Before continuing on to the evidence of my scholarly and creative work, I’d like to explain the general context of working in the discipline of architecture and how that influences my personal development and informs my academic pursuits.
LONG-HAUL. I’ve heard it said time and time again that most architects do not hit their stride until they reach their 50s. Why? Following are a few thoughts:
- Buildings takes a tremendous amount of time to design and construct. (They also require a tremendous amount of energy and resources, but we’ll focus on time here.) Napkin sketches can be quite compelling. It may take a matter of minutes, seconds perhaps, to capture the essence of a building on a small sheet of paper. Bringing that building into the physical, experiential realm is another matter. A typical residential project can take up to 18 months from the beginning of design to the completion of construction. Fifth & Main, a large project I played an instrumental role in realizing, took five years to complete, which is not an unusual timeline for such a project. Construction accounts for the majority of time, but design of a single project can take months – sometimes years – to complete. I was part of a three-person team that worked on Fifth & Main and we spent over a year in design phases. At this rate, it takes many years – decades – for an architect to begin establishing a body of work. Even if an architect is not focused on getting the work built, which is a small percentage of practitioners, hours are spent conceptualizing and representing ideas through drawings, models and renderings. Personally, I am interested in buildings being built, and this simply takes time.
- The field of architecture is broad, complex and ever-changing. Architects are generalists – they are required to know a little bit about a lot of things. (Actually, they should know a lot about several things and enough about the rest.) The point here is that an architect has to continually respond to changing technologies, regional and cultural characteristics, construction capabilities, available resources, budget constraints, client needs, and design priorities. In order to navigate the peculiarities of each unique project and transform obstacles into opportunities, an architect relies on a diverse range of previous experiences and exposure to multiple challenges. For a young architect, there are many things I have not encountered in the design world. This can be a real strength at times and help me approach projects with fresh eyes. However, it also means I have to spend time working through problems that may be very familiar to others further down the path. This can yield great potential for growth, but requires dedication and patience.
- There are multiple players involved with a single project no matter the size. Clients, end-users, stakeholders, design teams, consultants, representatives, contractors, inspectors and city officials are a few of the people potentially involved with an architectural project. Architects serve as facilitators, negotiators, coordinators and collaborators. The work they do is analogous to that of an orchestra conductor – they direct several specialists that speak a common language to create a unified piece of art enjoyed by everyone. Good architecture is appreciated even if the one experiencing it does not “speak the language.” This is probably the single most challenging thing about being an architect, but I view it as the most rewarding as well. Architecture is collaborative. Architecture is communal. For better or worse, buildings become a part of our cultural fabric and integral to our identity. They reflect our values, ideals and aspirations. I do not believe this can be done effectively alone. It is the job of an architect to translate diverse interests, viewpoints and requirements into a single, cohesive piece of art.
PRACTICE. Taking into account all that is mentioned above, I believe the best thing I can do regarding scholarship is to be active in producing work, which for me primarily means designing buildings and creating places. Whether that’s a project for a client or a competition entry, my credibility and relevance in the classroom is directly tied to an active hand in the field. In short, I need to keep practicing in the same way I ask my students to practice. During the summer of 2012, I made a concerted effort to begin pursuing architectural commissions and better establish myself as a practitioner in the region. This involved me organizing my body of work to date, establishing a presence online and getting word out about my abilities and services. I established Y Design Workshop as an architecture, planning and design studio dedicated to providing creative solutions that respond to the unique qualities of place. This endeavor is still in its infancy, but I have already received several commissions for residential and small-scale projects, largely due to a collaborative relationship I’ve developed with Dustin Sizemore at Stonebridge Design. Most of the work I am engaged in is still in early phases, but being consistently active in design is already breathing new life into my teaching.
INTERDISCIPLINARY. One of the things I love about being at ACU is the exposure to intelligent people engaged in interesting work across many disciplines. I have enjoyed several opportunities to learn from, and work alongside, colleagues in different academic departments during my short time at the University. The study of architecture, while considered a professional curriculum, fits extremely well in the liberal arts environment. At its heart, architecture is interdisciplinary. It is the manifestation of a culture and all that shapes it at a specific time in a specific place. The built environment is influenced and formed in some way by the arts, history, natural sciences, social sciences, technology, politics and theology. Practicing architecture makes it clearly evident how well a liberal arts education serves me at being able to engage with a variety of clients on a diverse range of projects. Being in an academic environment, I embrace opportunities to collaborate with those outside of my field to foster further growth in my development as an architect and academic, and value exposure to different ways of thinking and practicing across different disciplines.
In an effort to organize my scholarly and creative work, I have identified four categories that represent the primary evidence of scholarship in my discipline:
Each category includes: 1) an introduction that generally describes the type of work, explains the significance of the work, and identifies how the work meets the criteria outlined in the Tenure & Promotion Guidelines; 2) highlighted exemplary work; and 3) a complete inventory of work completed during my time at ACU.