Architecture Students In Hell

Satire as catharsis.

Il Pelicano | 2004-11-09

What started as a long letter to Dalhousie University’s ombudsman, became a shorter letter to the School of Architecture’s Director, then an open letter to the architecture student body, and eventually wound up as this first cartoon, tacked to the wall.

Yeah, probably the right medium.

On Timeliness

'Man, sometimes these crits go un-freakin-believably long. We were supposed to be done hours ago. If only there was some way to measure and track time mechanically.' 'Right. Even if it were possible, where would we find the expertise to run it? Or the discipline to check it? Or the desire to stop talking?' 'Amen brother. Sometimes the crits go so long I just zone it all out.' 'That's probably the hunger.' 'Or my bad attitude.' 'Or insulin shock.' 'Whichever.' 'Well it's not like I have anything better to do. Like cook a meal. Or leave this building.' 'Hey now, architecture is a 24-7 pursuit.' 'Given. But I didn't expect it to be on-call as well. Starting a one-and-a-half hour meeting, two hours late? Where's the respect?' 'Are you serious?' '...' 'Go on, say it.' 'We're their bitches.' 'There's a good girl.'

On Crits

'The trick to presenting is not to dangle any low-hanging fruit. Otherwise, the profs or visiting critics will jump all over it, and that's all the feedback you'll get.' 'Exactly. Like if you excavate too deeply, you'll be accused of hiding your building.' 'Or if you forget to put your name on a project, you'll be accused of self-effacement. And even the brief mention of a controversial topic wil result in a thorough bludgeoning.' 'I'm the worst at that. I get so nervous, I blurt out just about anything.' 'I like to picture the audience naked except for black socks and dog collars.' 'That's a classic presentation relaxation technique' 'Yeah... I guess you could do it for presentations.'

If the format looks familiar, that’s because it’s ripped from David Rees’ Get Your War On. Imitation, flattery, out.

Il Pelicano

Tuesday, November 9, 2004
PD DCLXXVII

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