Miracle mondays

There's a certain professor in the school, who is very gung ho about architecture and design. He has a local practice which mostly seems to do competition work. Might have a few small projects in there. Anyway, he was the first professor I had when Saori and I came into the program a year ago, as the head of the Orientaiton Studio, or as I liked to call it "boot camp." Eight days of nonstop studio. I learned Rhino from the first mouse click up, and we made a model every two days. We were pulled in to see him, each group alone, to give a quick presentation in an empty classroom. He likes to work late. Real late. I'll see him around studio between 11 and 3am. It was probably that late when we had our first review. He was leaning back in a chair, looking at the same time incredibly bored, and totally indifferent. "That thing," he said, "looks like a truck."

It's a little misleading because he does really care about architecture, and about student work, but not in that "oh once you get to know him, he's actually really fuzzy" kind of way. He's been about the most stone cold professors, with a presence like Snape. (Full disclosure, apart from a few reviews, I've never had him as a studio professor, which is the real test). Anyway, he is incredibly quotable, and this semester, I have the privilege of working within earshot of his studio. Last night, around 11 or so, I got a good one. He was going around, looking at people's work of those who were there that late. I don't know what comment precipitated it, but his response was phenomenal and totally sums up this guy's approach to studio.

"You can't make a good project in one day. I don't expect miracles on Wednesdays. But weekends are a gift. You have Friday night, Saturday, Sunday. I expect miracles on Mondays."

Over on our side of the studio, everyone catches each other's eye and silently grin like mad. I posted the quote on facebook, and someone in the studio printed it and posted it in the studio next to the "prohibited dress code."