Questions, and thing quite possibly better left unsaid.

Well I have to admit, first and formost, I am glad that there is some form of discussion, between the staff and the students about the school and design in general.

Second,Ben Nicholson,I would like to shake your hand. I have not had the pleasure of participating in your classes yet but look forward to doing so.

Green is a dead topic of discussion. We should be sustainable and efficient. End of story.

The point is pushing the inclusion of "green design" further. Yes that stretched hummer with the hot tub moves more people then fifteen prius's (prii?) But wouldn't it be nice if it was driven by four electric motors?

My point is...green is nice it is also here to stay so lets make work well and by all means look good.

My other point is somewhat related. We are a conceptual school right? So maybe we should be pushing the boundaries. Maybe projects should not be based on what the teacher wants to seeor what the teacher thinks is cool but on what the student sees as interesting. Than if the project sucks they fail. End of dscussion.

Maybe bridge designs in computer classes should not be based on specific organic flower parts. Maybe it should be based of intricate sections of objects or structures that the student finds facinating. That this should be modeled and then developed.

Let us remember who concieved of organic design as an idea. Where did he get that idea. Louis Sullivan, pushed an idea for emotional architechture.

Emotions. Huh. So not what just looks cool and fitting but what fits well and hits a deep emotional core.

I remember this part in Dogma where Chris Rock explains that the fall of the catholic church happened when people started to believe. To belive is to follow to have an Idea is to lead.

Maybe we should push for conceptual Ideas. Take those Ideas and suck the marrow out of them. Formulate them and model them. Create models that would be classified as sculpture. Fitting for display.

Those Ideas that fail those models and concepts that do not deserve to be displayed at the highest level should be cut.

Go big or go home.

I was horrified to find that the fashion department lets sophmores display designs at the final fashion show.

Not because they are sophmores but because we do not allow that kind of acceptance and Honor in our own department.

We should strive to be the best and produce the best. Todo this at all times we should be finding boundaries and we should be running into them at full speed.

My father was a track and field and cross country coach on the High school level. He sent massive ammounts of kids to the state finals and national championships. He worked in Illinois against Joe Newton the creator of the big green line. This guy made a military precision run group at york high school he wrote best selling books on how to run like a robot. He entered fifteen runners in every cross country event and they would make a line and cut the pack to peices. My father once had this kid who moved like stink. He loved this kid. He once said he was the best ever. He ran like Prefontaine. If you told him to run in to a wall he would ask how many peices you wanted it in. And ran he did. Beat york's fastest kid by a minute over three miles. He collapsed at the end.

How many peices do you want at the end?

We should be concieving the ideas that lay waste to concepts.

Go big or go home.

I guess that is aimed at you Mr. Director, sir.
Only after we have worked long enough and deserved a voice can you use it. Is that what you ment.

Should not the classes in your department fuel the process where in those Ideas are formed and stated?

We have proved that we have the voice that we want to speak. THat some of us sound the horn that shake the walls of Jericho. THere are a few of us that want to go big. This is the only way for us to speak. Maybe we don't have any other opportunities to voice our Ideas. Maybe we should have those opportunities. A design show during the school year perhaps. One that is open to all years that is advertised all over the Chicagoland architectural and design network.

Maybe we have decided to go big. Maybe you havent.
Maybe we have decided to go big. I know that I have. I might fail. If I do at least the failure will be amazing.

I am reminded by my father about water on the stove. At 212 degrees you have boiling water and steam you have volatile seperation and huge energy. At 211 degrees you just have hot water.

It is only one extra push we need to give ourselves. Both students and faculty.

Michael Genge
BFA arch
Sophmore