Special Feature: Guest Blogger Sunday

Being. Here. Now.

Since our Syracuse School of Architecture journey began there has always been this 'other,' the prospect of which seemed so enticing in the school's brochure. 'Ah, three and a half years in Syracuse?...but wait, a semester abroad!?!' As someone who missed that experience during my undergrad years, I was sold. Of course, I have since learned to love Syracuse and the natural beauty of upstate New York, and I take comfort in the fact that I will return there in just three short months. But this journey is just what I needed to put a new spin on my personal issues with my career path.


I have come to believe that the most essential aspect of architectural training is to be acutely aware of your surroundings; the inherent flaws, the untapped potentials and most fortuitously the moments that lead to unexpected perfection. It is this gift to search for beauty in the mundane (and the spectacular) that puts to rest any doubts I have about a sometimes self-indulgent, grueling, and hyper-critical profession. I have no doubt that my architectural education has given me a new set of eyes and that my life will never be the same. And I have no doubt that it's for the better.


This semester, even more than ever, I know that to produce something meaningful one cannot sit in a studio hour after hour, day after day, one must live. And London sure does have a way of making one feel alive! Peace, Chris