Sun-Up Conversations

Posted below is a segment from the Lex Fridman Podcast. There are a variety of interesting topics that provoke the mind and challenge everything. I came across this podcast and although I have never heard of Balaji, I am glad that I decided to listen. What really captivated my attention was the time of almost eight hours. I instantly thought “Man, what are they going to talk about?” Maybe they are sitting next to a bonfire by the beach with a full cooler and get into those good ‘ol talks about life and meaning and the universe. When I listened further, the conversation took me back to my final year in architecture school.

The professional architecture program is five years and the amount of work makes it feel like a stretch. It was a place to work and create and pour your energy into something. I remember the professors always saying: “Don’t get married to your projects.” I also remember saying: “Buuuulllshiit!” Those projects are like life.

I went fully against the grain and I was astonished by how students would just get in line and go with the flow. I recall a colleague asking why I defended my projects so valiantly. I replied: “The university is the best time to challenge your own ideas and stretch your limits as far as possible. When you get a job some manager is going to be cracking the whip and when you become the boss you have to collaborate which can get muddy. This is the moment!”

The look I received back was like “ok, whatever man.”

Oh, back to my story…

During the fifth and final year of your design work, there is a brief conference about two weeks before graduation with your professor and they examine the progress of your final project and thesis (I investigated Architecture and Media). The professor comes to your studio desk area and you show your current progress and delineate what the next steps are and what will ultimately be your final project; a model and some presentation boards.

The meeting went well and I was approved to complete my university studies. It is this great moment, sort of like a pre-graduation. You have the conference, get your cap and gown pictures taken and mail out invitations to the big day.

A few days after that meeting many of the students that made great progress let their hair and the atmosphere is more relaxed - at least for me. Late one night there was a bunch of us working in the studio and a few of us gathered to take a break in a hallway just outside the studio doors. There was a collection of the mysterious tasting vending machine lattes, mini cookie packs, donuts, and potato chips. For hours and hours we sat there and talked about architecture and cities and the built environment. We spoke of life and dreams and next moves after school. There were a few reflections and multiple gripes. We sat there engaged as a group, like we were plugged into the universe and each other.

That moment was without doubt the greatest moment of my architecture school experience. I am a bit disconnected when it comes to colleagues and networking. I have always used that moments as a measure of the level of conversations and it has been challenging to find that type of engagement. Those moments are worth more than gold and they are the spice of life! Those moments hail to an era long passed where the only form of transferring information was through the spoken word. It took me back to a time where people were robustly connected through clarity and compromise.

I remember when the first couple of people bowed out and got back to work. I remember the sky changing color as the sun’s daily battle with the night began to swing back in its favor. That was it. It was the conversation with that special lady in your life that you wished would never end. It really felt like that. I was the last one to go. I had this short, sharp feeling like I may never have a deep moment like that again with extremely intelligent people that was free of time constraints or business or networking obligations. I took my quarter mile walk home to my dingy one room apartment. I passed through the park adjacent to the L.A. Colosseum. There would only be a few more walks like this and this page of the adventure would wrap up and a new chapter would begin. There were so many new questions to create and answer. There was so much of everything.