{"title":"Designing and Making","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0013","url":null,"abstract":"The office bears the trace of other times and places. As I experienced it in 2014, the room contained ten architects, then involved in the construction of four buildings, with numerous other design projects at various stages of completion. When I visited two years previously, there were still only six architects, working in an office in the house of Tomas’s codirector, Tom, in an extension he had himself designed. The practice had moved there a couple of years before, having outgrown an adapted garden shed at the end of Tomas’s rented cottage. Freezing in winter and too hot in summer, the shed was where they first set up office and where they subsequently took on their first employee. These details are themselves part of a story I hear recounted on a number of occasions. They are factually correct but convey a narrative truth beyond this: of sacrifice, and of rapid change from humble beginnings that is a source collective pride. Alongside this are ambivalences, anxieties that the progress won through hard work has nonetheless been accompanied by changes about which they are more ambivalent....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"327 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78336073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Listen: First Impressions of the Office","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0007","url":null,"abstract":"Part One Introduces the people, places and routines that constitute the everyday working lives of the nine architects on which the book focuses. The role of the author is described as researcher and interloper. It is suggested these architects' work is centrally about the difficulties and rewards of inhabiting 'spaces between': poised between competing interests, diverse social groups, and forms of knowledge, architects encounter and resolve a series of ethical conundrums, epistemic difficulties and problems from which creative possibilities also flow.","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76318131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Between Person and Profession","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0008","url":null,"abstract":"What is the relationship between the personal and professional life of an architect? How do architects’ working lives relate to the lives they live outside work? What kind of person does it take to be an architect? And what kind of person does architecture make people become?...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91269346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Between One and One Another","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0028","url":null,"abstract":"Design emerges through interactions with clients. It is also centrally shaped through interactions with others in the office.\u0000 The “Friday review” is the weekly slot where designs are discussed by the whole practice. During one of these sessions, Ronan is presenting ideas he has been working on. He starts by explaining the brief, which is simple: there is a house at the head of a wooded valley; the house doesn’t make the most of its site and isn’t well adapted to the needs of the clients who live in it, a middle-aged couple with older children. He notes, in passing, that they own the local builders merchants, a detail that is not elaborated but, in the absence of a fixed budget, seems intended to convey the likelihood the budget will be generous. He illustrates the site with plans and maps, gesturing and pointing as he talks. As he describes what he shows, he shuffles and rearranges papers, moving between a map of the site, plans of the building, and images of the site. What Ronan shows through this description is a building on a steep slope, “marooned” at the edge of a large plot. The views are “fantastic,” but windows and rooms are configured so that the views are rarely seen. The existing building is “uninspiring.” Ronan shows us some of his ideas. My untrained eyes focus on the elegant tidiness of his pencil sketches, but Ronan doesn’t see this: looking at his plans and sketches, he is looking at an idea that doesn’t quite work, a solution he can’t yet see....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"124 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78127369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Where Knowledge Meets","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0040","url":null,"abstract":"Mill House is a Cotswold stone structure, with a grade 2 “listing”—an acknowledgment of the building’s historical significance that affords formal protection through the planning system. Originally a working mill, it was bought by its current owners about a year ago. Mark and Cathy are accountants, in the process of moving from London—for her to retire and for him to commute. Tomas and Megan are here for a project meeting. Already, the broad outlines of the design have been agreed: Mark and Cathy were drawn to the character of the building and want to retain as much of the history as possible; but as they see it, the building has too many small rooms, insufficient light, and a poor connection to the garden. A number of schemes were initially considered. The most radical of these was the one they ultimately decided on; the essence of the plan is simple and was arrived at quickly: a small external courtyard—formed on three sides by the existing house and a barn to the rear—will be enclosed by a glass roof, creating an internal space that other rooms will open onto. As the project moves from concept development to detailing, there are many issues still to resolve. On this occasion considerations of cost are less central than those relating to planning approval and the technical feasibility of the proposed design concept....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"91 6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80783022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Acknowledgments","authors":"","doi":"10.7591/9781501738500-007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501738500-007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"103 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74892590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Knowledge at its Limits","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0052","url":null,"abstract":"In architectural terms “practical completion” describes the moment where the building is declared formally complete and the client takes legal ownership. It is the point at which architects formally let go of the building, releasing it for clients and others to inhabit. Often they find unanticipated uses and problems. It is in this spirit that I offer these final thoughts....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74933379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Listen: Control and Creativity","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0047","url":null,"abstract":"Tomas, Milo, and Rob are in discussion.\u0000 TOMAS:\u0000 A lot of the issues we deal with are about control. While I feel we ultimately are in control of the projects we are working on, sometimes in the thick of a situation there can be a feeling of a loss of control. The more we can do to counter this, the better. You will never be in control of everything, but there can be an ambition toward that. I can imagine processes that we become really in control of, and I feel really confident that we know how to do them. Actually, I think we’re very, very close to it, where it’s things that we’re doing again and again, like a new-build house. These things are difficult, but learning from the previous projects, we can really learn to control them—control clients’ expectations, control contractors on-site. I’d really like to get to the position that we just feel in control on all of those things, which I think we’re close to. But there are some things we don’t, and that’s including our own time on a project. I think some of my recent frustrations have been when I feel we’re slightly out of control, and that’s where I just get frustrated, because I feel like we should be there. There’s another question, though, on top of that. So, say we achieve this position where we’re now totally in control of the project. I then want to question it, like “Is that where we want to be?” I want to get there first....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73570711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Listen: Cost and Design","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0039","url":null,"abstract":"How is cost linked to design? Megan, Phil, and Rob wonder together.\u0000 MEGAN:\u0000 Often you’re in a hurry. You’ve got six days to do that work, so you’re getting your costs for your materials straightaway, and you’re like, “oh, that’s ridiculous, it’s not going to work!” [her voice rises in exasperation] and then you just go back to the drawing board before you go any further. Cost is part of your design straightaway. I mean, yes, we might have a quantity surveyor [QS] involved, but the QS is another abstract entity. So you sort of do your detailing up to a certain point, then you go to a QS, and then it comes back and they will say, “Well, it’s over budget.” We say, “Well, we’ve done our work.” Are we going to redo it? And then there’s an ambiguity there....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"97 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76404295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Professionalism","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0046","url":null,"abstract":"Tom, the codirector of the practice, describes the personal attributes required to oversee a contract: “Running a project on-site, as a contracted administrator, requires very little of what I would call the deeply creative stuff but lots of being very process driven, logical, practical, and interpersonal.” These are elements of “professionalism.” What does this mean in practice?...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73310953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}