The AWOL Architect

“The construction of housing, commercial property, and infrastructure projects—roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, airports—for both the private and public sectors is one of the biggest industries in the world. It contributes around 10 per cent of world GDP, employs 7 per cent of the global workforce, and consumes around 20 per cent of the world’s energy (and generates a third of the world’s CO2 emissions). So important is the construction industry that it is widely seen as the best indicator of a national economy’s health” ( https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-economics-of-construction/9781788210157 ). The aganwadi we have been designing is currently being costed at what is called the Concept Design stage.   This is where an estimate is put together, based on current market prices, to determine if the construction costs will come in around the client’s budget or not.   It significnatly mitigates the client's risk moving forward to more detailed design documenta...

“Empowerment is not about doing the same thing the same way in the same environment. It's about building the man and the woman and doing so with a view to creating better citizens and, by extension, better patriots in this society of ours.” - Anthony Carmona Humans all over the world have been building their own homes for hundreds of thousands of years. I was reminded of this recently during our second community engagement session at the Bondalawada village. We were conducting follow-up consultations with the teacher of the anganwadi school. We presented three basic forms for discussion about roof and aesthetic preference alongside zonal diagrams. Presenting in this way works well in that it breaks down hierarchy and language barriers (see images below).  When we presented these forms through our translator she didn’t have to explain much, almost immediately Lakshmi was asking about whether one option would require a gutter or need more shade to the sides.  She was...

“No matter your social status or how powerful you feel you are, we are all equal.   We came here by birth and we leave here by death.”- unknown It is a very humbling experience being able to go into and observe other peoples’ lives and the spaces in which they exist on a day to day basis; it makes it all the more humbling when you are received into their home in a way that makes you feel famous.   Everyone smiling and looking into your eyes as if you are more than human and blessing you as you enter into their humble school house – a.k.a. Anganwadi. “Namaste,” is said with hands genuinely and firmly placed together to the centre of every chest bone and head bowed with a feeling of immense respect and trust being passed to the receiver, who is in this instance me. It is slightly overwhelming, but it also fills the soul with joy and affirmation as we as humans only wish to be accepted.    Can you imagine if every western meeting started this way?   Wit...

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." - Maya Angelou So, this post is meant to have you in stitches by the end.... let me know if I have accomplished this! Now, I will take you through the process of going to the bathroom as a western female in India.  The reason I do this is because, as a female architect, I genuinely wish to design a more appropriate space that functions better for all women; especially those who have to wear saree and open toed shoes!  I must first remind you that we, as women in rural India, are to be fully clothed and covered.  There is also a requirement to adorn oneself with an additional scarf to ensure one's bosoms are fully covered and not able to be viewed. They are distraction you know. Clothing is to be loose and to ground length where possible.  Now, imagine having your brain receptors advise you that you need to use the toilet, and that you are female.  ...

“We must be silent before we can listen, we must listen before we can learn.  We must learn before we can prepare.  We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead.” – William Arthur Ward The first meeting of a project is always a fascinating experience, and this is exemplified in cross cultural situations.  It is a chance for us, as project leaders, to start observing the political and hierarchical make-up  of our team. In a very short period of time we need to suss out who is the leader by title but also who is the actual leader in the room.  We are also looking for underlying political connections – e.g. who’s aligned with whom and who does not get along as this needs to be understood with regard to project risks as well as communication strategies across a project. And so, our first meeting for the Anganwadi Project with the Rural Development Trust did not disappoint in the slightest – it was truly fascinating!  I feel ...

I don’t love this post but it’s a quick stream of consciousness of the last week's emotions: Last week I had someone drop an amazing gift off at my doorstep….it was a mandala of words about me! As I read it, I fixated on one word – UNLEASHED.   Over the last few months I have begun to start to feel this way, truly FREE.   I haven’t felt this way for a very, very, long time. In fact, I’m pretty sure it was somewhere around the age of 16 since I last felt free to chart my own path in life. And really, I don’t think I ever have felt as free as I do now.   With this feeling of freedom comes empowerment and fear. Little moments of fear had been creeping in throughout the week before I left, but I was unable to recognize what I was afraid of until it rose it’s head again at the Changi Airport when my brain truly connected the fact that when I board this plane at this airport there is no going back. I realized looking at this fear that it was an immense fear of failu...

" He who gives what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is self sacrifice." - Henry Taylor  Generosity and the Architect come hand in hand, though it may not seem like it or be able to be perceived all that often.   We are a strange bunch, let’s be honest. We are known for coming across as arrogant and extremely opinionated. Builders and Engineers say we change our minds too much. Clients think we are too expensive. And so this post comes from a stream of thoughts that occurred while thinking about a project in the shower this week… yes, in the shower.   We also do this while hanging clothes up, eating, drinking, driving, and even in our dreams; we are constantly thinking about your project.   How we can make it better for the end users!   How we can make it less expensive for the Client and funding body – who is usually the Australian tax payer ! How we can make it more efficient with use ...

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure."  Helen Keller There are stages in the development of every living being, however, at the moment I tend to identify with that of an insect, in particular the butterfly: egg, larva, pupa, adult.   In order to explain why, I must go back to the beginning of my pupa stage... the stage I’m still in. I awoke abruptly in the middle of night, on a hard wooden platform surrounded by over twenty twelve-year-old girls and lying close to my best friend Stephanie Matthews.  I knew. He was dead. My father was gone and here I was lying in the middle of the forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  I got up and called my mother to confirm what my soul had already known and then I walked ever so slowly back to my cabin, numb and comple...