Discussion // Contractors, Politicians, Education...and Diversions

Building A Better Education

Is architecture to blame for the decrepit state of American education?

Well, from the position of the designer, no. But the process by which public educational facilities are built, especially on public campuses of all levels of education, is certainly part of the issue. In the LA Times this morning there was a terrific series of thorough and informative exposés revealing wasteful spending, poor planning, potential corruption, hidden agendas, and during a decade of expansion on Los Angeles's community colleges.

[Suits and s***. Hope you kids like a leaky roof!]

Part I - Overview: here

Part II - Case Study: here

Contractor Kickbacks: here

Future Articles: here

Not all educational projects that require the services of an architect run into budget issues (I have had very positive experiences in this regard). Not all contractors are cheapskates (lots are) or incompetent (many are actually very very good) and not all politicians are corrupt (ahem). But when political and financial argy bargy / backroom deals begin to stain the process of building public facilities, which, by their nature, are to be cost-effective, efficient, durable, and well-suited to their tasks, huge problems can arise. Unfortunately, I believe these conflicts are more prevalent than one might imagine. They are damaging to the people who are supposed to benefit from facilities expansion, and damaging to the reputations of all parties involved (architects) no matter how much sway each held in making decisions.

Architects are sometimes guilty, too, of taking advantage of the process by which contracts are acquired. I remember reading not too long ago that the wife of an architect in my hometown sat on the school board, and not-at-all-suspiciously her husband's firm - big in the community - landed the contract to rebuild the local high school. At the same time, the school board member, Mrs. Pope, booted architecture firms off other projects to swing her (now-estranged) husband some extra playtime. All this in the year just preceding the economic kaboom. I used to work for one of the firms that was kicked off. I can tell you that this kind of crap does not go over well in the office. You can read the articles about this architectural square dance here.

In some ways the LA case is worse because for one, the scale in terms of both scope and budget is much larger, and hardly anyone is stepping up to the plate and acknowledging fault. Sure, providing campaign contributions to the politicians who dole out government contracts is not illegal, but is it justified to accept the returns on those investments when a completely non-competitive bidding process leads to complacency, incompetency and a hugely deficient quality of construction? I guess no one really cares as long as everyone gets his or her cash. Except the students.

[LACC, past and present. This campus is directly adjacent to our current mixed-use site.]

I thought this passage was particularly hilarious, though probably not taken in perfect context:

Gateway was selected as project manager for Mission College over larger and more experienced firms. District Deputy Chancellor Adriana Barrera, who helped evaluate Gateway's proposal while serving as Mission College president, said political money did not influence the process.

She said she favored the firm in part because "it was a small company, we were a small college."

Lesson here: if you hire the best people - contractors, architects, and engineers - as the result of a competitive evaluation process based purely on design, budget-savvy, experience, and craftsmanship, and disregarding all other factors (political allegiances, size of company, friendships, marriages, affairs, taste in TV shows, etc.) then the STUDENTS will reap the rewards. And that will bring us one step closer to improving American education.

I just hope that my fellow students don't find this stuff boring or inconsequential, because only half of architecture is design (probably less), and these articles go along way to elucidating the social reasons why things get built the way they do in this country - the fundamental point of this blog. To understand and even foresee these problems brings every architect one step closer to actually realizing projects - and that's what we all want to do, isn't it?

East Coast Love for One of LA's Best

Speaking of architects who have positively influenced education, well-known New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ourousoff wrote up a summary of Michael Maltzan's recent work in low-income housing (See previous post on Inner City Arts). Maltzan - one of my favorite architects in this country - is quickly establishing a reputation and a body of work that locally only trails Gehry and Mayne in social influence. 

Finding a Good Bar for an Architect

The subject of the favorite watering hole - the "spot" - is a touchy one among architects, especially those in the life-transitioning stages of graduate school. Did I mention LA also has an incredibly diverse - ranging from the plain to the hip to the opulent and bombastic and downright ridiculous - nightlife? So, do you stick with the old college standards of cheap beer, sports on TV, burgers and fries, which might make you come across as immature and tied down to your past glory days? Do you go for the pretentious Hollywood scenester joints with fancy cocktails (like the ones made by this guy - honestly, I really want to try the Last Tango in Modena. But there's no way I can afford it...) for the off-chance of running into a celebrity, or the incredibly on-chance of running into a spoiled cougar with comical fake-uns? Do you rock the ever-prevalent hipster joint as an intellectual dilettante searching for identity and commonality in this harsh, harsh world out to get you, the poor architect? Do you trudge to anywhere your friends suggest and complain vociferously that there's really "no good place out there" the same as you do with potential mates?

Well I think I found my place in LA. It's called 1642 Bar & Wine (for the address: 1642 Temple Street in Silverlake...for real, I can't keep track of all the bars named after addresses, 907, 109, whatever, mixed with all the freeway names, 110, 10, 410, 710, 5, 2...is it all the combination to life's secrets? Sorry, too many tangents today). It is a little hipster-ish, but I can handle that because it possesses many of the features I've been searching for a bar for a long time, namely:

1. High quality drinks at reasonable prices. The menu is small (only 12 or so beers and 12 wines offered nightly) but good - the axiom of quality over quantity applies. And they don't do food, so the place doesn't smell like fried.

2. Live music, but not loud music. It's all jazz, mostly folksy stuff but covering all genres, and they don't even allow drums. Amazing.

3. Not too busy except on live music nights as it's only been around for a year, but that's the point. Conversational volume is incredibly imporant - no more yelling over music, TVs, or other loud people.

4. Great interior design. It's very simple - a couple high quality metal vintage pendants, exposed brick, dark woods, and homey furniture give it a comfortable feel. Nothing revolutionary or even architecturally interesting (except for the old 40's wrought iron window grating) but effective. And nothing crazy - in fact, nothing at all, save a door in a concrete wall - on the outside.

5. Easy and free parking. Huge, huge, HUGE plus in LA.

6. The owner shows up every night, at least every night I've been there, and you can talk to her. No more managers or corporate peons, no more assclown bouncers or security guards, no busty salesbimbos, just regular people. Except for the soul-searching hipsters with thick rimmed glasses, bad haircuts, and skinny jeans. But I can ignore them more easily.

Not too shabby really. I just have to be careful not to wear it out. 

Musical Affairs 

As many of you know, I like to do mixes of electronic music (mostly progressive house and trance) from time to time. By popular demand, I'm posting these mixes on a website for easy access. You can listen to the lastest mix, complete with track names, here. I'm not doing this sell bootlegs (as even posting the mix like this is treading on troublesome copyright waters in the first place) or promote myself into a DJ career - I just like the music and think it really jives well with working on architecture...or working out, or driving, or whatever your pleasure. Complimented by jazz, classical, and a touch of guilty pleasure (power ballads, of course).

And believe me, I'm not even trying to persuade you to like the music. To argue about what kind of music is better than another is pointless and a waste of energy, just like arguing about architectural styles. Just do what makes you happy, but do it well. Maybe THAT is the real lesson of the day. 

-JD