Year thesis report, never again to be used or opened. I imagine, there is probably even enough material in those said 5th year thesis reports, to mine into and actually compile an R&D project on architectural space here in Ireland or something.
But it is this whole point of recycling and churning the knowledge and learning, back into the system at various points, which I am trying to discuss. I have never heard of any year head etc, in architecture school ever heading up such an R&D project or anything. What we have in Ireland is loads of money – but money just sitting there doing nothing is of no value – not in the building industry, not in any industry either. Convert it into knowledge, expertise and ways to go forward.
Just one case, where I am familar.
https://archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2664
I hate the way that computers were introduced into architecture from the top down in this country. Normally by some old guy at the top, about 10 years away from retirement. Instead of from the bottom up. Ironically the old guy is probably more worried about what will last for the next 12 months and just do enough ‘to get him/her by’. Indeed, the older guy might introduce something, and replace it at great expense and hassle, loss of productivity etc, every 12 months.
Whereas the younger person, might actually be more worried about how it could evolve and grow over a much longer period. Using computers as design tools was clearly a situation, in which a bit of help for R&D, masters working in college and a bit of outside help etc, that the young raw recruits could actually be the ones to bring computing into the design of architecture in this country. But it was all down by big ‘grey beards’ from the top down, who could only see a few yards in front of their own face.
A good example of introducing talent from the bottom up, is possibly in the case of soccer and other sports. You do not find managers as such, going around telling very young players how to play better soccer.
Originally posted by FIN
course u do. how do u think they improve their games. learn tactics etc.Thats exactly why Irish soccer is in a mess, too much coaching at a very young age prevents kids from developing their creativity vs the local coaches idea as to what creativity may be.
Similarly in Architecture or any academic field if too much theory is crammed in we lose the message. Which as in soccer comes from yourself or doesn’t exist.
A freind recently secured pp for a house on his parents two acre home in Swords. He has been tied to a five year occupancy and no sub-letting/sale agreement. Thats fine for him as he got married last year and works as a sales rep; the house is in the middle of his North Dublin territory. 🙂
just spent ten minutes writing a reply and went to post = told i wasnt logged in = lost message and back to square one!!!
hence pain in the ass…..is this just me or is there a way to prevent this from happening…or am i just a gobshite :confused:Originally posted by Diaspora
Thats exactly why Irish soccer is in a mess, too much coaching at a very young age prevents kids from developing their creativity vs the local coaches idea as to what creativity may be.
Similarly in Architecture or any academic field if too much theory is crammed in we lose the message. Which as in soccer comes from yourself or doesn’t exist.
Diamonds in the rough.
I was watching a very good programme about diamonds last night, that is a classic example of where the market is heavily regulated by De Beers, and the programme was all to do with artificial diamonds coming in at the bottom end of the market for around €4000 compared to the high end diamonds worth many more thousands.
That eventually the artificial diamonds may equal in terms of quality and may even surpass that of the real thing.
I think that the Architectural profession is a bit like De Beer’s in this country, sure, they are entrusted with the care of the ‘concept’ of architecture, but do not think for even one second they are always, in every possible situation and in every individual case, going to be the best ‘parents’ of architecture.
De Beer’s put mega bucks into science to allow them to ‘verify a real diamond’. So as not to ‘flood’ the market with fake diamonds.
In the same way, that most of the resources for architectural education in this country are mainly devoted towards ‘verifying’ the existence of a ‘real architect’. As if you could just throw the average early 20 something into a litmus solution and watch the colour turn either oranage or blue.
That is what De Beer’s are reduced to doing now, and so is the architectural education system here in Ireland. Yes diamonds that occur in nature are amazing, and the natural real thing will always be more sought after. Coming about through an amazing process of time and pressure and all sorts of conditions.
But the market for cheaper, artificial diamonds is there waiting to be exploiting, a different market to the market for real diamonds. As yet, no one in this country has shown any interest in this new market, for cheaper architects.
Architecture itself is not ‘owned’ by any profession at all. The concept itself is independent, while it did seem for a while that Man U owned soccer, that is simple not the case, when you get to the core of it.
In fact, the modern game of soccer as we know it today was something born out of the slums in places like Rio De Janiero.
On the subject of cars and Irish Architecture.
One of the best places I know, which explains this and you can experience it physically is Stillorgan centre and junction. It is just off the main Stillorgan dual carriageway and Kilmacud Road Upper comes into the junction, along with a couple of ‘overflows’ from the Stillorglan dual carriageway.
There is a couple of pubs, restaurants, banks, shops, cinema, shopping mall, surface car parking, Omni PLEX and so on. But the place is entirely useless because pedestrian were not anywhere considered in the whole equation. It is ALL 100 car in that case, how to drive your car, get out of it and shop.
It is easy to talk about density and ‘mothers walking’ to shops etc, but, it still doesn’t work when you have a mess of traffic like that. It is one of the few places I know in Dublin city, where the cars literally ‘keep driving’ even though the ‘green man’ is turned on!!!!! and old ladies are tried to cross the road.
It is just so much hassle to get from the Omni PLEX to the cinema, to the shopping mall!!! Across all the lanes and traffic going in all directions.
Courtesy of the Albuquerque Tribune…..
Pocket guide to urban sprawl slang….
http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/032304_news_sprawl.shtml
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