Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT
Senior Member
Username: rliebing
Post Number: 1267
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - 01:47 pm: |    |
111019
GRIPPING REALITY
by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI; Cincinnati, OH
It’s well passed the time to get real-- to grip reality! To simply realize that things, professionally, aren’t on a path to getting better. Also to understand that reality does not exist in simple changes in software. We live in a world—construction—of our own choosing, and with good cause. We believe that what we care about doing is valuable and worthwhile. Why else would we engage the drama and trauma of day to day operations? But our vision, perspective and dedication is NOT prevalent and part of the vision of every prospective and indeed every budding and emerging professional. We all are NOT on the same path!
For a minute let us look at reality. Whether in-house or consultant, each of us has a clear view of what the design professions are and are not. We well know what the academia of each is producing and what, indeed, they are not producing. We rail over the fact that we collectively may approach 55 years of age, and hear no footsteps behind us, pushing to take our jobs [in fact, looking back along our career paths, the streets are empty]. Yet day by day we are bedeviled by those who do not know; those who do not know they do not know; and those who know they know everything-- and it must be done their way!
The lack of whole profession orientation is both frustrating and most bothersome. More and more the schools crank out design professionals who do not know their own professions in total, and many who really don’t care to find out. This is both travesty and tragic-- devastating!! Face it, we all will not be around to always save the behinds of these people who are convinced that good, creative, innovative, and flamboyant design is built by the wave of magic wand that produces the project, complete, in a wispy cloud of smoke! Who needs construction knowledge? Who needs to understand detailing? Who needs to know about specs? Who needs to know about contracts; delivery systems; observation; liability; standards of care; ability to decipher good from bad construction? Who?
In a scenario similar to a parent telling a child, “This is for your own good”, we, each of us, and CSI, need to pick up the opportunity to address our perspective and our product. Whether wholly accepted or not, we need to engage, on creative terms, every school, program, curriculum and course that will benefit from our message. And that message, oddly enough, smacks of the start of the entire message that desperately needs to be discussed in the schools-- understanding with depth what one’s profession involves in total. Unpopularity needs to be confronted and while we cannot “push” our way in, we need to create some sort of format to engage the professional students, as early-on as possible and plant the seeds of understanding. Most of those students really need an awakening to everything they may see and work with in their careers, without prejudice toward one aspect or another. Design, for the architects, needs to be translated into real terms, and how creativity simply has to go through a process of commensurate documentation, and then conscientious construction.
A top-level CSI program can and should get to this, as our profession is being dragged down by what is not happening elsewhere. A true service can be rendered to many if for no other reason than to open some eyes and clarify. Obviously we cannot cure all ills, but talking about specs can easily be extrapolated into need for construction knowledge, proper documentation [not addressed academically usually], enforcement and observation and at least a little about practice overall [simply can’t get to everything about running a practice, administration etc.]. We need to “reach” so others can “grip the true reality”! |
4specs.com Home Page