The Future of History

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Author Message Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1428 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - 08:48 am:    130918 THE FUTURE OF HISTORY by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Cincinnati, Ohio Can’t give an accurate number or percentage, but venture to say a good number of design professionals who were trained a good number of years ago [OK, I did college in the mid- to late ‘50s, and revel in my dinosaur moniker!]. That, true, was another time, quite different from now. The key point I contend is that those years [say until 1970] for most part created a professional community and mentality about the way architecture and construction-related engineering was practiced. And that fundamental mentality still exists within many firms and their upper level practitioners-- not withstanding the new machinery and whiz-bang “stuff”. Well, sure things change and get better, but what has been happening is the electronics industry has rapidly proliferated lines of software for which there was no market-- and they have come along and overtaken the professional practice! In most cases, what history has changed is the method of delivery [the computer came and the manual tools went in most offices] and not the information that is processed. We see a continual [almost daily] production of more sophisticated, faster and larger capacity, but the data stored, in many of the gadgets, remains the same. We just store data and access it more quickly. There is a strain of history in this, but not the history stored, retained or transmitted. What we do today-- and in the future-- needs the history of construction document production; the insight to detailing; the knowledge of basic materials; the methods of fabrication that can be achieved [not everything can be]; and the process of “how to” combine many factors into finished projects. We are deluding ourselves if we continue to produce, or allow such production for construction students without the necessary [basic, fundamental, etc.] knowledge of what there is at hand [materials, etc.] and how to manipulate or fabricate them into construction units. We simply must get over our love of the machinery, and seek out [and pass along!] basic construction history—“old is NOT always bad!” Having allowed this to happen at all, then ignoring it for 50 years or more is a sad and shameful commentary for the design professions. Tools and methods may change, but good design and sound construction, while also changing, is based, deeply, on history-- i.e., basic knowledge, fundamental information, and reasoned usage and reconfiguration of basic materials to create the various features of any design concept. But BIM, it seems has not created the massive databases at first foretold, where everything you wanted to know about a product was available. But even that is faulty, since experienced voices are required to put context to text. If you’re venturous, good luck, but word to the wise [old adage still valid!], it is better to change this NOW! CSI has heard the call-- news from CONSTRUCT [hopefully] James M. Sandoz, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: jsandoz Post Number: 128 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - 12:27 pm:    "experienced voices are required to put context to text." Ralph, that is a great statement and one we all need to keep in mind. Thanks again for taking the time nearly every week to share your perspective and valuable experience. David J. Wyatt, CDT Senior Member Username: david_j_wyatt_cdt Post Number: 21 Registered: 03-2011 Posted on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 - 01:29 pm:    Ralph, I don't think we should blame the present condition you describe on mere pre-occupation with "whiz-bang stuff" and I know you probably agree. There are several economic, legal, and societal factors that affect the architectural student or young architect in ways that must be considered. The amount of history that has occurred in the time frame you describe is, well … staggering. My guess is that you probably built things in your formative years, maybe had a grunt job in construction or farming when you were old enough to work, and probably served in the military. You knew the difference between a cross-cut saw and a rip saw, and you knew what the rest of the stuff in the tool box was for. Few Gen-Xers, Gen-Y-ers, and Millennials [sic] had those advantages, which help people learn about the physical world and cultivate respect for those who labor for a living throughout their lives. And, surely you had a simpler palette of construction materials to work with and might have practiced in a smaller realm wherein you knew the geography, climate and code instinctively. And, you probably had less competition for your job. Women, minorities, and immigrants in architecture were few and far between because they did not have the opportunities and access to education that white American males did. Finally, you probably had a good support system - a secretary to do your correspondence and office busy work and a network of good contractors available for good practical advice when you needed it. Now everyone is their own everything, which takes a lot of time out of the day. Professionally, you probably started hitting your stride in your thirties. Today, one does not achieve a level of competence required of a principle architect until they are in their mid-to-late forties, unless of course one is a prodigy and very lucky besides. And, I suspect there was less going to liability and legal seminars and less red tape to deal with in getting a project done, unlike that of today’s litigious work environment. From what I see, the young architects of today have the challenges of society, world economic expansion, and the environment to deal with in ways neither you nor I ever did. The ones I see are going to be just fine and will make this world greater for a greater portion of mankind, even with stuff like asbestos, lead, mercury, PCBs, DDT, XYZ, the Cold War, and nuclear weapons we left them to clean up for us. Sure, they may lack complete understanding of how things go together, but if they did, you and I would not have jobs. As far as the necessary collaboration to accomplish work today, CSI has the best model for it presently. It works! John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 669 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 09:50 am:    Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be.