I took the remark to mean that Mr. Cofield feels Modernism is a more masculine aesthetic. Which is silly, of course, as aesthetics can be neither masculine nor feminine. Either Mr. Cofield meant to offend all of his female colleagues or he simply had a hard time expressing himself. Let's just assume it was the latter; it wouldn't be the first time a guy had a hard time expressing his feelings.
As for the awards themselves, I found the winners to be of a uniform type, but what was more troubling was the trumpeting by the Editor in Chief that these awards represented design "for the 99%". Ummmm...NO. Once again we are face with a conumdrum: either RA is assuming that 99% of the population actually loves modernist design and is craving it, or they are trying to say, "hey look! this stuff is cheap to build, and all you poor broke suckers out there can have this too!" Now, as we know, 99% of the population wants nothing to do with glass boxes (sorry, but there's a reason those plan books have lots of Federalist and Greek revival knockoffs), so therefore I am forced to conclude that RA is looking for buildings that are inexpensive to construct--an interesting basis for an architectural design award to be sure.
But then again, were these buildings inexpensive? I know that pulling off a contemporary building requires a level of detail that is by no means cheap. Not to mention the life cycle costs of repairing and upkeep of all those flat roofs. But then again, I live where there's actually WEATHER, and SNOW, and things like FREEZE THAW CYCLES. So as far as I'm concerned when it comes to economy, the award winners have no relevance.
I guess in closing, I'm just wondering where the balance is. Design isn't just either masculine or feminine, nor is it always either contemporary or not. People in general like elements of both. I would have hoped an industry magazine put out there by the AIA would have known that and reflected it in its annual awards.
-------------------------------------------
Mary Holley AIA
President
ma2 architects
Basalt CO
-------------------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 05-07-2012 11:41
From: Alice Schuler
Subject: Residential design awards
Mr. Cofield's remark: "Modernism is a masculine skillset, so we cut our nose to spite our face in terms of outreach to the public. Remember, 50% of the deciders in residential are female."
This is one of the most offensive posts I have read in a long time. By what stretch of the imagination could you construe that some masculine skillset is required to appreciate modernism? Hard to take any argument seriously with such offensive and demeaning posturing.
-------------------------------------------
Alice A. Schuler AIA
The Dearborn Associates of Chicago
Chicago IL
-------------------------------------------