My Manifesto: The Incoherent Ramblings of a Madman

The next few phrases should never be uttered in the same few sentences:

"I know"
"I'm an architect"
"crack propagation in concrete"
"stormwater pipes"
"drought"
"retaining wall design"
"retaining wall construction"

This guy rings up to complain about a stormwater pipe leaking in his backyard that was investigated by Council and shown to have been caused by the homeowner (or previous homeowner) puting the retaining wall through the middle of the stormwater pipe. Apparently because he's an architect he:

"know[s] all about retaining wall design and retaining wall construction" and he

"know[s] that if a pipe is cracked it will leak straight away!"

Despite the fact that it hasn't significantly rained since the retaining wall was put in until now.

I tried to settle the disgruntled person down by attempting to make him see commonsense:

"Firstly, we have been in a drought since the retaining wall was put in. Secondly, crack propagation in a concrete pipe takes time when there is sporadic flows through the concrete pipe due to it being merely stormwater which is not underpressure. And thirdly, as I had said in the beginning of our conversation, we have been advised not to say anything until we have discussed the matter further with our lawyer"

To which he again insisted:

"I'm an architect - I know these things! What you're saying is a bunch of crap"

In all honesty - what does he know about any of this because he's an architect? He's not qualified to know about any of this as an architect. He very well could know about it, but being an architect doesn't qualify him to know about it! Being an architect may well be purely coincidental - he may be an architect that knows about crack propagation in concrete and retaining walls but he was so insistant that because he's an architect he knows these things.


First year Architecture Course ARCH111 and 112:

Sketching
Diagramming
Architectural Drawings
Presentation Drawings
Modeling
Media
Technical Drawings

Design is Creative Problem Solving, in the Realm of Culture
Inspirational Design
Oracles and Dialecticians
Taming the Bush
The Global and the Local
An Urban Vision of Australian Design
Design as Frozen Culture
Design Rhetoric
The Canon of Gurus
Prospects for Design Professionals

Site Studies
Living in NSW. The "Tocal" setting
Australian Sites & landscapes
Landscapes of Humankind
Human, nature, landscape and site
Site Description & Analysis
Drawing Site and Climate
Surveying Skills

Room wall door window: design for eye, body, emotions
Edges and Entries
Sitting the Site

Sun angles and Orientation
Water: the essential resource
Ethics: Green and Sustainable Design

Design Studies:
Form and function
Planning strategies
Problem solving models

Design Integration:
An introduction to the theoretical and practical concepts and terms of architecture;
An understanding of architectural design processes and related techniques and outcomes;
Perceive and communicate existing and imagined architectural conditions;
Work singly and within small groups on architectural design tasks;
An understanding of professional architectural roles, relationships and activities.


Information Literacy:
PBL - what is it?
Endnote Training
Working in Teams
Academic Writing Skills
How to Assess Creativity
Reflective Writing
Facilitation of Teams
Presentation Styles
Reflective Journals in Design
Executive Summary of Reflection

Basic Construction:
Materials and Structural Principle
Grounding of Structures and Floor Framing
Wall Framing and Linings
Concrete Slabs
Masonry Walls
Detailing of Opening in Walls
Composite Construction
Introduction to Detailing
Architect in Focus

Communication Skills: Electronic Communication
CAD software
2D modelling
3D modelling
CAD conventions
CAD presentation skills
Printing and Troubleshooting

Second Year Architecture ARCH211 and 212
Design Integration:
Introduce house building type
House: Brief and site analysis
House: Developing the concept design
House: Concept presentation
House: Developing the schematic design
Introduce "extreme" student competition
Presenting the submission
Developed Design: Drawings
Developed Design: Presentation
Developed Design: Feedback

Historical Studies: History of Western Architecture
Egypt
Greece
Rome
Byzantine
Romanesque
Gothic
Renaissance
Baroque
18th Century
19th Century
Pre-Modern

Environmental Studies:
Site Analysis for the domestic brief

The human group and the living site
Inside/ Outside: Room and Site
Living in the Australian house and landscape
Historic & emerging ideas in landscape

Dwelling, light and sunlight
Architectural acoustics
NatHERS, BASIX + council guidelines

ESD: Ecology and accountability
A sustainable landscape: Newcastle University campus tour
Environmental Health: theories, strategies and outcomes

Design Studies:
Conceptual design
Proportion
Aestehtics of materials

Design Integration:
Threshold, clay: Introduce threshold, privacy gradient
Group housing building type
Housing: Concept, stormwater, solar, shadow principles
Housing: Privacy gradient, concept
Housing: Schematic, DA issues
Housing: Presentation of the schematic
Fast House
Detail Design
Working Drawings

Historical Studies: 20th Century Movements in Architecture
Futurism
Constructivism
Functionalism
Brutalism
Rationalism
Metabolism
Eclecticism
Classicism
Regionalism
High-Tech
Deconstructionism
Complexitism

Technical Studies: Domestic Construction
Overview of domestic construction
The framed house
The masonry Veneer and solid masonry house
Houses constructed of earth and concrete
Walls and roofs - special linings and details
Detailing of stairs, balustrades and the outdoor room
Working drawings
Kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and cabinets
Detailing

Communication Skills: Electronic Communication
CAD software
2D modelling
3D modelling
CAD conventions
CAD presentation skills
Printing and Troubleshooting

Third year architecture ARCH311 and 312:

Design Integration:
Issues relating to public building types
New scale of public, institutional clients and a wider diversity of building users
Range of historical models from Australian and overseas relating to the formal and cultural issues present
Presentation of technical information

Historical Studies: History of Western Architecture
Egypt
Greece
Rome
Byzantine
Romanesque
Gothic
Renaissance
Baroque
18th Century
19th Century
Pre-Modern

Technical Studies: Commercial Buildings
Historical overview of structures
Timber concepts/detailing
Steel concepts
Sub-structure/footings
Concrete concepts
Structural synergy and stability
Services
Air-conditioning
Cost Planning
Specifications
Detailing
Documentation

Design Studies:
Conceptual design of larger buildings
Symbolism
Architectre: Art and science

Design Integration:
Issues relating to public building types
New scale of public, institutional clients and a wider diversity of building users
Range of historical models from Australian and overseas relating to the formal and cultural issues present
Presentation of technical information including lighting and acoustics

Historical Studies: 20th Century Movements in Architecture
Futurism
Constructivism
Functionalism
Brutalism
Rationalism
Metabolism
Eclecticism
Classicism
Regionalism
High-Tech
Deconstructionism
Complexitism

Environmental Studies: Architecture and the Environmental Context
Understanding and describing the civic site
Achitectural science and technology
Planning, ecology and landscape design
Sustainable detail and materials
Case studies

So if "Concrete Concepts" and "Materials and Structural Principle" is the best we can come up with - I repeat - how does being an architect make him know these things?