Knowledge is Power

Last week I was part of a meeting where we, the architects, needed to convince the owner to go a different direction with a project that had been set for some time. We prepared as a team before entering the meeting, going over every possible solution and playing devil’s advocate to make sure we were correct in our assumptions.

We went in, guns only slightly blazing, presented our case and had immediate buy-in. This does not always happen... What I learned from it and what we all should take from it is that knowledge is power.

When I would submit papers in school I always got them back with the teacher asking “where is your counter argument?” A component that I thought didn’t matter when I was in elementary school and junior high, but I find applying to design at every step. I have learned by observation that a good architect challenges their decision, asking “why did I do it that way?”, “is there a better solution?”, etc. The architect I typically work with did his homework in the above situation. He asked senior detailers for their opinion, studied drawings and existing conditions and came to the well-educated decision that we were doing it wrong…

The moral of the whole story, especially to you aspiring architects, is always ask “why?”.

In grad school I eventually figured out that at every critique a reviewer would ask “why?” to even the things that are seemingly unimportant to the project.  “Why isn’t that wall 3 inches to the left?” “Why didn't you make that glass?” “Why does that protrude that direction?” (and they ask you to literally turn the building on its side and wonder if that might be a better solution…). I learned to question everything I did. By the time graduation came around I had an answer for everything (or was pretty good with coming up with something on the fly) and reduced the number of surprises come final review.

If you just really really like something and don’t have a clue as to why you did it…figure out a reason. That’s what a very wise studio instructor told me to do because he liked it, too J

I admit that I ask “why?” less now because there is often someone making the decisions for me, but the decision makers like the challenge and sometimes it leads to a missed component or a different solution and most importantly, I guarantee you will learn more than you expected from saying that three-letter word. Get into the habit early and it will become second nature.

 

"For also knowledge itself is power" - Francis Bacon in Meditationes Sacrae (1597)



A little extra knowledge:A paiting by a
different Francis Bacon. It's one of my
favorites from the Des Moines Art Center,
so I had to share...