Twitter’s signal-to-noise
ratio isn’t encouraging—there’s far too much trolling and misinformation, too
much impulsivity, and not enough use of the platform for good. That said, its benefits
for social organization, tracking areas of interest, and authentic engagement
are real. I use Twitter to follow
friends, folks involved with architecture or construction, those who tweet
about local news here in Eugene, or personalities involved with Oregon Ducks
athletics (my guilty pleasure). These users generate an endless stream of
focused, quality tweets, more than I can ever hope to consume. They make
Twitter endlessly fun and interesting. I also use Twitter to broaden
the reach of this blog, as many of my updates announce and link the latest SW
Oregon Architect posts.
To
mark World Architecture Day(1), which is celebrated on the first Monday of
every October, Fixr.com reposted a link to its own blog, which marked last year’s commemoration with a survey
of more than 100 American architects. The survey asked participants to choose
their favorite architects and buildings of all time. I’m not exactly sure how Fixr
selected their “expert contributors,” but they tapped me to be among them.
I reflexively tweeted the Fixr.com
link, prompting Nina Briggs (@aninsggirb)
to respond:
My initial reaction was curiosity.
Fixr’s survey seemed innocuous enough. I asked if she could explain. She
promptly replied with the following series of cogent tweets:
@aninsggirb: 1/3 Although everyone has every right to
their “favorite” or their opinion as to who is “the best architect of all time,”
forming “the foundation of their architectural theories,” these routine
rankings (published on a home improvement website) . . .
2/3
. . . truly do illustrate the “understanding of architectural theory and
history” through the Eurocentric lens which reproduces idealization of the
usual icons, lacking exposure to a broader canon of equal cultural impact.
Architectural legacies are complex, as the profession’s pedagogy . . .
3/3
. . . historical narrative, and collective memory ignores those outside the
paradigm. Emerging practitioners question this: When Students Challenge the Eurocentric Bias in Architectural Discourse | Blogs | Archinect
Chastened
by Nina’s retort, I immediately recognized my complicity with an intransigent
state of affairs within the profession:
@sworegonarch: 1/2 I
can't disagree at all with your take. There has been without a doubt a
Eurocentric bias within the paradigm of architectural education
(indoctrination). As a baby boomer who attended architecture school during the late
70s/early 80s, it's what I accepted/absorbed without question.
2/2
Hence my influences decidedly reflect
the narrowness of the lens through which I learned about architecture, and the
dominance of the hero architect narrative. I've much to learn, and emerging
practitioners have much to teach.
Nina is the founding principal
of THE FABRIC. She is also an
academic, having been a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Environmental
Design, among other schools. According to her Cal Poly bio, her
“interdisciplinary analysis of architecture and design in the context of culture
draws from anthropology, psychology, and human geography, thinking beyond the
traditional boundaries of space-making . . . As design becomes increasingly interdisciplinary,
she explores how these shifts in paradigms transform design pedagogy and
practice.” Additionally, Nina produced Practitioners,
a film in which she describes how women in the Los Angeles design community
have created their own relevance, by inclination and by necessity.
Nina and I have followed each
other on Twitter for some time, but this was the first opportunity for the two
of us to engage in a substantive conversation.
Certainly, minority representation in the architectural
profession fails to fairly reflect the increasing diversity of the people architects
design projects for. There are too few role models for BIPOC youngsters to look
to; consequently, too few view the design professions as a path of opportunity.
Nina included a link in her tweets to a blog post by Sean Joyner about the
student-run organization ASTERISK
at Woodbury University. ASTERISK aims to emphasize the work and lives of
non-traditional designers. As Sean notes in his post, Woodbury’s School of Architecture is actively working to reform its curriculum, giving its students
an open voice to engage, challenge, and interact with the various modalities within
the institution. Within that framework, ASTERISK leads assemblies where
students, faculty, and staff gather to engage in discussions around the asterisks of the architectural story. The group has covered figures
like Emily Warren Roebling, Rosa Mayreder, Mata Hari, Pedro E. Guerrero, and
Norma Sklarek, among many others.
It
is at once both disappointing and encouraging that it is mostly students and
emerging practitioners who are the most vocal challengers to the status quo. It
shouldn’t be this way. Architects for too long have unquestioningly perpetuated
the established order and the privileges it mostly bestowed upon a limited and
self-selecting cohort.
In
today’s world, one’s gender, ethnicity, or race shouldn’t necessarily matter
when it comes to the creating architecture, but they still do. To be seen as an individual
in the overly white cultural space while also being a member of a visible
minority should not be an issue, but it remains a challenge. In this respect, the
current state of the profession mirrors the persistent societal condition that
fails to include and engage the full diversity of our population.
Self-critique is a sign of maturity. The architectural
profession and the schools of architecture that turn out its future
practitioners will have come of age when an appreciation for diversity, equity,
justice, and social well-being are ingrained and institutionalized. In the case
of the schools, this means acknowledging and celebrating the important contributions
of architects and designers outside the established canon. For the sake of their
future relevance, our students deserve nothing less.
Thank you, Nina, for calling me (and Fixr) to task and
helping us understand why we must acknowledge and challenge the biases that impede
our necessary progress toward fully contextualizing the work of architects and
designers. Twitter may have its flaws, but it does sometimes prompt serious and
necessary discussions.
(1)
The International Union of Architects (UIA) established World
Architecture Day in 1985 to honor humanity’s fundamental need for habitats and
housing. The theme of the 2021 event was “Clean Environment for a Healthy
World.”
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