I like to maintain a passing interest in designers striking out on their own, mainly to see what twist of fate pushes them to leave the safety of PAYE. Sometimes there\u2019s even a project for us to devour, fresh out of the oven, zooming into exposure-adjusted interiors, eye-rolling at \u2018candid\u2019 shots, Google image-searching finishes to find the cost per square metre. Don\u2019t act like you don\u2019t know what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n
Decades of working at very-high-turnover (and inherently snarky) practices have made me keenly aware how hard it is to make it alone in architecture. Maybe I just have a predilection for gossip. Whatever the reason, we all know better than to believe what we read on the internet. Besides, I can usually manage a \u2018good for you!\u2019<\/p>\n
But this guy. This guy isn\u2019t worth the carpet tile he\u2019s standing on. This guy bullied, he lied, he harassed. He expensed all-night benders, gave cash bonuses to his \u2018studio bros\u2019 and boasted about \u2018only hiring 10s\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This guy couldn\u2019t draw, so learned to humiliate, ordered midnight changes and backtracked the next morning, routinely revoking people\u2019s annual leave last minute. He quit just before the proverbial hit the fan, \u2018following new opportunities\u2019 before he could be kicked out for plagiarising an interviewee\u2019s work. For this guy, sure, I\u2019ll risk some bad karma.<\/p>\n Several ex-colleagues sent me the same link, seeking company while we pick at details and undermine his account with our own memories. He\u2019s designed a \u2018lake-front pavilion\u2019 apparently \u2013 so far, so cool. Oh but wait, no, it\u2019s a \u2018restoration\u2019 of a \u2018romantic, ruined shell\u2019 with a leaking roof. Sustainability first, go off, king. Hang on, the \u2018pivotal intervention\u2019 is \u2026 a new concrete roof. That \u2018artfully doubles up\u2019 as \u2026 a floor. Amazing. Souto de Moura must be kicking himself.<\/p>\n The journalist continues to simper about how the \u2018floorplate performs spatial gymnastics\u2019 (there\u2019s one room) with \u2018thoughtful interventions\u2019, like a sink and a door. I\u2019m cackling now. No, no, stop it, I can\u2019t take any more. Apparently, the brackish lake water and \u2018relentless\u2019 climate required really long-lasting materials \u2026 hence the reinforced concrete, with a bit of \u2018local terroir to connect the structure with its surroundings\u2019. A dirty concrete mix then. Fabulous.<\/p>\n Anyway, aren\u2019t you supposed to galvanise steel reinforcement, within a certain distance of salt water, to avoid oxidation? Nope, he\u2019s \u2018innovating\u2019 with \u2018low-carbon\u2019 technology (untreated re-bar) as a way to \u2018mark the passage of time\u2019. Presumably hoping the concrete blows after the warranty expires, in a contract I know he can\u2019t interpret for himself, because I always did it for him. I notice one of the photos has a blurry soffit \u2013 what is that? The next photo is nice and clear, so you can see the huge crack in the slab. Oops, writing the spec never was your strong suit. Nor telling the truth.<\/p>\n I listen to an ex-colleague\u2019s agitated voice note, which starts with \u2018No disrespect but \u2026\u2019 and ends with \u2018\u2026 a trowel to the back of the head\u2019. I cackle again as I re-read the final line of the article \u2013 that the design \u2018rejected iconography\u2019 and was \u2018a study of restraint\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hang on, that sounds like the kind of overblown rhetoric that I would use. I dig out the final competition book I wrote when we worked together, and flick through to the concluding page. There it is, charcoal grey on off-white: he\u2019s lifted my description of our aborted boutique hotel project for his press release! And some hack has copy-pasted it in lieu of an opinion.<\/p>\n I\u2019m so delighted, I do a little jig. Once a grifter, always a grifter. I\u2019m breathless, overjoyed, relieved. No need for jealousy, or insecurity, or to be incensed. False alarm! Still, I\u2019m awake now, with new fuel in the fire of my own grind. Knuckles crack, phone on flight mode. Karma\u2019s a b*tch and I have a point to prove. Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I like to maintain a passing interest in designers striking out on their own, mainly to see what twist of fate pushes them to leave the safety of PAYE. Sometimes there\u2019s even a project for us to devour, fresh out of the oven, zooming into exposure-adjusted interiors, eye-rolling at \u2018candid\u2019 shots, Google image-searching finishes to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9844,"featured_media":738105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[72352],"yoast_head":"\n