Down Detour Road
An Architect in Search of Practice
Eric J. Cesal
- A
- young
- architect's
- search
- for
- new
- architectural
- values
- in
- a
- time
- of
- economic
- crisis.I
- paused
- at
- the
- stoop
- and
- thought
- this
- could
- be
- the
- basis
- of
- a
- good
- book.
- The
- story
- of
- a
- young
- man
- who
- went
- deep
- into
- the
- bowels
- of
- the
- academy
- in
- order
- to
- understand
- architecture
- and
- found
- it
- had
- been
- on
- his
- doorstep
- all
- along.
- This
- had
- an
- air
- of
- hokeyness
- about
- it,
- but
- it
- had
- been
- a
- tough
- couple
- of
- days
- and
- I
- was
- feeling
- sentimental
- about
- the
- warm
- confines
- of
- the
- studio
- which
- had
- unceremoniously
- discharged
- me
- upon
- the
- world.—from
- Down
- Detour
- RoadWhat
- does
- it
- say
- about
- the
- value
- of
- architecture
- that
- as
- the
- world
- faces
- economic
- and
- ecological
- crises,
- unprecedented
- numbers
- of
- architects
- are
- out
- of
- work?
- This
- is
- the
- question
- that
- confronted
- architect
- Eric
- Cesal
- as
- he
- finished
- graduate
- school
- at
- the
- onset
- of
- the
- worst
- financial
- meltdown
- in
- a
- generation.
- Down
- Detour
- Road
- is
- his
- journey:
- one
- that
- begins
- off-course,
- and
- ends
- in
- a
- hopeful
- new
- vision
- of
- architecture.
- Like
- many
- architects
- of
- his
- generation,
- Cesal
- confronts
- a
- cold
- reality.
- Architects
- may
- assure
- each
- other
- of
- their
- own
- importance,
- but
- society
- has
- come
- to
- view
- architecture
- as
- a
- luxury
- it
- can
- do
- without.
- For
- Cesal,
- this
- recognition
- becomes
- an
- occasion
- to
- rethink
- architecture
- and
- its
- value
- from
- the
- very
- core.
- He
- argues
- that
- the
- times
- demand
- a
- new
- architecture,
- an
- empowered
- architecture
- that
- is
- useful
- and
- relevant.
- New
- architectural
- values
- emerge
- as
- our
- cultural
- values
- shift:
- from
- high
- risks
- to
- safe
- bets,
- from
- strong
- portfolios
- to
- strong
- communities,
- and
- from
- clean
- lines
- to
- clean
- energy.This
- is
- not
- a
- book
- about
- how
- to
- run
- a
- firm
- or
- a
- profession;
- it
- doesn't
- predict
- the
- future
- of
- architectural
- form
- or
- aesthetics.
- It
- is
- a
- personal
- story—and
- in
- many
- ways
- a
- generational
- one:
- a
- story
- that
- follows
- its
- author
- on
- a
- winding
- detour
- across
- the
- country,
- around
- the
- profession,
- and
- into
- a
- new
- architectural reality.
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