Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0055
T. Yarrow
Les Back has written, “Our culture is one that speaks rather than listens. From reality TV to political rallies, there is a clamour to be heard, to narrate, and to receive attention. It reduces ‘reality’ to revelation and voyeurism.”1 The move to privilege a particular form of theorized argument can be seen as part of this broader tendency. Back explicitly makes this connection, and cautions that the conditions that pull academics in this direction are the very ones that make it important to resist that pull. As a form of writing oriented more to listening than to speaking, ethnography acquires a broader value precisely in the face of changes that make it increasingly difficult to research, write, and publish in this way (discussed above in “A Note on Structure and Approach”). Because these truths are complex and difficult, they take time for the author and then the reader to understand—not just because quantitatively speaking there is a lot of detail, but more profoundly because others’ lives are shaped by ideas and practices other than our own, and the effort to grasp these is difficult and time consuming—for the researcher as for the reader. The world that marginalizes and devalues these slower, more complex, kinds of writing is arguably the world that gives them new and specific relevance. When all around there is a clamor to speak and be heard, ethnographic description is a way of recovering the less loudly proclaimed—even the silent, unsaid, and unstated—elements of the lives of those we describe. Descriptions allow us to pause and reflect, to dwell in details, to see the actual that exists beyond the manifest and obvious. Ethnographic description, in this predicament, is a kind of “recovery” of the everyday, those elements of life that get overlooked from the perspective of sound bites, meta-narratives, and polarized...
{"title":"Coda: An Argument for Description","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0055","url":null,"abstract":"Les Back has written, “Our culture is one that speaks rather than listens. From reality TV to political rallies, there is a clamour to be heard, to narrate, and to receive attention. It reduces ‘reality’ to revelation and voyeurism.”1 The move to privilege a particular form of theorized argument can be seen as part of this broader tendency. Back explicitly makes this connection, and cautions that the conditions that pull academics in this direction are the very ones that make it important to resist that pull. As a form of writing oriented more to listening than to speaking, ethnography acquires a broader value precisely in the face of changes that make it increasingly difficult to research, write, and publish in this way (discussed above in “A Note on Structure and Approach”). Because these truths are complex and difficult, they take time for the author and then the reader to understand—not just because quantitatively speaking there is a lot of detail, but more profoundly because others’ lives are shaped by ideas and practices other than our own, and the effort to grasp these is difficult and time consuming—for the researcher as for the reader. The world that marginalizes and devalues these slower, more complex, kinds of writing is arguably the world that gives them new and specific relevance. When all around there is a clamor to speak and be heard, ethnographic description is a way of recovering the less loudly proclaimed—even the silent, unsaid, and unstated—elements of the lives of those we describe. Descriptions allow us to pause and reflect, to dwell in details, to see the actual that exists beyond the manifest and obvious. Ethnographic description, in this predicament, is a kind of “recovery” of the everyday, those elements of life that get overlooked from the perspective of sound bites, meta-narratives, and polarized...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76536163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0050
Thomas Yarrow
Tomas is talking to himself. He is reflecting on the day on his way home from work, a semi-regular audio-diary he agrees to keep for me after I have finished the main period of my research. “What am I going to talk about?” he wonders aloud. There’s a pause, and then he settles on his theme for the day: “I think I might talk a bit about working and project management and time management.” His daily commute takes about ten minutes—over Minchinhampton, then down through winding, wooded lanes into Stroud valley. The monologue is punctuated by the sounds of a now familiar journey: gears shifting up and down; the engine strains then idles; frequently indicated turns:...
{"title":"Listen: Blocked","authors":"Thomas Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0050","url":null,"abstract":"Tomas is talking to himself. He is reflecting on the day on his way home from work, a semi-regular audio-diary he agrees to keep for me after I have finished the main period of my research. “What am I going to talk about?” he wonders aloud. There’s a pause, and then he settles on his theme for the day: “I think I might talk a bit about working and project management and time management.” His daily commute takes about ten minutes—over Minchinhampton, then down through winding, wooded lanes into Stroud valley. The monologue is punctuated by the sounds of a now familiar journey: gears shifting up and down; the engine strains then idles; frequently indicated turns:...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85993320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0020
T. Yarrow
Architects’ responses to place are framed by the actions of other people, and by the legislative contexts in which they operate. Building professionals, clients, planners, and consultants are often met on-site. Tom explains some of the background of a possible new project on the drive over. He had a call the preceding week from Michael, the father of an old school friend. They had a chat about a couple of building projects. Both sounded interesting, though it is still unclear what they would entail and whether they were likely to be feasible. There is no brief. Depending on today’s visit, there may even be no project....
{"title":"Site Stories","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0020","url":null,"abstract":"Architects’ responses to place are framed by the actions of other people, and by the legislative contexts in which they operate. Building professionals, clients, planners, and consultants are often met on-site.\u0000 Tom explains some of the background of a possible new project on the drive over. He had a call the preceding week from Michael, the father of an old school friend. They had a chat about a couple of building projects. Both sounded interesting, though it is still unclear what they would entail and whether they were likely to be feasible. There is no brief. Depending on today’s visit, there may even be no project....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91069253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/9781501738500-004
{"title":"Part 3. DESIGNS","authors":"","doi":"10.7591/9781501738500-004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501738500-004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89108717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0026
T. Yarrow
Rob is trying to describe the attributes that make for a good architect: I’d say it’s quite selfless from a designer’s point of view, in that a good designer should really just be a vehicle that responds to the client’s wishes, even if the client doesn’t know what they want. So you’re quite often teasing those ideas out of them and pitching your own ideas for them to grab hold of. I think that’s very difficult, but quite key to recognize, the client as the ultimate designer....
{"title":"Between Architect and Client","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0026","url":null,"abstract":"Rob is trying to describe the attributes that make for a good architect:\u0000 I’d say it’s quite selfless from a designer’s point of view, in that a good designer should really just be a vehicle that responds to the client’s wishes, even if the client doesn’t know what they want. So you’re quite often teasing those ideas out of them and pitching your own ideas for them to grab hold of. I think that’s very difficult, but quite key to recognize, the client as the ultimate designer....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87277094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0045
Thomas Yarrow
As we arrive on-site for a meeting at Wormwood House, the clients, Robert and Judith, are already there and are chatting with Edward the builder. “We’ve just been talking about the meaning of life itself!” Edward jokes. Their relationship has a contractual element, but their interactions on and around the building also encompass other interests and concerns. Later in the week Robert and Judith reflect on the relationship at the heart of the build, over a drink in their local pub. From the start of the project, they knew they had a limited budget to work within, but also that it was crucial to “get the right person.” Considerations of character, ethos, and approach were an important element of the selection process, once the tender quotes came back. Robert explains: “We wanted to get a feel for them as people, really. You know, it’s a major project, we needed to choose somebody that we felt we could work with, and we wanted to feel like they engaged with what we were looking for…. We wanted the builder to be enthused by the site and really latch on to what we were trying to create. That was important, wasn’t it?” Judith agrees: “Edward seemed calm, confident—you felt you were in safe hands.” As a client, there is no contractual reason for her to be involved in site meetings, but she normally goes along anyway. She lives locally and occasionally looks in at other times: “Just to see how things are progressing…. I’m interested in getting to know the builders a little bit, and there’s different people that come on-site, and it’s nice to have a bit more of a relationship with them—to know what’s going on, and chat to them a little bit.” Robert’s work takes him away during the week, and he visits less frequently, though he agrees, “It’s nice to know who’s building your house.” Judith continues, “Well, it is, and, you know, they’re working really ...
{"title":"Safe Hands","authors":"Thomas Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0045","url":null,"abstract":"As we arrive on-site for a meeting at Wormwood House, the clients, Robert and Judith, are already there and are chatting with Edward the builder. “We’ve just been talking about the meaning of life itself!” Edward jokes. Their relationship has a contractual element, but their interactions on and around the building also encompass other interests and concerns. Later in the week Robert and Judith reflect on the relationship at the heart of the build, over a drink in their local pub. From the start of the project, they knew they had a limited budget to work within, but also that it was crucial to “get the right person.” Considerations of character, ethos, and approach were an important element of the selection process, once the tender quotes came back. Robert explains: “We wanted to get a feel for them as people, really. You know, it’s a major project, we needed to choose somebody that we felt we could work with, and we wanted to feel like they engaged with what we were looking for…. We wanted the builder to be enthused by the site and really latch on to what we were trying to create. That was important, wasn’t it?” Judith agrees: “Edward seemed calm, confident—you felt you were in safe hands.” As a client, there is no contractual reason for her to be involved in site meetings, but she normally goes along anyway. She lives locally and occasionally looks in at other times: “Just to see how things are progressing…. I’m interested in getting to know the builders a little bit, and there’s different people that come on-site, and it’s nice to have a bit more of a relationship with them—to know what’s going on, and chat to them a little bit.” Robert’s work takes him away during the week, and he visits less frequently, though he agrees, “It’s nice to know who’s building your house.” Judith continues, “Well, it is, and, you know, they’re working really ...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85518874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0010
T. Yarrow
Laura, Megan, and Sam are talking among themselves about the job they all do. Although at slightly different stages, they are all in their twenties. Threaded through their discussion are ambivalences about the profession: Why is it so compelling? Why is it so difficult? they wonder together:...
{"title":"Listen: The Greedy Profession","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0010","url":null,"abstract":"Laura, Megan, and Sam are talking among themselves about the job they all do. Although at slightly different stages, they are all in their twenties. Threaded through their discussion are ambivalences about the profession: Why is it so compelling? Why is it so difficult? they wonder together:...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80944589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0016
T. Yarrow
In A Fortunate Man, a vivid and moving account of a medical general practitioner working in a rural part of England in the 1960s, John Berger describes the lived realities of a vocational ideal. Despite numerous routine difficulties, Sassell, the focus of the account, “is nevertheless a fortunate man doing what he wants. Or more accurately what he wishes to pursue. Sometimes the pursuit involves strain and disappointment, but in itself it is his unique source of satisfaction. Like an artist or like anybody else who believes that his work justifies his life, Sassell … is a fortunate man.”...
{"title":"Reflection: Architectural Lives","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0016","url":null,"abstract":"In A Fortunate Man, a vivid and moving account of a medical general practitioner working in a rural part of England in the 1960s, John Berger describes the lived realities of a vocational ideal. Despite numerous routine difficulties, Sassell, the focus of the account, “is nevertheless a fortunate man doing what he wants. Or more accurately what he wishes to pursue. Sometimes the pursuit involves strain and disappointment, but in itself it is his unique source of satisfaction. Like an artist or like anybody else who believes that his work justifies his life, Sassell … is a fortunate man.”...","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77382017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0004
T. Yarrow
In an effort to understand, I spent an extended period living and working with the ten MHW architects. Guided in part by the things they found interesting themselves and in part by what seemed interesting to me, I did what I could to explore the contours of this world....
{"title":"Understanding Architecture","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0004","url":null,"abstract":"In an effort to understand, I spent an extended period living and working with the ten MHW architects. Guided in part by the things they found interesting themselves and in part by what seemed interesting to me, I did what I could to explore the contours of this world....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77591789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-15DOI: 10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0038
T. Yarrow
The meeting takes place at Glyme Farm, a barn conversion that is a former project of MHW. Mary, the client on that project, now lives there with her husband and two children. We have come here because she is now employed as a design consultant on the project we are here to discuss. Client, turned friend, turned colleague. Tomas is joined by Phil and Milo who are here as representatives of the design team. They have done most of the design work, though it is Tomas who speaks most as the representative of their collective perspective. The clients, Hugh and Jenny, bought a 1970s house, which they originally planned to renovate but which, following initial estimates for the cost of this work, they now intend to demolish and replace....
{"title":"Coming into Focus","authors":"T. Yarrow","doi":"10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7591/cornell/9781501738494.003.0038","url":null,"abstract":"The meeting takes place at Glyme Farm, a barn conversion that is a former project of MHW. Mary, the client on that project, now lives there with her husband and two children. We have come here because she is now employed as a design consultant on the project we are here to discuss. Client, turned friend, turned colleague. Tomas is joined by Phil and Milo who are here as representatives of the design team. They have done most of the design work, though it is Tomas who speaks most as the representative of their collective perspective. The clients, Hugh and Jenny, bought a 1970s house, which they originally planned to renovate but which, following initial estimates for the cost of this work, they now intend to demolish and replace....","PeriodicalId":79772,"journal":{"name":"AIA journal. American Institute of Architects","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88830323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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