"AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIE GABRIELL" +"Naming our First Educator at T.C.A. Scholarships"
T.C.A. #11.
1). Thankyou Julie for agreeing to this interview... We share a passion for architectural Innovation. Without the innovators of the past, we could not contemplate the future. Would you care to comment ?
A). I first want to push back on the term, “innovation.” We don’t give enough consideration to why we want to innovate. For what purpose and to what end? Merriam-Webster defines “innovation” as: a new idea, method, or device. It also notes the difference between invention and innovation: “Innovation, for its part, can refer to something new or to a change made to an existing product, idea, or field. One might say that the first telephone was an invention, the first cellular telephone either an invention or an innovation, and the first smartphone an innovation.”
Innovation has been part of architecture since before Vitruvius put pen to vellum. A particularly fertile time, for example, was when new materials came on the scene: iron and reinforced concrete in the late 19th – early 20th century. Theorists debated how these materials would be considered. Serious creative effort was given to integrating them into the history, purpose and meaning of architecture. Innovation is not merely about newness; it’s about taking a critical perspective on ideas, materials, techniques, and processes. Wholesale departure from established precedent, tradition, and cultural relevance is not innovation. That is novelty, which is antithetical to sound architectural practice.
Having said all that, one innovator I admire a great deal is R. Buckminster Fuller, or Bucky as he was fondly called. Though he is most known for his wacky designs — the geodesic dome over Manhattan or the Dymaxion house and car being just a few — he was a deeply humanist thinker. He genuinely believed in using our creative and intellectual skills to solve problems, thereby raising everyone’s quality of life. He was certain that everyone can, and should, thrive. He had such a fascinating life story and was also very quotable. I think about this one a lot: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” And if that contradicts the first part of my answer, life’s a paradox.
2). Which of your professional projects have brought you the deepest personal satisfaction ?
A). More than a few projects have resulted in sweet friendships with the clients. It’s very satisfying when the client’s joy breathes life into the house that we built together. One couple got married and threw a lovely party with a jazz combo in the house we designed to convert the former Polish social hall where the groom’s parents wed years before. Another client loved to sit on her screen porch and watch a heron filch coy out of their wetland pond, which was fed by rain collected from the roof.
3). Do you see anything in the Architectural Developments of the last 50 years as being -
A- a gross misadventure ?
B- a great leap forward ?
A - A). I’m very skeptical about the use of AI as a design tool. Three of my colleagues recently hosted a symposium to share the research and experimentation they’ve been doing in our school’s design studios. The two keynotes were from a Dutch architect who uses AI to generate design options and an American architect using AI to make art exploring social issues. [footnote: they are Cas Esbach of MVRDV and Curry J. Hackett of Wayside Studio.]
While I applaud being current with the technology (if that’s even possible), I am wary of using AI to replace the best part of being an architect. Drawing and diagramming to visualize problems and solutions is the most meaningful aspect of this profession. There are many tedious ones, for example, doing building code reviews, that could and should be automated using AI. And people are looking at those. Design is not tedious and should be left to people.
A - B). A great leap forward would be to look back—at cultures that have lived more symbiotically with their environments. Bioclimatic design, for example, is a methodical way to account for forces like wind and sunlight, to design smartly and reduce energy use for cooling and heating. We have much to learn from vernacular, traditional architecture of the past (and present) for ways to build with natural materials like straw, mud, clay, thatch, and wood.
4). Where do you envisage the next level in building design should take us ?
A). I hope back to deeper connection with place. (If you thought I was going to say AI, nope.) >Not me Julie…. Maurice< Architecture at its best is a vehicle for creating and renewing relationships—to breathe new life into old buildings, to reconsider or reveal hidden histories, to include habitats in our designs for our more than human kin, and to connect people with the magical effects of light, air, and weather.
5). What can the Public do to influence attaining that level ?
A). Insist on adaptive reuse of old buildings, to take advantage of existing infrastructure. Resist sprawl. Insist on walkable neighborhoods with enough density to support local businesses and other amenities that improve quality of life and safety. Refuse to participate in the throw-away culture. Appreciate living small; don’t use architecture as a status symbol. Push for more affordable housing and allow projects in your backyard. Become a YIMBY, in other words. Let’s get it trending on TikTok.
6). What makes you hopeful ?
A). My students make me hopeful. They are idealistic and optimistic and completely all-in on learning to become architects. It’s a tough road and they are brilliant, work hard, and rarely complain. I’m also impressed with their insistence on work-life balance. This is not something I even knew about as a student, let alone an intern architect. Bravo. We also have many first- generation students, often from immigrant families. I love their passion, tenacity, and resilience. All these young people are fully aware of the challenges they will face when they graduate, and they are up for it.
7). Who has been your greatest inspiration ?
As an Architect ?
As a Storyteller ?
A). As an architect, I have so many inspirations. Irish early Modernist architect Eileen Gray, who I wrote about here. The Italian Renzo Piano, whose work I wrote about here. Finnish architects Aino and Alvar Aalto; I profiled their masterpiece here. One of my all-time favorite buildings was the subject of my first Substack post about architecture, the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, opened in 1851. Talk about innovation: it was the first public building to be lit by methane lamps, so it could stay open at night.
As a storyteller, I’d have to begin with Annie Dillard, whose book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek taught me at a pivotal moment in my career how to see what really matters, and that it’s fine to lose myself in the leaves on a tree. Wendell Berry’s essays always challenge me to think more expansively and to embrace nondual paradox. Thomas Berry, David Abram, Martin Shaw, Michael Meade, and Sharon Blackie expand my sense of reality, and emphasize storytelling’s critical role in the human experience. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beautiful presence and writing in Braiding Sweetgrass give me hope. Rebecca Solnit, a brilliant, honest and clear writer, clarifies that hope is both intentional practice and unpredictable outcome. Journalists Amy Westervelt and Emily Atkin are fierce truth-tellers about climate. As I continue to write my way into more intimate reciprocity with my beyond human kin, I always return to the inventive fun of Brian Doyle’s stories, which I wrote about for “The Books That Made Us,” here.
8). Do you have a piece of advice for Newbie Writers ?
A). I had hoped that my years in a different creative field meant I could shorten my learning curve as a writer. While there are parallels in the creative process itself—honor your muse with daily practice, crash out shitty first drafts, know there’s always more, trust that revision is where the real magic happens—there are sadly no shortcuts in a learning new medium. In my experience the only way to improve as a writer is to write. A lot. Maybe I’m a slow learner ? >Slow learners are deep learners…. Maurice<
9). Established Global Media appears to be shifting to the right. Is that having a positive effect on the Growth of Indie Left Publishing?
A). I don’t imagine that the global shift of media (or anything else) to the right could have any positive effects. But that’s me resisting reality, and one thing I have learned after years of stubborn insistence otherwise is that reality always wins. I will, however, cling to the belief (hope?) that indie publishing is in a renaissance, for whatever reasons.
10). Why are Human Beings so fixated on ourselves ?
A). This question vexes me—all the more so because it’s one of the one I ask myself, and now I have to answer it. The simple answer is, that’s what our culture teaches us. We think of ourselves as at the top of the org chart of life, when in reality we are but one of countless beings all tied together in the glorious web of life. The sooner we embrace that understanding, the sooner we step out of the center and take a seat on the sidelines, the sooner we can watch in wonder and appreciation the miracles unfolding all around us. Thomas Berry taught that we do belong here on Earth, as the storytellers, singers, dancers, artists, and celebrators of creation. We’re here to pay attention, to notice, and to shout our awe and gratitude from the (sustainably harvested, locally union-trade-built) rafters.
11). If you could participate, or even create a community of influential writers on Green Issues, what encouragement would you bring ?
A). I once belonged to an urban co-housing group. We were seriously going to find some neglected land in Baltimore and design and build a small community where we could support each other and own things collectively. That never happened, but I recently visited some friends who built a 30-unit cohousing community in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. It’s lovely. Small cottages set among walking paths and organic gardens, with a big common house for meals and gatherings.
12). Is it appropriate (or even possible) to add lightness to the climate crisis conversation ?
A). Absolutely ! Substackers Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine Hayhoe are all about good news and joy. Johnson launched her new book, What If We Get It Right ? with a party, including a DJ and stand-up comedians. She co-edited an earlier book, All We Can Save, with essays and poetry and artwork, all from women climate activists. Their stance is that saying it’s too late to act on climate ignores the fact that much good is being done, and by many who don’t have the choice of opting out— they’re already suffering the effects of climate crisis. Hayhoe’s book title says it all: Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.
Oh, I’ve gone on long enough, haven’t I ? Thanks for these great questions and for the opportunity to get on my soap box.
Well Julie, It’s been an absolute pleasure having you here, as I am sure that T.C.A. readers will agree.
What a great interview, Maurice! Julie is very inspiring.
Fascinating and inspiring. It's great to read completely outside one's collection of interests. Oh, and I loved "slow thinkers are deep thinkers".