Today the team was hit hard by the architecture contest. We arrived to the site and Alberto told us the bad news- 18th place, 60 points behind the leader. After all the hard work and the immense amount of positive public responses, we had started to think the jurors would love our house. But their scores didn’t reflect a deep appreciation.
There are plenty of reasons I could come up with to justify their decisions- many of which comfort me –but I don’t think comfort makes the situation any better. It certainly wouldn’t get any more points on the board.
How to make the situation better? LOOK AROUND!
-We’re on the National Mall making history.
-THOUSANDS of people love our house. LOVE our house. I wish we could compile all the positive things people have said to the team and to their friends. It would be a massive list with some statements our team really needs to hear right now.
-THOUSANDS of people have already learned from our house. We are shaping their lives as well as the lives of the people they touch. We have served as conduits for the spread of public awareness about solar power and sustainability in general.
Yeah, we didn’t get a group of architects to fall in love with our project, I have to accept that. But how much should we value marks on a piece of paper, when compared with the great effect we are having on the world? I am personally incredibly proud of the work my team has accomplished, and every day my admiration for my fellow team members is strengthened.
Today our spirits were tested against the threat of defeat, and I saw a team more than capable. I watched as long faces turned up with dedication to a cause. Not one person gave up or lost a step. We tackled our tours with the energy and excitement our house deserves, we strategized for our next moves, and we even played improvisation games late into the night.
This competition is revealing each and every day of the fact that our education has shaped all parts of our beings. And our goals of reaching out and touching the public are succeeding on a daily basis—on a massive scale.
These are points that- no matter how hard you try – will never fit on a leader board.
Nice job fellas! The house and idea are great. You have definitely put a lot of hard work into your design and I think it serves the public well, regardless of if you guys take home 1st place or not. And congrats on being the lone West Coast representative!
Excellent work, all of you!
I am a Santa Clara grad myself (MBA, 1999), and very pleased at the showing you all made. Extremely impressive! And good for the world as well!
I’m also part of a collaborative website at Appropedia.org. I’d love to republish some of your design work at Appropedia. Check out the site and let me know what you think! We’re growing rapidly and making an impact, with over a 1 million pages viewed in the last 6 months, and ramping up to double or triple that pace in the next 6 months.
Thanks, and congratulations on a job very well done!