Michael Meredith

(New Logue Lane) 1. The sun was either setting or rising, it was impossible to tell at that particular moment. 2. Maybe, Maybe not. 3. He said we could solve his problem using methods more advanced than squinting and meditation [concentration], more advanced than anything we could have imagined. And, even better, someone might make a fortune doing it. 4. Holding a dusty wooden prism, he asked each of us to choose: “Architecture or Revolution.” Maybe it was the thick accent, or maybe it was something else entirely, but I swear he said Architecture or Resolution. …unfortunately, we chose Architecture.

Architecture is a discipline plagued by its own insecurities, a curious mixture of optimism and pessimism, momentary successes and, more commonly, deep frustrations. In this new publication, Michael Meredith, Assistant Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, tackles the problems facing the discipline head-on, interrogating its internal dynamics and searching for a mode of practice that can survive amid the confusing, conflicting demands of contemporary culture. Nominally addressed to students entering the field, "Notes for those beginning the discipline of architecture" is a scathing take on the profession from one of its emerging young practitioners, outlining its pitfalls, its excruciating failures, and in spite of it all its undeniable potentials.

Walking Walking Looking Watching In and around Following directions There, I see I know that And that And there, another My device tells me It functions by directing my movements It is difficult to understand how it works

The Romance of Systems. Frank had finished his third Manhattan. Soon he would be talking about the “invisible grid” again. At the moment, he was shouting at no one in particular. F: Everything is a system. Architecture is about rules. You can’t just pick and choose. A crowd started to form, eager to watch. His rants were infectious. Alice quietly sipped her tonic water, closing her eyes, counting… 4 minutes and 33 seconds. She thought she heard someone reference Rancière, but couldn’t be sure. It was going to be a long night.