Someone a couple days ago asked me what I thought about Robert AM Stern...
You don’t know what you’ve done!  Here's the "short" version of the novel...

First, an aside on the Digest mode -- be careful with it, I've had the
tendency to let those BP digests pile up on my computer before reading them,
hence the procrastination in sending this missive (Procrastination is the
architect’s greatest enemy -- well, other than RAMS)

I suppose I should give a little background:  I was trained in architecture
prior to attending Columbia, so I was well aware of the "trial by fire" jury
process.  You would think that five years of hell would have prepared me...
Another background note: I am not a fan of Mr. Stern’s architecture (I think
of most postmodern buildings as monstrosities and am afraid that someday I
will be forced to preserve them)!  We studied Stern's work quite a bit back
in undergrad and as I see it, his design "sensibility" is actually senseless
and vain (much like his personality), although obviously his clients like
it.  So, although my friends were excited for me, I was not too pleased to
be studying under RAMS at Columbia and may have taken my feelings toward his
design into account while on the firing line of the jury...

My first public interaction with RAMS was at the end of first year, when we
attempted to defend our preservation plan -- it was not the best plan, but
we were forced to defend it nonetheless -- I was chosen to present the
design side of the plan and am afraid that I got into a bit of a row with
the man.  I had my first stone-sober cigarette that day and drank
sufficiently that night to block the details out of my mind to this day,
although everyone said I did great and that RAMS would hate me from then
on...  They were right.

The second episode was one of those wonderful "day of reckoning" things...
Stern slouched back and peered at me with his beady little eyes and decided
to talk about all the ills of Minneapolis rather than my thesis...  (For
John Callan and others "in the know": I was trying to find a way to
integrate the Shubert Theatre on Minneapolis's Block E into Ray Harris's
original "entertainment center" building program from the late 1980s -- this
was just before the city started talking about moving the theatre, and it
had been out of the news for several years).

My most hateful joust with RAMS occurred during my first and only one-on-one
critique in his office.  I had been working on my thesis for almost a year
by then (mostly doing research) and had worked on the design part for at
least three or four months...  Of course, RAMS was busy, uninterested, and
not actually listening to me.  He also did not give me an opportunity to
explain the program or the history of the issue -- just wanted to see my
design in process.  When he saw my thoughts on the skyway system, he accused
me of having a second-rate architecture degree and told me that I should not
be doing a design thesis -- I obviously wasn't qualified!  Again, the ills
of Minneapolis came up -- especially the skyways.  Now, anyone in
Minneapolis knows that skyways are typically included in downtown building
design here -- for the block to be commercially successful, it almost always
has to be attached to the rest of the system.  Since I am not a huge fan of
the system, however, I reinvented the skyway system in my block (a thesis in
itself) and Stern was extremely hostile about it all.  The outcome of the
meeting:  the one and only time I have ever cried because of a so-called
"desk crit"

My final review, after the work was done, Stern was impressed by my analysis
of the original theatre's design, the urban design, and by my drafting and
graphic skills (ink on mylar -- yes, it still exists).  Although the
discussion still took a turn for the worse when it came to talking about
Minneapolis, I didn't put up with his shit this time around and, in the end,
he complimented me (imagine that!)  For a brief moment, I held a teensy bit
of respect for the man.  I eventually won an award for outstanding thesis
and a bit of respect for myself back...

I could go on and on, but I'm ranting and must get back to work...

Sign me, Survived the RAMS Rath
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