Rachelle Brown (Gere

M. Arch 2020

Why Do We Critique, Study and Dismiss, Anyways?

Why do we even analyze architecture and design projects in the first place? We start off becoming aware of a new project and looking at the shiny new toy of our world. We then engage our education and training and begin looking at it in a more critical way. We either love it – beginning to learn from it and from its creator, considering how they built the work of art to look so effortless – or we begin to ask if this is before its time, taking much more time to study and understand the project. We study architecture to learn how other people in the past have solved their design problems. We dismiss designs for being too close to what the publications expect you to produce, designs that are too much flash and not enough innovation. It’s also frowned upon to push the aesthetic image of the design without having enough content when you look past those images. My time working with One:Twelve at Knowlton was fun, yet necessary. If we, as the next generation of architects, designers, innovators and artists, simply learn the content we are given in school and don't question why we are studying it – especially why we aren’t studying entire cultures or areas of the globe that do, in fact, have unique architecture – how far can we evolve as an industry? We risk burning out the range of possibilities to what we can design. Every design problem would have a solution, with two alternate options, and that catalog of choices is what architecture would distill down to. When we come together early in our careers to pose questions, independently study, and produce writings for publications such as One:Twelve, we choose to learn and acknowledge the past without requiring that what we were given is the only acceptable form architecture can take. I’m glad I was part of a group of students pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable, a group that worked to transform our school to allow for history as well as innovation. We cannot have one without the other. We cannot have either the historical or the innovation without critique. If no one talks about it, it is dead. This is why a field that is mostly visual requires communication through the written word for its survival. As an alumnus, I am excited to see what Knowlton does moving forward and how we will continue to evolve, helping to bring new ideas to our field and beyond, beginning to influence all those who interact with the built world.

THOMAS MAHONEY

M. Arch 2020

In So Many Words...

To write is a challenge. To write about buildings is difficult, even more. To write architecturally, in a manner that spans across discipline, medium, and interest, is perhaps the most arduous of the three. This is the task ahead, specifically for aspiring Architects and designers dedicated to crafting a world to come. Nevertheless, we find ourselves at a point of tumult, highlighted by dissolution and divisiveness. As a result of a media-induced comatose, centered around arguments of cultural-this and political-that, we are often left unable to make heads nor tails of what to believe, with which group to align, and whether or not previously-trusted sources are able to maintain credibility. Therefore, the task appears present and critical. From a personal perspective, as I stumble through this uncertainty, it has become apparent that the opinion or solution worth having is not that which is limited to 240 characters or a 24 hour lifespan, born out of haste and anger, but rather a meticulous, thoughtful composition that carries beyond the unimaginative framework so readily available at the touch of a finger. But like I said, this is hard. The act of writing, for me, has steadily evolved as a way to vent, to grieve, to make sense of, to voice my opinion, and most importantly, to discover. In the contemporary context of mass consumption and hyper-productivity and growth, writing is the opposite: slow, methodical, and at many times, frustrating. And for those reasons, the opportunity to express oneself through specific dictation as a form of emotional outlet or a way in which to cohere an opinion, is rarely present in the construction of public life. This is not to say it should not be done or the attempt should not be made, however. But how and where can this be accomplished, you may ask? Simply put, anywhere and everywhere. In a time of digital-everything, the ability to articulate long-form, written thoughts and opinions equally challenges the author and the recipient. Although the antithesis to the current trajectory of popular culture, writing possesses the unique ability to force an unassuming passerby to stop. Read. Interpret. And respond. Whether the chosen medium for such work is a physical publication, a website, an application, what have you, the antagonistic outcome is one that leaves little room for productive criticism, meaningful

discourse, and a place where difficult, uncomfortable conversations can begin. But let us not confuse the challenging avenue for the easy and instant, known for diminishing institutions, media outlets, and Instagram feeds. The latter’s proclivity for immediacy and popularity, in turn, creates space for reverberative echo chambers, strident obnoxiousness, antiquated rationals, and the same ten people, preaching the same ten points, that have been reiterated one hundred times over. Ultimately, in so many words, the challenge for every young designer is to just write. Observe the world around you, question that which culture, media, and your professors have taught you not to question, and most importantly, be not afraid of proving yourself wrong and subsequently changing one’s own opinions. I have written many articles, some good, many bad. But my work for and with journals such as OneTwelve, among other student publications, allowed me to generate new ideas, test my own theories, and receive criticism that would have gone unsaid if relegated to a tweet or spoken as a passing thought. Prior to my involvement with these journals, I was unaware that I was far less interested in formally articulating the next great library or cutting-edge house, but rather cared much more deeply about the intersectionality between Architecture and politics or the societal and cultural impact that Architects impose on the built environment that they inhabit. But then again, I would have never discovered this if I did not just write.