Down Detour Road Down Detour Road An Architect in Search of Practice Eric J. Cesal The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. For information about special quantity discounts, please email special_sales@ mitpress.mit.edu This book was set in Stone serif and Stone sans by Graphic Composition, Inc. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data Cesal, Eric J., 1977– Down detour road : an architect in search of practice / Eric J. Cesal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0 - 262- 01461-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Architectural practice. I. Title. II. Title: Architect in search of practice. NA1995.C42 2010 720.23—dc22 2010002551 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments vii 1 Introduction: Refl ections from Detour Road 1 2 The Aimless Architect 7 3 The Case for Empowerment 27 4 Where We Get Power (Kings, Not Sorcerers) 43 5 Camping in the Front Yard 55 6 The Financial Architect (or, A Brief Economic History of Architecture) 59 7 Great Architecture Is Like Pulling Teeth 79 8 The Value Architect 83 9 Horse Apples and Cow Pies 97 10 The Risk Architect 101 11 I’m an Architect 115 12 The Paid Architect 119 13 The Best Idea in History 133 14 The Idea Architect 135 15 The Basis of All Things 153 16 The Knowing Architect 157 17 You’re an Architect, Aren’t You? 171 18 The Named Architect 173 19 How to Become a Famous Architect 185 20 The Citizen Architect 189 21 How to Make a Golf Course “Green” 197 22 The Green Architect 199 23 The Difference between Hookers and Architects 207 24 T he Sober Architect (or, A Doctor, a Lawyer, and an Architect Walk into a Bar) 209 25 Epilogue: Finding Love at a Hardware Store 213 Notes 223 Acknowledgments An extended set of acknowledgments is necessary. This text was written quite spontaneously, during a period of unemployment, as both chronicle and catharsis. I would therefore like to thank not only those who participated in the actual editing and writ- ing, but those who formed a backdrop of support in what was otherwise a trying time. I will begin by thanking my mother Gloria, my father Lon, and my stepmother Rose, who have been encouraging my ar- chitecture since it was made from Legos, and my writing since it was in crayon. Their steadiness during a time of uncertainty made me realize just how much they’d always been there. They helped in all the ways that parents do, and I’m sure that the full scope of their contribution will elude me, at least until I have my own children. The support of my sister Chiara Vega was equally strong and perhaps even more remarkable, considering she didn’t agree with the book’s direction—she had hoped that it might be a bit less wonkish and more mass-market. As she always has, she threw her support behind me, even when she couldn’t fi gure out what I was doing with my life. viii Acknowledgments I would also like to thank several former teachers who gra- ciously listened over the years while the ideas in this book were taking shape. While there have been many teachers through- out my career without whom I couldn’t have assembled these thoughts, the ones that participated most directly were Peter MacKeith, Dr. Paula Lupkin, and Bruce Lindsey, AIA, all of whom not only served as critical sounding boards during the writing but went out of their way to send periodic odd jobs my way, thus dampening the sting of unemployment. Special thanks are also due to my editor Roger Conover, as well as Susan Clark, Matthew Abbate, Yasuyo Iguchi, and the whole staff at the MIT Press, for their invaluable assistance in bringing this book to fruition. As much as for their guidance, I should thank them for their patience in dealing with the anxi- eties of a fi rst-time author. A close circle of friends volunteered to be early reviewers of the manuscript. I owe a special thanks to Cristina Greavu, Andrew Malick, and Michael Heller for their generous and de- tailed reviews. Their insight kept me honest and their company kept me smiling. My attorney, Wendi Chapman, Esq., in addition to being a font of legal advice, is a constant source of optimism and seem- ingly has always known when I needed prodding. Thanks to Fidel Ortega, AIA, Patrick Williams, AIA, and Jate Yonkos, not only for mentoring me during my early years but for keeping me tethered to my professional roots while I was meandering through academia. Their candid insights and per- spective were invaluable. To Dr. Andrew Tassler and Bob Rich, who have been with me through the long haul and whose friendship and humor have never wavered. It is no exaggeration to say that they marshaled Acknowledgments ix my sanity at all the right times, and provided the support I needed to complete this book. Finally, to my partner Cristina Garmendia, who knew that this book was worth writing, worth publishing, and worth read- ing, even before I started it. Her love and support were certainly an act of pure, unconditional faith.