Response to The Troubled Craftsman by Richard Sennett

Sennett starts with painting a picture of dedicated craftsmen, each hard at work showing their commitment and dedication to their craft. This is what makes them craftsmen; their dedication, refined skill and passion for good quality work. Reflecting on the time when craftsmen were celebrated and had a standing in society, their role in the community was honored and respected but a shift occurred and the craftsmen became marginalized. He addresses some forces that influence modern craftsmanship; Weakened motivation with the direct results of poor craftsmanship and stunted corporate growth; Abuse of technology consciously and subconsciously eroding the place of iteration in design and skill development creating a disconnect between the hand and the head; and finally conflicting standards on what constitutes quality service in which the craftsman finds himself in a game of tag.

Reading through this piece, I found myself readily identifying with many of the salient points he made. In my previous studio all my drawings were hand drawn as opposed to the all too common CAD generated drawings. While, it took longer to churn out the drawings and meet the requirements for each class, it forced me to engage with the site and my building design in a very different way. As architects we all battle with the perfectionist syndrome, between doing it right and just doing it at all, it becomes both our blessing and our curse. The issues facing the craftsman are the issues we as designers have to contend with today; recognition, technology and the standard of practice.