Down Detour Road: An Architect in Search of Practice

by Eric J. Cesal

A young architect's search for new architectural values in a time of economic crisis. I paused at the stoop and thought this could be the basis of a good book. The story of a young man who went deep into the bowels of the academy in order to understand architecture and found it had been on his doorstep all along. This had an air of hokeyness about it, but it had been a tough couple of days and I was feeling sentimental about the warm confines of the studio which had unceremoniously discharged me upon the world.—from Down Detour Road What does it say about the value of architecture that as the world faces economic and ecological crises, unprecedented numbers of architects are out of work? This is the question that confronted architect Eric Cesal as he finished graduate school at the onset of the worst financial meltdown in a generation. Down Detour Road is his one that begins off-course, and ends in a hopeful new vision of architecture. Like many architects of his generation, Cesal confronts a cold reality. Architects may assure each other of their own importance, but society has come to view architecture as a luxury it can do without. For Cesal, this recognition becomes an occasion to rethink architecture and its value from the very core. He argues that the times demand a new architecture, an empowered architecture that is useful and relevant. New architectural values emerge as our cultural values from high risks to safe bets, from strong portfolios to strong communities, and from clean lines to clean energy.This is not a book about how to run a firm or a profession; it doesn't predict the future of architectural form or aesthetics. It is a personal story—and in many ways a generational a story that follows its author on a winding detour across the country, around the profession, and into a new architectural reality.

Genres: Architecture

238 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2010

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this in the used section at Harvard Book Store and figured it’d be an interesting read as I begin my architecture education. The author makes some reasoned (if not unique) critiques of the state of the profession, but gets bogged down by his own writing style, I think. Emblematic of this is a 5-page description of the implications of buying music on iTunes (complete with some glaring Econ 101 errors) that’s supposed to help explain risk, but is never really tied to architecture. Likewise, the memoir segments interspersed throughout didn’t add much. And some of his predictions about how society and the economy would change after the 2008 recession haven’t aged well, which casts aspersions on the rest of his judgment. There are still interesting tidbits that are worth pondering in here, but it was a bit of a slog finding them.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing at the height of the financial crisis, the author sets out to explore his feelings of inadequacy and despair as a newly minted architect. How could architecture as a craft and science be brought back from its postmodern demise and irrelevancy? Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, there are a lot of fundamentally important questions raised. Probably more interesting for the non-professional as an outside-in view. Would it surprise the author to hear that other professions are also struggling to find a clear-cut self-image that makes life easier in a fractured world of rampant consumerism?

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because Detour Road, as an architect, was a familiar place for me!

[Libros de Arquitectura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Después de terminar la carrera de arquitectura y una maestría en negocios Eric J. Cesal se enfrenta ante un pequeño problema. La peor recesión económica azotaba a los Estados Unidos provocando que toda la industria de la construcción se viniera abajo. Ante este panorama el Eric J. Cesal decide escribir para mantenerse ocupado y aliviar la preocupación que cualquier persona tendría ante este difícil panorama. En este texto que se percibe como un claro ejercicio de catarsis y por momentos anecdótico, Cesal plasma algunas de sus ideas sobre la el papel del arquitecto y en general de la arquitectura. A lo largo del libro muestra con una visión muy aguada e inteligente algunas de las inquietudes que surgieron a lo largo de años de preparación académica y frustración profesional. El autor es muy contundente y directo al grado de afirmar que el hecho de concluir los estudios de arquitectura, no garantizan que una persona se convierta en arquitecto o arquitecta.

Economía, cultura, tecnología, negocios, riesgos y fama son analizadas desde una perspectiva con una fuerte influencia del rol social y protagónico que puede tener el arquitecto. De esta forma audaz, se relacionan temas que, a primera vista no pudieran tener relación alguna. Es así que se plantea la idea de que la pobreza hace a una persona mas sustentable ya que como Cesal lo narra: “me dí cuenta que tenia más tiempo que dinero, por eso caminaba o usaba transporte público en lugar de comprar un auto”. Ideas como las anteriores son plasmadas de forma ligera, divertida y por momentos, sarcástica.

Sin duda este texto debe ser considerado como el primer “manifiesto” o tratado ligero de la arquitectura del nuevo siglo. Sonará muy pretensioso, pero al no haber otras opciones Down Detour Road, se enfila a convertirse en un texto paradigmático. Sin duda un libro que cualquier estudiante y profesional de la arquitectura debe revisar con el objetivo de darse una pausa para reflexionar sobre el presente y el futuro de la profesión. Futuro que hoy en día se nos presenta como una nueva realidad, de la cual Cesal afirma que: “como arquitectos, debemos repensar y replantear nuestros métodos para responder a esta nueva realidad y no solo quedarnos a esperar que el trabajo se levante otra vez”. ¿Que sentimientos deja esta lectura? en realidad son muchos, pero el más significado es que el libro se convierte en un recordatorio del papel que debe asumir cada arquitecto en su sociedad y su tiempo.

www.librosdearquitectura.com.mx

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts rough — there are odd turns of phrase, derivative constructions throughout (one early chapter all but started by quoting from a dictionary definition of a word), and enough metaphorical explanations using abstract generalizations that sound just plausible enough to be true (like the distinction between kings and sorcerers, or the description of everyone’s favorite bartender). There’s just enough there to make me question whether the author had enough editing and fact-checking at his disposal during the writing of the book, but some of the stuff he says are thoughts similar to my own:

At any rate, there were no jobs for “architect” as I understood that term. It occurred to me that over the last generation, while a bunch of smart people anguished over the distinction between “architect” and “designer” and “intern architect” or “interior architect,” someone stole our damn name.

Once we’re past the first third of the book, Cesal really finds his rhythm talking about the different sorts of architecture that could (but doesn’t) exist. The writing starts to pick up dramatically, becoming a much more concisely argued premise. Cesal’s voice is an important one in post-post-modern architecture, but having been through it some part of my career, I remain jaded that any change will come from within the practice itself. If architecture changes, it won’t happen internally and it will only be slightly affected by outside pressures, like the economy; it would take an entire army of very smart, former architects, who have left the industry and re-entered it for the singular goal of disrupting the old guard into extinction.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the author's attempts to clarify that this is NOT a professional manifesto, but something more like a memoir of his professional struggles....I still wanted it to be a manifesto. He's an articulate writer and the book is filled with good insights about the gap between an idealistic architectural student and the reality of finding architecture itself undervalued as a profession. As far as a memoir goes, it's not insightful enough to be satisfying. As far as a manifesto goes, it's not comprehensive enough. So it didn't quite deliver on either level. By the middle of the book, I found myself reading 2-3 pages of each chapter and flipping through the rest. Not a good sign.

Nice try, though. Really nice try. So close.

[Amy Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that is truly thought provoking for anyone within in the architecture profession, but particularly so for someone recently graduated. Many of what he writes are what I wish I learned when I first entered architecture school. The books takes a realistic look into what architecture truly is to our society.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few of us at my office read this together. Most found it disappointing, looking for a comprehensive manifesto on where we ought to be as a profession. I just thought it asked some of the right questions, which was enough for me. After he wrote the book, the author started working for Architecture for Humanity in Haiti- I would like to see him write a book about that.

[Thomas Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can see my thoughts on this book here:
http://twwarch.wordpress.com/2014/01/...

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required school read 📚