Cyclopean Architecture Meaningful Lines

Cyclopean Architecture Meaningful LinesCyclopean Architecture Meaningful Lines If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. The idea propagated by the architecture profession that architectural design is a "science" is misleading. I have often heard students give up on pursuing architecture as an education because they need a background in the field and higher math like

Cyclopean Architecture
Meaningful Lines

ÒIf you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.Ó

The idea propagated by the architecture profession that architectural design is a "science" is misleading. I have often heard students give up on pursuing architecture as an education because they need a background in the field and higher math like calculus. I lacked the same, and I proceeded anyway. The objective of this piece is simple. ÒIf I can do it, so can you.Ó I remember the fateful day my mother introduced me to the field. As the office receptionist, she couldnÕt stay away from her post for long, but I fell in love during that relatively brief encounter with design. Unconsciously, I saw myself as ÒI ought to be,Ó shaping the man-made environment. And evidently, once seen, I wouldnÕt allow anything to stand in the way of obtaining my goal. It was as foretold by the Gospel of Thomas.

Cyclopean Architecture

At the end of my career, I reflect on what has transpired and what I mean by Cyclopean Architecture. Reviewing my slide library prompts this reflection as I prepare them for the Ethnic Studies and, hopefully, the College of Environment Design archives. With projects complete, my present understanding of self stands in stark contrast to the self I was at the beginning when Professor Ellis provided his insightful analysis. ÒYou have no idea what the lines mean.Ó His assessment was correct. Many of my classmates had a background in design and construction through family or friends. I had neither, and Professor EllisÕs evaluation of my situation made me aware of this. But unlike many people of color who might accept this situation as a disadvantage, I refused to do so. Unconsciously I saw an opening, an opportunity to apply the reasoning found in the Gospel of Thomas. Conceptually I had an idea of what the lines meant. They described what was to be built in graphic form. Still, Òwhat was to be builtÓ was a question in my mind, and until I resolved the question, I was at a stalemate, unable to move forward to find out what the lines meant.