final essay for the Margaret McBride Lehrman Fellowship

Below is the final draft of one of the essays required for the Margaret McBride Lehrman Fellowship. I would be surprised if I were selected for the award as I don't think the essay came out that well and they won't be looking at the supplemental documents i included, but i found the process of applying extremely valuable. Writing, whether for this blog, for graduate or research fellowships or for university scholarships, helps me to process and analyze the often overwhelming amounts of information being thrown at us. It forces me to have an opinion about it, to articulate it and to figure out why it is or is not important to me.  Writing as a tool of process helps me communicate to myself.  For this essay in particular I had a number of conversations with professors and peers who helped me figure out what I want to get out of my education over the next year. There were also several moments along the way that I observed in reference to the subject of architectural communication, moments that helped me figure out what i want to do after graduation (see post john Peterson). Anyway, thanks to everyone who gave me feedback! It was so helpful and great to feel engaged with you through this venue.


[The Architecture of Communication – Today and Tomorrow]

In the architectural education we are formally taught how to express ideas to potential clients using a small handful of tools and graphic styles. Informally we are taught how to approach, evaluate and solve problems of the built environment. Over the last two decades the tools with which we communicate have changed dramatically, and with them so has our ability to reach out to broader audiences. Technological advances and the availability of three-dimensional computer software have bridged a large gap between architects and the general public. Supplementing this change in technology are the implications and awareness of the effects of construction on the environment, as well as a general undercurrent noticeable in the profession and unavoidable in our particular student body; design should not be available only to those who can afford it. These factors combined with a staggering unemployment rate have resulted in a competitive advantage for architects to be responsive and adaptive in redefining their roles. Architects have an increased responsibility and incentive to change the public's perception of their role in the pursuit of a better built (or non-built) environment. Those who are willing to take an active approach in response to these changes are the ones who will shape our profession in the years to come. They will utilize their skills as problem solvers and extend their reach to problem identifiers. To do this they need to be experts of communication to a vastly diverse and ever changing audience. They need to help their clients make more informed, better-educated decisions about the implications of their actions. 

Thus far in my studies I have dedicated myself fully to the act of communication as defined by the architectural education at the University of Oregon. As of the most recent fall term, those studies narrowed on writing and how we use words and text to convey architectural ideas of spatial configuration. While satisfying the requirements of the department that primarily focus on the traditional methods of architectural communication and continuing my employment as a journalist for the office of media and outreach in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, I have structured my remaining education around the following two projects of communication:

[Publication Writing for the Student Organization, designBridge]

As I step down from my position as Organizational Manager of Public Relations, I have assumed a new role to help designBridge grow and continue its assimilation in our curriculum. I believe strongly in the educational impact of community design/build programs and I want to use the written word to inform others of the widespread benefits of such organizations. I am working with the faculty advisor of designBridge, Juli Brode, to help convey the benefits of the organization to national architecture and design publications, as well as to our own department curriculum committee. During the spring and summer terms I will be researching the media outlets available to us and writing articles intended for publication. To support my work I will be enrolled in a summer journalism course.

[Product Design Collaboration with Professor Erin Moore]

Erin approached me to partner with her on a series of informative flash cards depicting the ecological properties of building materials. A combination of appropriate graphics and concise wording will serve as a clever way to take vast amounts of information and communicate it to students and professionals. Erin is one of the nation’s foremost experts on materials and ecological design. Right now her goals are mass production and distribution. My work will be part of an independent study in the spring, followed by an intense schedule over the summer to reach production by winter of 2010.