Introduction
The name of the podcast Radical Rethinking of the Role of Architect itself suggests how Business of Architecture, one of the sensational YouTube channels in the architecture realm has been trying to decode the responsibility of architects in the current scenario, which exclusively needs rational and radical rethinking about the whole practice. Additionally, the practicing architect chosen for this valuable podcast is one of the foremost architects in the world who is redefining the definition of architecture through his work, architect William Leddy. Architect William Leddy is the man working efficiently on his value-based architectural ground, by adapting to mindful changes this world is entailing from the architects.
William Leddy is one of the founders of Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, which has been leading the design environment consecutively for the past three decades. Honored with 175 awards including Regional, National, and international awards, this firm has also been recognized by organizations like AIA – American Institute of Architects, the French Institute of Architects, the Norwegian Association of Architects, the US Department of Energy, San Francisco museum of modern art, and National building museum. This firm recently released its second book Practice with Purpose – A Guide to Mission-driven Design.
If you are known to this firm’s work folio you will get the hype, but if you do not identify why this practicing firm is getting all this attention, then this podcast curated by Business of Architecture will narrate the journey of this mission-driven firm and will reveal the resilient and relevant niche of architecture this firm is trying to construct in this modern world. This podcast is going to provide a guide for aspiring architects by preparing them for the uncertain future.
Podcast by Business of Architecture
How it all started
Ar. William Leddy proudly starts to recall the mindful journey of their venture in architecture, by answering curious questions of the host which every architecture student or fresh architecture graduate will also be prying off. Leddy, Maytum and Stacy were practicing together in 1980 and at that time they embarked on this journey by publishing their first book Constructed Reality in the late 90’s. When they managed to join their forces and spirits together efficiently, they established this value-based, mission-driven firm in the year 2000, to yield an empathetic approach to architecture.
Facade treatment of Edwin M. Lee Apartments
Their values were clear, their firm wanted to make a better world by providing a curative architecture. These optimistic ideals shifted their projects from big profit-gaining jobs to building responsible architecture, working for NGOs, and designing houses for homeless people, disabled veterans, and schools. This shift not only helped them gain the tag of being a mindful architecture firm but also made them more empathetic towards the rapidly changing world. This whole inspirational conversation is presented in detail in the podcast, where the architect also explains how this value-based work folio inspired them to write their newly published book Practice with Purpose.
Courtyard of Edwin M. Lee Apartments
Breaking some stereotypes
Honestly, the host asks Ar. William Leddy about how their noble orientation in this business-oriented field helps them make a decent amount of money. The answer pledged by the humble architect showcases their difficulties and outshines their ideology. Ar. William Leddy admits the economic constraints the firm faces while designing mission-driven projects but also glorifies the joy and ecstasy they get by uplifting the design process to enhance the quality of life for those who engage in them. He provides some details about how the whole design process works in these crucial conditions and how they overcome the challenges encountered during the entire process.
The Ed Roberts campus
The podcast showcases how every move in the complete design process counts and how it effectively culminates into mindful architecture. In this particular section, the architect also puts forward some advice for young architects who struggle in their early practices of architecture and suggests some sensible ideas to help them bring their skills in the right direction. Not only this architect also wittily explains what to avoid when initializing a conscious architectural journey. While explaining all this, he bravely mentions their first affordable housing project, Edwin M Lee Apartments, where they worked on the design to provide warmth to the homeless people through architecture and how this project helped them dignify this unheard community.
Architects need to be problem solvers!
By watching the podcast, where the host and architect multiple times discuss the role of architecture and architects in these rapidly changing times, one can get a clear picture of how brutal the effects architecture can have on nature if it is not designed mindfully and strategically. Host of Business of Architecture segmented this explanation under the section climate change, where architect Leddy exclusively mentions the grave impacts humans are embarking on nature, which we need to work on. And, without sugarcoating the dialogue he brutally admits that it is high time!
Sustainable elevation of NUEVA School
While continuing, the architect puts light on the role of the architect in this demanding time, where he suggests practicing architects to be the leaders of the community by becoming problem solvers and being service providers who design artful solutions. He claims climate change has provided architects with a responsibility to uplift their architecture by advocating for a sustainable future. Architecture from his perspective, does not need to be only graced externally, but every architectural building should have high performance value in this society.
NUEVA School campus
After being asked by the host about the architect’s initiatives inclined towards this modern issue of climate change, the architect talks about his role as president in climate action for AIA California and his work on uplifting the building codes and how it will hold architecture and its allied community account for their carbon emission. To conclude this discussion, he says we are now on the threshold of an era of creativity and reverence from this, architects can learn why their role has become more of the responsibility to tackle this challenge of climate change.
Differences in Design culture
Architecture is the profession with the highest energy consumption. Because architecture involves the use of most of the energy sources and also highly emits the sourced energy in the form of CO2 emissions. Energy consumption and its effects have been normalized in this architecture profession so badly that green architecture is a term differently allocated to mindful practices only. But, Ar. Leddy explains how differences in design culture need to be forged now, where every architect needs to be the green architect, and every architecture should be green architecture.
Michael J. Homer Science and Student Life Center campus
He advises practicing architects to go beyond building codes and shift their building structure from just to the mindful creation. While suggesting this, he narrates the design culture that they follow in their firm. From scheduling, and cost estimation, to the role of their designers, he explains how their mindful journey is managing to withstand this demanding cultural change in this profession of architecture. He glorifies their attitude of making the most with the least and how it has proven to be successful in making mindful cultural change in architecture.
Michael J. Homer Science and Student Life Center Auditorium
Advised conclusion
San Francisco Art Institute as an example of successful adaptive reuse
Empathy in the design process brings all the curative aspects this world needs currently, in this value-based profession called architecture. While concluding all the conversation, this podcast focuses on the role of the architect in this changing time, where Ar. Leddy advises young practitioners and fresh graduates to passionately venture into this value-based architecture profession with a mindful value structure, where beauty will not only be exhibited on the external facades but will also be infused deeply within the skin of the structure, which will elevate the whole design process and showcase the word the importance and relevance of architecture. As a viewer, this podcast motivates aspiring architects and generates a sense of responsibility in their architectural practice.
References:
Business of Architecture (2023) 217: Radical Rethinking of the Role of the Architect w/ Bill Leddy of Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Rnxzzp16o.
Housing | LMSA (no date). https://www.lmsarch.com/projects.
