‘In the initial proposition of the Catholic University of Valparaiso to remove architecture from its doctrine, buried in mathematics and formalisms, and recenter it in the poetic word, is suggested an adoption of a critical rebalancing of the relationship between creative activity and the modern world. Creation requires a certain innocence, a suspension of disbelief, to occur.’ [1] ‘By engaging in poetic activity, the world of the Catholic University of Valparaiso allows itself through chance, mental and perceptual games, metaphoric operation, and so on, to discover its meaning and physical form, and to build and occupy this space: a space that has a gratuitous and mysterious quality and seems to refer to something on the other side of its physical reality.’ [2]
– Ann M. Pendleton-Jullian who wrote Road that Is Not a Road and the Open City, Ritoque, Chile.
How does this model apply to the profession of architecture beyond the university?
Based on a handful of firm experiences I’ve had, I find the average architect is over-worked by multi-tasking. Architects are drawing, coordinating meetings onsite, collaborating with co-workers, and working on five to ten projects with the expectation that many will need attention at once. How can these tasks be productive if they are uncoordinated? I’ve found the balance in taking care of personal desire first. This allows the freedom to choose where creative efforts are spent. What happens is that the following time tasks are done with true enthusiasm. “Live in the moment.” “Be the change you want to see in others.” Keeping these thoughts immediate in my mind while reaching out on a creative level to be influenced by architectural publications or allowing myself the opportunity to enjoy co-workers creativity and inventiveness, I’ve been able to enjoy the day that quickly slips by.
Passive Architect 