Origins Tell me when you decided to become an architect. When I was the director of the University of Utah’s architecture school, I always asked the students how they made that decision. It always seemed kind of random. So, I’m going to recommend five books. They inform how and why we make these decisions. Frankly, science would indicate that it’s embedded in us. They infer that it is as much the profession choosing you as you choosing the profession. The texts are “The Darwinian Survival Guide” by Daniel Brooks; “Sapiens” by Yuval Harari; “Determined” and “Behave,” both by Robert Sopolosky, a behavioral scientist at Stanford; and “Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World” by René Girard, who was an anthropologist at Stanford. These books posit that human beings are unique among species in that we undergo most of our maturation and brain development outside the womb, and it takes approximately 35 years for our brains to fully form. That’s a lot of time spent being influenced by others; we are so fundamentally wired to learn by imitation. Girard posits that at some point, the person you imitate becomes the other; the other you invariably envy. You’re learning by copying, but ultimately, they become a rival. I was impressed by an architect when I was in junior high, Richard Brimley. There’s no doubt that I identified with him. He graduated from the University of Utah. Back then, the Salt Lake economy was struggling. Most of the firms depended on the state or school districts for work, and whenever the state awarded a project, all the draftsmen and recent interns in town would move from one office to another that had secured the most recent job. Brimley ultimately moved to Boston to work for The Architects Collaborative, so fortunately my imitation didn’t end up as envy. How did you imitate Brimley? We had a similar period of searching and restlessness while having a lot of expectations as to what the profession should offer. LEGENDS Prescott Muir, FAIA INTERVIEW BY FRAN PRUYN, CPSM As part of our ongoing series of interviews with architectural legends, we are proud to present this interview with Prescott Muir. It was a pleasure to interview him and to learn more about all the contributions he has made to the industry. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 12 REFLEXION
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