Article 4, "Attractor Patterns", February 15, 2014

Here it is, another Architect Denied article. After learning about Gaia and the earth system we place our monumental structures in, I thought it best to understand why a particular piece of architecture exists as it does. This may seem like very esoteric talk and one you may not be following but please bear with me. Most architects dream of creating great works of architecture and maybe gaining some fame and fortune. Typically, the architect does not win in any respect (maybe monetarily) when he produces bad architecture. However we know that a preponderance of horrible architecture exists with a smattering of decent architecture in this world. So what happened, did architects just give up trying to produce great architecture? Didn't I just write that most architects "dream of creating great works of architecture?" That's true but unfortunately most architects won't get a shot at designing notable works, much less the iconic architecture you are familiar with. It's like trying to make it into the NBA, or  the NFL or becoming a famous actor, it's pretty rare. Could it be that difficult you may be wondering? Well if you insist on wanting to know and for those embarking on this career path, I can only state the obvious: go to the best school possible, get the best grades, try to get a position in a famous firm....blah blah blah. Unfortunately most architects will not have the pedigree or the backing of a benefactor either through nepotism or wealth (what's this, Charles Dicken's Great Expectations?) Sometimes it's who you know or just plain dumb luck that advances you higher (who says it's through hard work and smarts?) Most of us will not be given the chance to design a skyscraper (not being a downer here, it's just the reality of it) Most of us will have to work extremely hard to get a shot at something less but that's where most of our architecture happens. As our everyday architecture shows us, most architects are not superstar designers (or at least don't put every ounce of effort into it), however my colleagues would not be caught dead admitting they are nothing short of a rock star designer. It's not too hard to disprove the, "I'm the undiscovered super star designer " self deception because for every one Empire State Building, Guggenheim Museum, Falling Water and whatever other famous structure you can think of, are thousands of crappy strip malls and millions of suburban edifices some architect designed. Wait! screams the architect, there are reasons beyond my control for that! (Architect Denied?) Might I add Mr. blogger, didn't you just write most of us architects are not given the chance to create great works? What else could I do? Well that leads me to my fourth law of architecture; my way of addressing why architecture exists as it does meanwhile giving you an inside on how to get to the top or at least taking you to task.

Now if you are not an architect, good for you, because this information about why things exist the way they do applies to you just as well. It's called the concept of "Attractor Patterns." It's a theory I learned about in David Hawkins book, Power vs Force which correlates with Rupert Sheldrake's "Morphogentic fields". Here's a brief explanation  from his book, quote: "We can intuit, then, an infinite domain of infinite potential -consciousness itself- within which there is an enormously powerful attractor fields organizing all human behavior ... these fields, in turn, dominate behavior, so that definable patterns are consistent across cultures and time..."  Is this some new age BS you are asking? No, in my opinion, let me make the argument before you stop reading. I won't explain in detail Hawkins entire concept as that would take an entire book to do (read Power vs Force) but in a nut shell, and according to how I interpret it in my own life, here it is. When we set a goal we set on a path to achieve that goal. That path you choose, your thoughts, your decisions, your views and beliefs lead you to certain attractor patterns or a sphere of influence just waiting for you to adopt or become a part of. In the case of negative attractor patterns it's not unlike what your parents told you growing up, "I don't want you hanging around with so and so, they are a bad influence!"  Now as an adult, this concern applies to your work as well. So let me tell you how this pertains to architects in their path to a career in architecture. Take exhibit "A" (this should be read Rod Serling style) a young hopeful kid who dreams of becoming a great architect wants to design great buildings. This young dreamer goes to school graduates with a degree in architecture but also with massive debt and maybe desperate desire. Now because he is not a graduate of MIT (just choosing a big name at random)  he cannot get a rock-star paying position to pay off his debts. So he settles for a cubicle job or some road side architectural firm feeding sprawl. Whether or not he realized it and believe me he won't, he is sucked into a vicious attractor pattern. The attractor pattern starts to swirl above your head, you begin to get slowly sucked in. You now start aiding in the production of low grade architecture, you may aid in the destruction of beautiful buildings to make way for edifices of greed  and do things you would otherwise never consider doing. This unfortunate exposure to this detrimental energy starts to slowly drain you of your hopes and dreams. Soon you become identified with low grade and begin attracting others who have fallen into the same pattern. You move on only to find that you now know no other way and become the problem (like Oppenheimer's famous utterance, " Now I am become death". wow that's way too dramatic!)  You have become an instrument of sprawl, tenement misery, strip malls, and the rest of earth built pollution. Ah but you say IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I don't get paid to do better, local bureaucrats have tied my hands, my clients demand garbage and I need to survive! But no I say, you've fallen into a negative attractor pattern and yes you are in that twilight zone spiral but you can get out.  So my advice to the kid with the gleam in his eye who wants to design skyscrapers don't fall into the attractor patterns of doom. Parents, please have your kids read this blog and start them down the road of success! To those who are already caught in the pattern of doom, get out. Learn to spot that dark spiral cloud as early as possible and run the other way but you won't I fear, you need the money, you need to survive, I know... now here is Mr. Oppenheimer with some words of wisdom for you... this concludes our Twilight zone episode of the Architect Denied.