a little bit of notoriety

wow...so I got into the recent archvoices issue. apparently they liked my response to their article asking if there should be more licensed architects in the field. (third one down--got a scroll down a bit)


if they thought it was good i guess i'll post it here:

"Everything about the state of the world around us is screaming--'what's really going on?' and 'who can help us figure out what is going on?' It is simply unfathomable to me that we would even be asking ourselves whether or not we need more licensed architects. Architects answer questions all the time--it's what we are trained to do. We are trained to think critically about any number of issues and produce solutions to those problems, whether or not they involve the traditional motive of designing buildings and accepting such liability. Licensure as well as the practice's offered incentives should be the force that supports responsible practice of all the diverse problems, social or otherwise, that architects can solve or engage. The fact that it currently does not is, perhaps, the reason that we would even ask such a question.

I am an intern architect, two years out of school who recently lost his job at traditional design/architecture firm in New Orleans due to a tough local business climate and architectural market. I have since taken a job as a consultant to the university architect at Tulane University--helping them address and produce solutions and presentations to preserve, augment, and enhance the landscaping and urban forest tree plans within their soon to be revised master plan. It is not architecture in the traditional sense, yet between the evolutionary biologist/botanist with whom I met yesterday and the facilities management staff I met the previous day or the university architect I am meeting today no to mention the administrators and other university staff I have met with over the last week and a half--my presence and abilities as an architect and designer--as critical problem solver and idea producer--are more than warranted and certainly appreciated. All of this, despite my not being licensed yet. Architects are restricting themselves and their market force if they do not see these avenues of practice as worthy of some kind of licensure process--one that inspires competence and responsibility in said practices. We are also missing an incredible opportunity if we do not match the power of a professional license to the potential diversity and power to affect healthy social change that our profession's myriad abilities garner. There is no reason that what I am doing now cannot be seen as great experience and professional education towards the attainment of a professional license.

Thanks for your continued healthy discussion of these issues."

--Blaise Durio (New Orleans, LA)