S, M, L, XL by Rem Koolhaas
Came out in 1995 or so, and I got it in '98 (I think). I'd been vaguely interested in Architecture, saw it on sale, and picked it up - which took both hands, the thing is massive, and could be deadly.

It's a wee bit mind-blowing: a series of speculative projects he designed, with all kinds of weird ideas about "program", "bigness", and warped geometry. What really got my attention is that the ones that were actually built were just as mad as those that only exist on paper. Since then, Rem's gotten even crazier, won a Pritzker Prize (the Nobel Prize of Architecture), and gets more of his projects built. Look up the Beijng CCTV Headquarters, for example, or the new OMA "eyeball" started in Hamburg.

Based on that and other books, I came to the conclusion that I'm not "creative" enough to be an Architect. I can't draw for shit, and when I see something weirdly complicated, my urge is to make it simpler. However, I credit S, M, L, XL with unearthing an urge that grew over the next few years. I still wanted to be involved in building, somehow, to get out of the IT business and back in to the real world. Eventually, just over a year ago, I applied for a mature student university place, to study Structural Engineering & Architecture, and got in after an interview.

The last exam of my first year is tomorrow, and while there have been some worries - Money! Maths! - I still think I did the right thing. I never got to go to university straight from school, so this is a way of pre-empting that inevitable midlife crisis. No more Second Life till I sort out this First Life, thanks.
( bnt what, me worry?, Fri 16 May 2008, 0:10, Reply)