Having recently watched The Brutalist, a fictional film about a complicated but visionary architect, I thought I would share other depictions and perceptions of architects in the popular domain, most stereotypes, others with a touch of truth. . . We start with a Google search which yields a trove of digital images, no different from print images of yore. Although architects now work on computers, a typical architect is still shown working on a ‘blueprint’. Or a group of architects hovering over a drawing, pointing. On drawing are the ‘tools of the trade’- scale (ok), triangle, colored pencils and fat markers (?), a compass (??), a protractor (???), and a calculator (because ‘architecture is half art, half math’ right?). . . Then there is the architect on construction site, with hard hat on head and drawings in hand. . . The Wikipedia image is an 1893 engraving of a man at his drafting board. . . There are the individuals- Architect of literature and film- Howard Roark in The Fountainhead- complicated and unyielding. Real-life ‘Master’ Frank Lloyd Wright, the one (usually only) architect any American can name- complicated, demanding, visionary. Contrast that with TV’s Mike Brady- always smiling, able to juggle work-life balance, a pioneer in WFH before Zoom or email. . . I took a look at toys- see Barbie with her hard hat and roll of drawings. And Lego’s architect, androgynous in form, wearing a hard hat and what looks to be a man’s suit, but the ponytail tells you she’s female!. . . And games. In Queen’s Architect, player ‘assembles a competent band of craftsmen’ and ‘assists the people with small repairs or farm work’, eventually winning the commission for the new royal palace. Yay! But beware, in Architects of the West Kingdom, players must ‘keep a watchful eye on their workforce’ and avoid underhanded deals. . . .We all wear black (so much so, there is a book). . . And funny eye glasses. . . AI portrayals of architects are similar to the other stock photo images online, but rendered with funny hands. In the future, we’ll finally be paper-free and work with cool headseats and lighting. . . Here's a few AI-generated images of me as an architect in my modern corner office, in my converted industrial loft studio, in my underground ‘bunker-style’ office . . . And a real-life photo of me in my office today!
