Welcome! The A&AA community is engaged in a visioning project as the first step towards defining a future home for the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Join the visioning team in person, via email and surveys, and via this blog. Your input and involvement will add to the rich and vibrant discussions about the school’s mission and ambitions. If you have questions, contact aaarecep@uoregon.edu. Thank you.
: 
Nicolaus Wright:
It was really wonderful hearing what the Mau team has laid out as a potential charge for A&AA.
I kept thinking about the notion of a hybrid and how I think of it as something akin to a mutation, or a product of environmental NECESSITY, or some outside entity that changes conditions so that hybridization is unavoidable. A hybrid is more than two things smashed up against one another or some degree of sharing, or symbiosis. It is one new organism with DNA that is composed both of the original material and that which has mutated because of some undeniable NECESSITY. I think the ultimate bar for us is to figure out a system that is rooted in every unit of A&AA being interdependent; shared theoretical framework that drives programming, shared ethos, shared spaces, people, curriculum, creative practices, etc.
In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond writes about the difference between a Band/Clan system and a State system and how harmony is often that which comes from necessity. In a small system that is made up of people who are completely reliant on each other empathy and equity is directly tied to the health of the individual and as a result a necessary practice for the health of the group. How can we design a system that pushes past harmony and coexistence? How can we build something that knows in its bones that collaboration or interdisciplanarity is NECESSARY, without which the health of both the individual and the group is compromised?
We may need more than that which is mutually beneficial, interdisciplinary, reciprocal, or cooperative. Perhaps we need something akin to symbiosis but with everything at stake.
I too must deeply applaud the clarity, depth, and passion which has been put into the visioning plan, and it’s brilliant articulation by Mr. Mau. It is truly exciting and energizing to witness the spark of an evolution of the school.
The sense of immediacy that was in the air amongst the students and faculty after and during the presentation was not just due to the evocative nature of Bruce’s narrative. It is the product of a great deal of passion, desire, and anxiety that has existed for quite a while within the school, and very explicitly within certain departments. At first I was slightly disheartened Bruce’s lack of answer to my question of which of the many idea’s he presented would be most beneficial to pursue right now. However, with some thought, I’ve realized that it will be up to each community member to pursue the one they think will be the most useful towards this now, hopefully, shared vision.
I have a vision of a building and and a school that has one great big shop for making, designing, and thinking. This shop is central to the the community, culturally, socially, and spatially. It has a plethora of tools for all departments, and they can be used by all students in the school. Currently, this is a dream, and incredibly far away from reality. Currently, there are shops and tools for seemingly each and every class/department/certificate with endless barriers and permissions required to utilize most any tools.
I have one question to pose to the administrators of the A&AA and the departments: Are you willing to allow for this vision? Are you willing to break down the boundaries and barriers, created by line item budgets, hierarchical funding streams, and registration based budgets? Are you willing to loosen controls to allow for innovations? Is it possible to create a new model of administrating?
I believe that many of the students and faculty are itching to create the kind of innovation and collaborative environment presented in the vision plan, if only the foundational boundaries of money were loosened. There was nothing in yesterdays presentation about this issue, perhaps those who hold these reigns could enlighten us as to their plans.
New name for A&AA?
Paradoxrus.