Main conference presentation

Opening Keynote: The lost art of productively losing control

Joshua Prince-Ramus

Saturday March 24 2007, 8:30 - 10:00AM

The term ‘Project Architect’ begs the existence of its contrary, ‘Project Manager.’ Acknowledging this pair legitimizes an artificial schism between creation and execution that is threatening the architectural profession’s survival. It also patronizes the design process, painting it as an unruly child that requires parental guidance. In my experience, the most powerful architectural concepts are dumbly practical, derived a posteriori. And the implementation of good ideas demands infinitely more creativity than their conceptualization. Divorcing creation from execution in architecture is as implausible as suggesting that intercourse is the creative act, while the nine months of gestation and hours of child birth are just execution.

The split of Architects into Project Architects and Project Managers is a direct consequence of the architectural profession’s cowardice. We are increasingly averse to assuming any responsibility that might attract liability. Unfortunately, where liability goes, so goes control. To escape our self-imposed marginalization, we branded our retreat as conquest, and ran headlong into the self-referential language of Post-Modernism. We hijacked authorship, diverting it from process (the synthesis of creation and execution) to creation alone. We banished Project Managers to the realm of expertise, then derided them for succumbing to power and wealth.

If architects can reprioritize authorship of processes over authorship of things, we can reassemble Project Architects and Project Managers back into Architects. We will regain liability, but re-harvest control. And we will be able to happily navigate from concept generation, through politics, value-engineering and procurement strategies, to punch lists and opening parties. We will harbor less self-pity, make more money and construct better architecture.

But doing so will unearth two new problems for which I am not sure our profession is prepared. First, the term ‘authorship’ is singular, whereas processes usually germinate from a nucleus of people all of whom could rightfully claim ownership. Authorship (as we know it) will die. We will have to invent a new method of crediting: “We did it.” Second, as curators of processes, we must be prepared for ideas to develop out of our control. When we invest in the making of genius sketches, we sleep in the comfort of knowing the realm of possibilities has been fully determined. If we put our faith in processes, we must enjoy the danger of things becoming. Following this line of argument, architects must paradoxically regain control precisely so that we can productively lose it again.

Presentation files:

• Main presentation file (PPT, 15MB)
• Museum Plaza concept demonstration (SWF, 56KB)
• Seattle Public Library walkthrough (ZIP, 26.8MB)
• Museum Plaza walkthrough (ZIP, 32MB)