Blogs

Dissecting Cow Eyeballs and How this Correlates to CD's

By Tara L. Imani AIA posted 04-21-2011 02:25 AM

  
Creating Better Construction Documents:


I recently had the experience of dissecting a cow eyeball as one of many volunteers for my child's class. I arrived after the initial lecture by an M.D., so I waited in the covered outdoor area where a row of 8 tables were set up with sterilized instruments, including a scalpel, and one fresh, cold cow eyeball. I read through the lengthy instruction sheets to educate myself on the various parts of a cow eyeball and prepared to cut one open, teaching the students what each part was.

My husband had warned me that some gooey black stuff was going to ooze out when I cut into it, so I was really dreading that part. Suddenly, I felt light-headed and I wondered if I'd be able to go through with it.

About that time, I couldn't have been any happier when I saw coming around the corner some parents wearing scrubs! Scrubs!!! YAYYY!!! "Thank God there are people here who know what they're doing!" I said out loud. And I asked them if they were doctors. One lady said she had a degree in Biology and was a Psychologist. Another gentleman in green scrubs joked and said, "I learned a long time ago, it's all about perception: you really don't need to know what you're doing, you just need to look like you do." We all laughed and smiled at that.

Then it was time to don our plastic aprons and too-thin gloves, get the instructions before us, and begin to gently, but firmly, pull back the very thin (but stubborn) topmost outer layer called the cornea. I picked up the scalpel and prayed that I didn't cut myself in the process.

And I thought x-acto blades were sharp!

I decided that I would follow the lead of the room mom at the table to my right-- as she seemed confident--when suddenly the lady in scrubs appeared offering to help. So, I gladly handed her the scalpel. (And remembered the Chevy Chase movie where he was pretending to be a doctor and they all stood around nodding and shaking hands, introducing each other as "Doctor", "Doctor," "Doctor," "Doctor"...).

Well, I am no doctor. And apparently I'm not cut out for science either. No wonder I didn't take Chemistry beyond the baseline requirement.

This was gross.

But the kids were having a blast! They were in awe of what they were learning. They wanted to use the scalpel, hold various parts in their hands and see how squishy they were, they even thought the black gooey stuff was neat. They were not a bit intimidated by this.

Then I thought about the medical students in college who have to dissect a human eye...even a cadaver. And my respect for doctors everywhere increased by a whole order of magnitude.

So, how does all this relate to the creation of construction documents? My theory: Just as doctors must dissect cadavers to learn Anatomy 101, shouldn't we at least take a course or two or three or four in construction where we actually touch wood, concrete, steel, maybe even learn basic carpentry, brick-laying, or how to lay insulation, or use the new straw bale?

Can you imagine the absurdity of a surgeon being expected to operate on a body based on a set of "surgical guidance" documents-- prepared by someone else-- who him/herself had never touched a cadaver in his life?

Well, isn't this the absurdity under which many architects are expected to practice?

Is it enough to learn construction from a book? Or merely observe others doing it?

So, as part of IDP, we have Construction Observation. How many firms really engage in this? I gather that many must as things are getting built quite well out there.   Yet, I do not see a group called "Construction Observation" on here...unless I may have missed it.

In my opinion, the architectural education could be immensely improved by incorporating some of the methods of learning used by the medical profession for years.

Rather than drawing a window head, jamb, and sill, why not be required to build a better one?

I have read of various schools like Rice University, Univ of Houston, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and others who seem to have vastly improved their curriculum since I was in school. And maybe the extra 1 year BArch or 2 year MArch is where all of this takes place.

Has NAAB, the entity that accredits architecture schools, started to make it mandatory to incorporate more field courses of study where students get the opportunity to learn construction methods?

*This was a fun story I shared on the AIA LinkedIn Group and thought to share it here

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Knowledge-Architecture-Richard-Foque/dp/9054875453/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303329059&sr=1-1
0 comments
56 views