Stand Back & Observe

It's been close to two years since the Berkeley Prize team invited me to write an essay about socially-relevant architecture for them.

I'd given the essay the title, 'Stand Back & Observe.' I still believe that architects should primarily focus on carefully reading their surroundings before making any suggestions or imposing changes.

I think pinpointing what questions we should be asking is the most important step in any 'profession' that revolves around problem-solving.

But at some point, I had to also get to work. And that part was scary for me. To me, no level of observation was enough to begin any work. But since I'd taken part in the Community Fellowship, I had to translate my essay into a project that could help a group of people in my area.

So, mom suggested I do something for the booksellers there. And we came up with a few prototypes that we called the 'Mobile Library'.

This is still a work in progress, though.

And I'll let you know if it goes somewhere.