Architecture & Labor - Peggy Deamer

Quote: Do we not think we do work because we do not know its nature, or do we not know its nature because we do not think we do it.

Quote: Architecture is not a career; it is a calling.

The creativity within architecture stems from the designers it houses, as Peggy mentions greatly, Architecture is not a career, it is a calling. Architects make and construct projects that matter to the world. Peggy discusses an important subject as to why architects and what they provide, should not be labeled as service work. As many other professionals in the world, such as doctors and lawyers, they get paid based off their fees, Architects get paid to create designs, not commodities.

Work-aphasia within architecture is a well-known aspect within the field of architecture. It may result as the outcome from the tremendous dedication to a design that stems from the 70-hour work weeks at some offices. Work-aphasia is not financially rewarding (low starting salary within the profession), not practical or secure may be the result of psychological and social decline in one’s life, but that is the risk many take within the field; Architecture is a calling, not a career.

The environment within an office, Architecture has very limited advantages. unlike a manufacturing job, architectural firms lack the security structures such as unions and institutionally sanctioned labor laws that prevent the architectural staff from being wrongfully fired or working tremendously excessive hours per week for minimum pay ($15 per hour) or no pay.

The contracts between the owner, contractor, and the architect stem from architectures late 19^th century professionalization that aimed first to raise the designer above the maker and to limit the liability exposed in case there was any type of structural failure within the drawings. The construction drawings have little connection to both the contractor and the architects in the contracts, as the propose little risk due to its ever-changing nature during the construction process; In reality, the architects do not know how best to perform every single last detail within a construction project such as bending sheet metals, how many screwed get placed into drywall, pavers, etc. But the ever-formidable reality change orders will be submitted, work will be delayed, and costs will incur. During this process, four times the amount of money is spent on waste than on design fees.

In the renaissance, architects intentionally left drawings incomplete to allow critiques and input of the constructor’s craft and ability to produce before proceeding.

Like the US, many countries also face similar problems working within the field of architecture. In Abu Dhabi, indentured labor practices are seen throughout the country. Because of this, many high-level architects have tried pressuring their clients to stop the indenture labor practices. But architects merely only have a say, but no sway in power. Like the AIA or office structures, it does not have activism in its DNA and has much to gain from art practice.

Questions:

What is architectural work?

Architecture produces designs, not products and services. Architecture is something that brings meaning to the world and benefits the outcome for the environment and the people within the community. Peggy mentions that we often compare ourselves to doctors and lawyers who get fees for their services. But our work is too creative and too culturally significant to be labeled as service work. We produce objects and not commodities.

What is “work-aphasia” according to Dean Deamer?

Peggy Deamer labels work-Aphasia as something that is not practical or secure, not financially rewarding, and psychologically and socially punishing. Peggy mentions that not only do artists bit have work aphasia, but they perform the social awareness that comes when you self-identify as a worker. In comparison to an architect, work-aphasia is a lack of corresponding worker identification. It is clearly shown between the responses of architects and artists to the building of the Guggenheim museum in Abu Dhabi.

 

Keywords:

Aphasia – Aphasia is a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate. It can affect your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written.

Simulacra – is a representation or imitation of a person or thing.

Trope – a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages

Commodity – an economic good such as a product.

Proletariat – the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labor power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian.

Bourgeoisie - a class or group of people with social behavior and political views held to be influenced by private-property interest: a social order dominated by capitalists or bourgeois.

Foucault - French philosopher and historian who explored the role played by power in shaping knowledge. His works include Madness and Civilization (1961) and the multi-volume History of Sexuality (1976-1984).

Ad hoc - for the end or case at hand without consideration of wider application

Indenture Labor - indentured servitude is a form of labor, sometimes involuntary, in which a person who took out a loan (an indenture) agrees to work without salary for the lender for a specific number of years. Historically it was used to pay for apprenticeships—an apprentice agreed to work for free for a master to learn a trade.