Tea matters (130/365)

[white_hart]

The trouble with architects is that they seem to see buildings as primarily artistic, and not functional. Which is why every time we have a meeting about our new building it ends up overrunning with lots of people asking questions such as:

Where are people supposed to make tea?

Will there be a quiet space for people to sit and eat lunch?

If the kitchen is in the open foyer area, how do we make sure that people don't take other people's food, or personal mugs, or wine that's cooling for receptions? And who is going to tidy things up when (inevitably) people don't put their cups in the dishwasher?

Yes, but really, tea is actually important, and it just feels like it's been shoved in here as an afterthought. And no, saying "but there will be a cafe in the building" doesn't help, because who wants to pay through the nose for a teabag and some indifferently hot water?

And that is why this afternoon's committee meeting overran by 45 minutes and left me incapable of spending the rest of the day doing anything other than filing my email. Which, to be fair, did need doing.

Comments

[conuly]

Oh god, architects. I got into it just this past year when I read an article about ventilation in a particular NYC public school that was built without windows. There are skylights for light. Apparently, they leak and also they don't let in enough natural light and both teachers and students have been complaining about this for decades.

And this other guy is arguing that it's not the architect's fault that the general public is just too stupid to understand his brilliant vision. Listen, if your vision doesn't involve windows then your vision is wrong!

Every variation on his argument was more inane than the last. "The building is fine, the problems are the result of deferred maintenance!" Even if that's so, I kinda think that if you're designing for the NYC government, you really need to take deferred maintenance and budget cuts into account. I've been in NYC public school buildings three times as old as this one that were still trucking along with basically duct taped floors, because they were built to higher standards. "Windows are a distraction!" Everything is a distraction if the teacher didn't write an engaging lesson plan, but if this is such a problem then I feel like window blinds are a better solution. "People are just stupid!" Yes, that was actually what he fell back on. People may be stupid, I guess, but who the hell is the building even for?

People like windows!

[serriadh]

We had the opposite problem when architects designed a building with two drama studios (for teaching students) which had floor-to-ceiling windows on at least one side. Despite the "requirements capture" specifying the need to create a black box environment, hang and test different lighting rigs, etc. etc. Natural Light Is Good For Art!! they said. It Is Creative To See Outdoors!!

[white_hart]

Ours is going to have a black box theatre, but it will be in the basement so can't really have Unexpected Windows.

[conuly]

Oh, no, there are ways to make that happen.

[serriadh]

They might just see it as a challenge!