Before we get to the real reason I'm posting, I wanted to give a little bit of a background to this blog and, well, myself. Because although you don't care, I figured that when I'm old and senile I'll want some sort of record of my excess of motivation and lack of action.
You'll see in a minute why I'm being self-depracating. Be patient.
Regarding the "Architecture" part of the name of this blog. Well, some day, I am going to be an architect. I'm almost 30 and I still have to say "when I grow up" because it's been a long road here and I feel like I'm just getting started. Or at least starting over, which is almost entirely true. Anyway, I'm in school to learn how to do the thing that is architecture. That's an easy one. But the path here comes via my 'previous life' as an ambitious design student. I have a degree in Industrial Design, but I never took it anywhere. The reasons are many, but the reason I tell people when they ask why I never pursued product design is that "I didn't want to end up detailing toothbrush handles for a living." And while that's also mostly true, it's only a half truth. I don't mind details and detailing at all. And toothbrushes are great. But the world does not need another toothbrush. I sacrificed my career because I didn't see any way around detailing toothbrush handles. You see, contrary to what most people think, the large majority of designers aren't the people with the fancy new furniture collections in high-tech design magazines. Most designers work for Walmart, knocking off other peoples' designs for shoes. Or designing moulds that will be used to manufacture some lead-contaminated childrens toys to be made by slave labour in China. Or spend weeks deciding on the ideal thickness of a new ballpoint pen.
Or detailing toothbrush handles.
And that's basically what I trained to do at school. And I didn't want that. I mean, I love to learn about manufacturing and I love to draw and I love most of the individual parts of the design process. And I learned all of those things. But the world doesn't need another toothbrush, and it certainly doesn't need another cynical designer detailing your next toothbrush. Right? Right.
So. To make a long story longer, I took my diploma and put it in a box somewhere, and continued with the job I'd held part-time throughout my years at university. Body piercing.
I was good at it. Actually, I was great at it, and people recognized that. I helped create new techniques, new jewelry, new manufacturing methods for jewelry and tools (so my design education wasn't a total waste). I made good money and I could sleep in every day and I really liked almost every single person I've ever worked with in the business.
But then, after about 7 years of this, I got the design bug again. And a year later, I've finished my first year of architecture school and completely retired from body piercing. I traded in my black t-shirts and titanium and now I work for the government (at least until the end of summer). Well, I've kept one piercing and I do have to wear long sleeves every day, but the point is that even just a few years ago, I would never have known what I'd be doing (or not doing) now. I've had a rewarding career in the body arts and I knew from the age of 7 that I wanted to be a designer - maybe some day I can combine both. Sometimes life feels like an out-of-control car. Sometimes it's not so great, but most of the time it's incredible. When I get old(er), I'll have some great stories for the grandkids.
Okay. So the point.
It's summer. The design bug is back but I really have no time and no outlet - that I've figured out, anyway.
And so I am feeling especially terrible as I whine about this non-predicament. I got the kick in the pants that I needed when I found out about this site called
AfriGadget. You know how your grandfather told you that he had to walk to school uphill both ways in 3 feet of snow every day? Well, the people on that website blow your old fart of a granddad out of the water. The acts and stories chronicled on that site remind me why I wanted to be a designer in the first place. The people there are better designers and make more of a difference in the world than a million Frank Gehrys or Karim Rashids ever could. And that reminds me of what I want to be when I grow up.
My hero is
isn't Le Corbusier or Bruce Mau or Philippe Starck. It's William Kamkwamba, the 14 year old from Malawi who built a windmill for $16 and scrap parts to generate electricity for his friends and family.... after reading a single book. Sam Mockbee of Rural Studio is another. And there are many, many more stories just like these.
Kind of puts my lazy ass into perspective. Yours too.
And what does this have to do with rural architecture? The pioneering people who built those century-old buildings did so with their bare hands, for real needs. It's not a romantic ideal, I simply appreciate people who see a real need, fill it, and make a difference. No expectations of becoming famous or making money. Just genuine design for genuine need.
It's taken me way too long to figure that out.
