was trying to convey through his surrogates (because he’d passed away by then). I came back to Salt Lake, and everybody was drafting and perfecting their hand lettering. You could go from table to table and identify who had drawn what based on their lettering. There is a real correlation between the hand and the work. There’s a correlation between understanding space and drawing with your hand, and some subliminal connection between the craft of drawing and the craft of building that is lost today. I think there’s no doubt that’s a loss. In the mid-80s, we were getting into stand-alone computers and a lot of the offices in Salt Lake, like Scott, Louis and Browning, and Edwards and Daniels, were investing in mainframes, very expensive computers, which were a big investment. Young firms, like ours, couldn’t afford a big mainframe, so we opted for desktop computers and worked with a local expert, beta testing a CAD software program for him. Then Autodesk came in and swept away most of the competition. As I was starting to teach at the U, there was this big debate: “Are we just letting go of analog and everything’s becoming digital?” Later, as director, I really felt that there was a balance, and that analog still had importance and relevance, especially in terms of spatial understanding. To this day, I can draw faster than anybody can input a design into a computer. You do quick sketches, formulate ideas with the client, and then, when they get more solidified, digitize them and start making changes. Visualization is phenomenal now; it’s hard to differentiate between a rendering and a photograph of a completed project. Any final thoughts? I think one of the most rewarding things for young architects, besides the association with clients over time, is mentoring others. There’s always a new group coming on right behind you. We always have that responsibility. Architecture is hard, and we talked about the maturation of the brain not being complete until age 35. We’re constantly learning. And then you get to a point where you’re forgetting while you’re learning. I suppose I was meant to be an architect — it just feels good, feels rewarding. I love the team-building, collaboration and sense of galvanizing a community around some concrete objective. It’s always rewarding to feel like you have some sort of legacy, but I’ve seen a lot of my projects demolished. So, be careful what you hang your hat on. It’s more about relationships. Those relationships can be as enduring as the bricks and mortar. 15
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==