BEFORE

AFTER

  Before and after shots of the LEGO White House model.

I wouldn’t be the first architect to wax eloquent about LEGO nor to reminisce about its place in my childhood; so I’ll spare you the waxing and so forth.

However, at this time of year I thought it would be an enjoyable topic for us to revisit. The plastic modular building system has come a long way from when this fifty-something-year-old first played with them. They’ve even leapt forward from when I bought them for my son twenty years ago. But in this case, as with the rest of the LEGO Architecture series, they’ve leapt back in time, replicating architectural landmarks.

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While I’m remembering LEGO fondly, here are a few photos from my trip to the National Building Museum’s LEGO Architecture Exhibition with my daughter and her husband earlier this year.

If you’re an architect reading this, you must have a LEGO story or two. Please share one in the comment section below.

Rumors of War, Collier Ward

As self-aggrandizing as this post may appear, I am writing about this experience to encourage my fellow architects to apply their creativity in ways that promote our field. My story, Rumors of War, features a married couple who are partners in an architectural firm. The story falls in the suspense genre in that there is a wide-reaching Internet mystery unfolding and because the couple is fending off a deranged stalker. In the mix of plot elements however are the true-to-life challenges most architects face; technological hurdles, quirky employees, double-minded clients, and unrealistic deadlines.

The real plot to this story is to get it published and in the hands of as many readers as possible. I believe that the more people understand architects and architecture, the better it is for all of us. I’ve been known to say that “Architecture holds a thousand stories”. Who better to reveal those stories than those of us who have lived them? Even though our work in the built environment touches everyone, our profession is a closed book. Let’s open the book! (Previous related posts: A Milestone Concept, Big Architecture, Learning from Hollywood Part I, Part II and Part III)

Building, Multiple Stories

I know that the 50K story I’ve written isn’t much more than a napkin sketch. Much like an architect’s schematic design, it will take long hours of development, drafting and detailing – an input form other professionals – to complete this project. I’ve spent my life doing this. I am ready.

How about you?

I believe that you too, whether through fiction, photography, speeches or fine art – or blogging – can tell the untold thousand stories of architecture. This is meta-marketing at its best; promoting the field of architecture generally to promote each of our practices ultimately. The rising tide lifts all of our ships.

Please, let me know how I can help you tell one of the thousand stories.

As a young designer, adventurer and studio owner, Nadia already has more blog-relevant experience than many her seniors. But more importantly, she seems to have even a greater capacity for curiosity and wonder. She displays graceful but persistent exploration that provides enjoyable reading for her growing audience.

First a note about her chosen title, “Dear Polia…” (which Nadia deftly explains in her featured post, “Who is Polia?“). Polia is an idealized character from early Italian Renaissance literature. In the book Poliphilo’s Strife of Love in a Dream Polia is earnestly sought after by the protagonist Poliphilo in a protracted dream-within-a-dream. Poliphio (whose name means “lover of many things” and therefore represents the quintessential “Renaissance Man”) encounters many strange and wonderful characters, environments and situations in his odyssey. Poliphilo’s quest is archetypal and allegorical.

It is with Poliphilo’s dream in mind that I write this blog.  Each posting is addressed to Polia.

For Nadia, this blog serves “as a reminder of the many things that interest me, the many things that inspire me, and the many things I have yet to learn.” It is therefore an excellent reader for those willing to encounter new characters, environments and situations; to look over Nadia’s shoulder as she addresses, Dear Polia…

Nadia personally recommends the posts, “The Secret Garden”, “The Original Green” and “HAWC Goes Back to School” while I would like to direct you to her “Heights Living Series” because they prove exploration and encounter can take place in your own community:

• Heights Living: Victorian Style
• Heights Living: On the Porch
• Heights Living: Water Under the Bridge
• Heights Living: Whiteout!

As a note to my readers, those looking to develop their own architectural blog, please note the unifying theme to Nadia’s work. Her unique title sets a tone of exploration and investigation, and under that banner she addresses a multiplicity of interests and topics. It is evident from many of the posted comments, this approach is building a consistent and appreciative audience.

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(Nadia Palacios Lauterbach is an associate member of the Texas Society of Architects and the American Institute of Architects, as well as a professional member of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art. She operates her own Design Consulting Studio based in Houston, TX. Images are from her blog and Facebook page. Connect with Nadia on Twitter and Facebook)

Utopia Forever: Visions of Architecture and Urbanism

The Globe and Mail’s architectural contributor, John Bentley Mays reviewed Utopia Forever: Visions of Architecture and Urbanism and titled his article “Architects Still Dare to Dream of Utopia”

Utopian visions do come from the realm of dreams and architects do tend to start out as dreamers. Utopia Forever apparently is a catalog of such dreams, from fanciful and futuristic sci-fi to hopeful and helpful environmentalism. It’s a book I’d be proud to own and display.

However, while peeking in on someone’s dreams is exciting (Inception, anyone?) we practicing architects must function within the current cultural and financial reality.

“The best thing about this book… is the news it brings us about men and women who are not afraid to think expansive thoughts.”

This evaluation by Mr. Mays validates my own “utopian vision”. Mine isn’t as grand in terms of construction as those in Utopia Forever, but I believe it’s beneficial impact is indeed expansive. It is a vision we can all share – and shape;

“The goal at Building Content is to develop a community of architectural bloggers who will usher in the next golden age of our profession.”

Let me elaborate. While I’m sure that Utopia Forever is an extraordinary book, I believe we need to get architectural ideas off book shelves and coffee tables and onto people’s screens. People understand doctors, lawyers and detectives, not so much from personal contact, but from movies and television. For presenting the potential and the passion of our profession, I believe stories about architects and their work would rival medical dramas, crime scene mysteries and court room procedurals. Let’s tell these stories!

Here’s one approach. I’m currently active at LinkedIn with screenwriters, cultivating relationships and sharing ideas about architecture. Authors are taught to “write what you know” and I’m there to help them know architecture. My stated goal there is to add a great fictional architect to the American culture.

The New Media affords opportunities for access, production and broadcast far beyond traditional Hollywood. Whether on television, in film, as independent webs-isodes, or even as mobile apps, there are means and methods available to us to promote the passion and potential of Architecture. Let’s tell these stories!

Friends, please continue to tell your story on your own professional blog – you’re doing a great job! Let your readers see a glimpse of Architecture’s next Golden Age!

This anniversary snuck up on me. I didn’t plan a big promotion for it. I didn’t spend time reflecting on it.

Image by NCReedplayer via Flickr

 However at some deep level I must have been processing the raison d’etre of this blogging enterprise because on or about the anniversary date a concept and a defining term sprung to mind:

Meta-marketing

Now, I must report that the term “meta-marketing” is not unique to this blog. I know this because the Internet is the repository of all great ideas and I found it already residing there.  But rather than getting sidetracked in its other uses, let me tell you how I will employ the term.

Meta-marketing, for our purposes, is the collective promotion of architecture to the society at large.

Each of us already networks to promote our individual practices or firms; this is standard marketing. Meta-marketing is bigger and easier. I see it as profession-wide, as a collective endeavor of individual efforts. Through meta-marketing we will provide a ”window in” for society at large (and potential clients in particular) to witness our value. Actually the window already exists – the meta-marketing is what takes place on our side of the glass.

Meta-marketing will transpire through the thoughtful use of Twitter and LinkedIn, through creative professional blogging and through new media platforms yet to be developed. I see this taking place now. Architects share among themselves the common struggles and victories of our field. The discussions, the exchanges and the original content are amazing to me.They are revealing glimpses into the world of architecture.

Image via CrunchBase

 This inward focused networking is the genesis of meta-marketing.

Correct positioning of the “window in” will transform our current online networking into a transformative view of our profession for the rest of our society. I believe the world will see aspects of architects and architecture that have been long-concealed within the profession. Our value as problem solvers, idea generators and cross-discipline data brokers will become a matter of cultural awareness. The mystique of The Architect (the caricature we’ve all snickered and scoffed at) will be replaced in the public eye by the actual value of an architect (the character we’ve always had, but have seldom revealed).

Who’s with me? Who sees the potential to meta-market our profession through new media? (Or is this the mad musings of a recession-era mid-lifer who fears he’ll never reach his potential?) Let me know. Comment below.