1988 Master of Architecture
Julie Evans

A chasm between the first eleven pages and the twelfth page divides my portfolio into the conceptual studies represented on watercolor paper and the construction drawings represented on mylar. The division between my conceptual work in the classical language and my work with the building materials of today leads to the questions: Where does the classical reside? How authentic is the classical language with today's use of material? Learning to assemble materials as eloquently as my conceptual projects employ the classical is my next goal.

Designing the classical work in this portfolio required suspending disbelief. Indeed, I was able to develop the “Mal du Siècle” project as long as I refrained from drawing a wall section. The act of cutting through these elevations would have forced pragmatic and temporal concerns to the surface, kindling my doubts about the veracity of building in this manner today. The “Navy Pier Retrofit” on mylar, my closing page, speaks for my Chicago-bred concern for assembly and detail. To my benefit, ignoring these constricting concerns helped bring clarity of idea and conceptual freedom to “Mal du Siècle.”

In my travels I will scrutinize the contrast between machine-age and postindustrial object buildings, both in the ancient core of the city and on its modern fringe. These criteria will be used in the next six months to locate sites in, and prepare visits to Italy, England, Holland, France, Berlin, Hong Kong, and Japan. I propose to start traveling in early 1989. Each site visit will have at least two components: personal observations and sketches, and a discussion with the architect. My fellowship report will offer both objective information, through photographs and sketches, and subjective commentary, an analysis informed by interviews with the architect.

Impact of the Award

June 6, 2022

My SOM Foundation travel year was a powerful touchstone in my development. I was just old enough to savor the time and to be open to what I saw. My year was one in which style wars were dominating academe and the profession—deconstruction vs. classicism, etc.. Practitioners were borrowing just enough theoretical jargon to pass for in-group thinkers. Although I was initially preoccupied with delivering an impressive theoretical take on my journey, what I retained would be about seemingly ordinary elements that created very special settings. That is still a very important part of how I work.