"Do you want some coffee?"

Architecture is hard to understand. Noble minds and smart people have advanced it's debate in spite of their abilities. The observations, notices, and insights recorded here are to help the rest of us understand what's going on. Sometimes its a lot of hype, other times its pretty inspiring.

Many men can tell you wrong what's wrong with the profession. Kenneth Frampton (the Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University and author of countless books on Architecture) put his finger on what to change in a recent Demitri Porphyrios Studio jury at Yale University. Here's a portion of what he said...

Kenneth Frampton: ...I could tell you to cut six more slots into this thing, and it wouldn't make a difference. It's a negative critique of the project, but it's also a critique of the whole god damn situation. You have to have a principle, otherwise you can not communicate anything to anybody. Why should I invest my money in this, as opposed to some other project? You have to have a reason; otherwise the architects don't even talk to the society. Don't you see that predicament? These computer renderings produce aesthetic effects very well, seamless, very seductive, but they are not about anything. They are delusions! They are mirages! I'm sorry, it's very aggressive to say this, but aren't we going to start talking? It's just ridiculous to say, "Ok -- individual interpretations," "So on and so forth." One has to talk about something fundamental, otherwise we're never going to talk about anything anymore.

Demitri Porphyrios: I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Frampton: I'm talking about the fact that there is a total degeneration...

Porphyrios: Do you want some coffee?

Frampton: No, I don't. Sorry, I don't...

Porphyrios: Look, look, look. This is a disgusting situation. It's not right to get upset...

Frampton: It's something to get upset about. We always have polite discussions; we have to sometimes get upset, because otherwise we just don't talk about the things that matter.

Thank you for reading what follows. We're doing it because we think Ken is right. It's something to get upset about. So tell us, do you want some coffee?