Chat Up Design

You just can't help looking up -- and looking painfully like a tourist -- in any big city you visit. Sure, you might be a seasoned world traveler with a passport that sports stamps from Kansas City to Kuala Lumpur, but in front of tall buildings like the Sears Tower,...

By Nina Korman

August 7, 2003

Audio By Carbonatix

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You just can't help looking up -- and looking painfully like a tourist -- in any big city you visit. Sure, you might be a seasoned world traveler with a passport that sports stamps from Kansas City to Kuala Lumpur, but in front of tall buildings like the Sears Tower, the Petronas Towers, or the late-oft-lamented World Trade Center, you're guilty of that unmistakable neck-craning so characteristic of outsiders. But it's not only skyscrapers that leave you in awe; an eye-catching midcentury modern house, a breathtaking bridge, even a groovy gas station all have the power to make you wonder why you never finished that architecture degree. Oh yeah, your inability to conquer calculus had something to do with it. So you've been relegated to a life of looking at things and not making them. Sounds horrible, but it's less so now that the Miami Architecture Club is around.

The Miami Chapter of the American Institute of Architects dreamed up this forum where individuals interested in design and architecture can hobnob, listen to renowned speakers, and generally keep up with everything that's going on designwise here and all over the world. Meetings will take place on the second Tuesday of each month. Curious folks are invited to attend a free inaugural powwow this Tuesday, which has no set agenda except for a planning session led by AIA Miami president Bernard Zyscovich to discuss future formats, guests, and topics. Already scheduled for December is a chat by unorthodox architect/funky eyeglass fan Daniel Libeskind, who won the heated competition to design a new skyscraper on the controversial former World Trade Center site with his proposal for a 1776-foot structure -- the originals were 1368 feet high -- and like any strong-willed architect has already butted heads with the site's developer.

Now that you've faced the fact you do your best building with sand at the beach, you can hang out with others in the same predicament. Or maybe just fake it by donning your own unusual eyewear, adopting an incomprehensible accent, and calling yourself something like Dieter.

Nina Korman

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