Activist / Architect or Architect / Activist ?
As a member of a group of architects whose names are forever inscribed in some
U.S. Secret Service data base of known troublemakers, our fate for having picketed
The White House demanding that the 2011 Solar Decathlon not be evicted from the National
Mall (Extant only by the efforts of architect/activists of the 1890's-1900 era in pushing
The McMillan Commission to remove the railroad yards, etc from the ruins of the L'Enfant
design), I think all of us are environmental activists by our choice of profession.
Surely not one of the 115,000 of us in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1:place> seeks to degrade the human condition
by designing habitations or workplaces that drip on, freeze or melt , or otherwise endanger
our clients. As flawed mortals, we have all at times fallen from our ideals.
Just by trying to make architecture that offers Commodity, Firmness, and Delight, we are all
surely trying to fight the effects of Global Warming.
What divides us would seem to be the degree of passion we attach to the current debate, and
whether the streets are as valid a place as the drafting room to join the battle.
As someone who has been active since 1962 in both places (marched with Dr. King on
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> 56 years ago), I salute all my brothers and sisters who toil in our misunderstood
and ill-compensated profession. Like most of you, I would make the same choice of profession
again in a heartbeat, as daily we work for the advancement of our and other species on Planet
Earth.
And with us, blather doesn't work – many times from our efforts real, sustainable, handsome,
buildings must rise to affordably protect and inspire our larger family.
John F. Corkill, Jr., AIA