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Hi. I’m Doug Patt and this is George Costanza, architect. As I sit here working away at my computer Im thinking about one of my favorite television programs. Seinfeld was the self-professed show about nothing that ran for 9 years (1989 1998). George Costanza was one of the main characters played by Jason Alexander. George, a neurotic self absorbed, incredibly funny character, once describe himself as lord of the idiots. Furthermore he was described by his friend Elaine as a short stocky slow witted bald man. Whats imprinted colorfully on my mind is that on a number of occasions George describes the fact that he always wanted to be an architect. The fact that George was both a self-professed idiot and had an interest in being an architect has always made me laugh. So Im getting out my ruler and cutting board to create a bit of fiction here. Lets first separate ourselves from reality to ask the question, what about the profession of architecture was such a draw for George? Frank Lloyd Wright, a famous architect (1869 – 1959) said, noble life demands a noble architecture for noble uses of noble men. His statement most certainly implies architecture is a noble pursuit. For the George, a comical pursuit indeed. I also think the work of an architect enjoys a bit of mystery. To most people, the architect arrives one day on site with plans to build something, directs traffic, something gets built and viola, something out of nothing. Antoine de Rivarol (1753 1801) a French writer and poet said, It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit. So adding a bit of mystery could have also been the draw for George. Finally, to get this ironed out, I would suggest that the work of an architect is not an easy thing to do. Frank Lloyd Wright also said, a doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines. Wrights statement implies that mistakes can be obvious and perhaps the mystery of the profession lies in making architecture look easy. So there you have it completely ironed out. A noble pursuit with a bit of mystery thats definitely harder than it looks. And thats just all right with me because when it comes to short stocky slow-witted bald men a bit of mystery is just what this one needs to keep it interesting. So, thanks for checking out George Costanza, architect. Im Doug Patt.
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