Economic Downturn

Well, the economic downturn has finally become a reality to me. I had been working as a structural engineer for the last five and a half years and was laid off yesterday.

Read about the experience here.

But, as a friend over a Pb Elemental said, now is a good time to devote more time to this blogging/organizing to build a co-op endeavor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe everyone's favorite Modernist, Le Corbusier, did a lot of his theorizing while out of work. Not that I can be compared to him for many reasons, but you get the idea.

I am taking another course at UW this quarter, entitled The Contemporary Built Environment. It requires quite a bit of reading and written response to each assignment so expect some posts on that. We also have to give two presentations relating to the reading material. I have been blessed with giving presentations on Products, Buildings and the Global Economy and Built Environment and Place, both of which relate nicely to my interests in consumerism and development.

The Argonaut Folly

I'm not sure how many visitors to this site have read the "manifesto" that launched it. The original intent was to form a group of like-minded individuals who would develop a green, multifamily cooperative in which they would live, similar to a family buying a plot of land and having a contractor build them a house. In an effort to keep people's attention and not just say, "hey guys, let's do this," I have spent the majority of my blogging time commenting on projects around Seattle and trying to express my thoughts on what makes cities livable. However, I just finished reading an article in n+1 about similar projects throughout history, starting with Jason and the Argonauts and continuing up to actual co-housing projects as well as being manifested in the comic book, X-Men.

You should read the article; it was written by Joshua Glenn and is titled The Argonaut Folly. The Seattle Public Library has a subscription to n+1 and you can find the essay in issue five.

The gist of is argument, which is counter to what I've written, is that the group need not be all that similar. The only real point about which to rally is freedom from the quotidian. While this is a little more loose than I had initially imagined, it makes plenty of sense. All I'd ask is that our loose band of rebels/misfits/dreamers has the means to uphold their end of the project, and is committed to constructing a seriously eco-friendly abode. Sounds simple, right?

Mr. Glenn ends his article with a plea for anyone with similar feelings to contact him by letter. That's exactly what I'm doing here, electronically. With that said, I'm going to write the gentleman a letter this weekend. Maybe you'll write me an email.