Studio Launch

"Teaming" Part Two

Zen Master, Dogen, wrote that every meal has to include a harmony of the six tastes - bitter, sour, sweet, hot, salty, and plain. No one of these is better or more important than the others. Each ingredient has a different taste and a different reason for being part of the meal; they're all important to the end result. And they are comfortably seen as different if only for the reason that the recipe calls for their application in different proportions and/or for their use at different times. Competing ideas or forces of will not with standing, team members, likewise, while all important, may be called to apply their talents and skills in varying degrees and varying times. No one of them will always be the most dominant taste in the final entree.

[Translation] In the studio, the old man and the youth both have to have a place. And given their vastly different perspectives, they must speak to one another over time to work out some degree of reconciliation. This dialogue demands expression and transparency of thoughts and opinions. Ideally, in the course of the debate, the studio and its individuals become more complex and spacious. Ultimately, this is only realized if we appreciate, even embrace, that complexity and accept active responsibility for it at the same time. In the best of studio environments, particularly collaborative ones, the conflict itself becomes creative and perhaps should never be resolved.

Wendy Ornelas, FAIA, offered another perspective: “We can love design and also passionately love management, engineering, construction, contract law, mechanical systems, good plumbing, and assiduous specifications. Can we elevate these different talents and expertise to the same status we traditionally reserve for ‘good designers’? The alternative is a naturally integrative, naturally collaborative, improvisational frame of mind—a jazz mentality—that cultivates invention in all areas of architectural knowledge and production. Great jazz ensembles give every musician an opportunity to riff and solo, not just Miles [Davis].”

As for the problems created by this kind of push and pull of differing opinions >>> Many religious rites begin with washing the hands or sprinkling of water to symbolize the cleansing of intention and the washing away of thoughts and purposes. I suggest that when we feel a “problem” coming on, we run to the washbasin to cleanse our feelings of the moment, and then step confidently back into the evolving stream of the studio.

"Teaming" Part One

(One person’s simple observations, Dr. Phil, or both. However you see this post, its origin came out of current personal ramblings on human potential and was sparked by recent interactions in the studio.)

It seems most of us bring to our studio experience… [scratch that] Most of us bring to life a somewhat naïve psychological attitude in our expectation that our lives and relationships will be simple. And more importantly we bring the expectation that they should be simple. We believe that others in our studio unnecessarily complicate our lives and the processes we are involved in. And if they would only change their attitudes and habits, our work would be much simpler and the goals we are trying to achieve more attainable. If only they preferred email like we do, if only they would stay after 5:30pm to socialize like we do, if only they would be as concerned about the design as we are, if only they communicated the same way we do…

Now certainly, a “well oiled” team, once you experience it, is something to behold. But, the process for making great architecture, the care, attention and love of our work, asks for some appreciation for its complexity. “Well oiled” may truly equate to “magical.” This is true of the studio. As each team coalesces, members bring his or her current stuff along with them. What was one’s stuff on the last project is another’s for this project. Each person is a changing and evolving entity, flexing their spirit in varying degrees. Some need coddling to bring forth their ideas. Others, seemingly dominating the project spew forth idea after idea. How can we accommodate this mess?

I am sure we can agree, that it seems at least, a life lived fully is not without its moments of darkness, and periods of foolishness. These problems, many times, though gut wrenching when they happen, are not only most often temporary, but sometimes-mere illusions we’ve created for ourselves. Remember Senior Prom? The choice of a partner to attend the Senior Prom was for many an anxious time. How much of an impact did your choice in Senior Prom date impact the long line of your life? (Those who had a memorably and traumatic Senior Prom need not respond.)

From this perspective, the problems that make us victims are actually not outside of us, caused by others, but concocted by our own minds. As the old man is often quoted, “I’m an old man with lots of troubles, many of which never happened.” So, enjoy the prom already and know that, well, that date may just not work out. Life is complex. And so are people. And so is the process of making great architecture.