Symbiosis
Diverse perspectives create equal partnership
My Ode to LB
同等
Dōtō
Equality is when nothing is made to feel different or apart. If equality is to be celebrated, aren’t differences to be championed? I believe if we, as beings, can experience each other as “non dominant guests of the planet,” equally as different sentients, we can achieve authentic peace.
Larry “LB” Bailey (d. 2019) was an elegant, soft spoken American war veteran nearly twice my age when we were paired together at SMP, San Francisco. Larry rose from a war veteran intern turned job captain/construction manager at SMP, an old timer. Not professionally schooled, not licensed, Larry was the finest architect I had the privilege of knowing.
I wanted a break from design and marketing of the new studio I helped create and wanted “on field site” and construction documentation training. When I met Larry, he was struggling to learn AutoCAD. After failed attempts in many classes and mentorship, he and SMP were concerned about his career longevity. I was presented to Larry as his computer teacher. He was to be my construction teacher.
There is a sensitive layering of how we feel fear with the unknown, uncommon, new. Larry and I came face to face: discrimination of AutoCAD, interiors and ageism. Imagine this established old timer facing me, an “ingenue, tech savvy, decorator.” For 15 months, we were inseparable. He called me his last hope and a miracle worker. I mentored Larry to become fluent in how to communicate in a new language. Larry taught me the conventions which I displayed in a new, unconventional way. We reached a level where our skills became fluid, no longer a struggle. We became equals, work partners, finishing each other’s sentences.
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“Ms. Date was responsible for standardizing computer aided design practices for the Interiors Studio and for providing a resource through which the design team could communicate our AutoCAD guidelines and procedures to consultants, contractors and clients...As a former student, I recommend her without qualification.” - Lawrence E. Bailey, Senior Associate, SmithGroup (formerly Stone Marraccini Patterson)
Teaching Larry was a struggle. A slow and cautious learner, we lost so many hours of billable time. There were hours of work we couldn’t account for, as well as the lack of process I was making on my own work. But the morning after those days, I’d find my drawings marked up and corrected on my desk in Larry’s distinctive lettering from his reliable red pen. Bloodied. Me, overwhelmed with pure gratitude. He transformed a privileged dilettante into a construction man. We were equally and finely matched.
I was honored to be asked by Larry’s wife to be present at his internment complete with a military gun salute.
I knew how much being able to say “Architect” meant to Larry. His belief was if you qualify for the license, take the damn test. Later, I encouraged many beleaguered designer colleagues in their pursuit of their license, not to give up, especially when the ARE (architectural registration exam) changed from the brutal once a year, 5-day, 8-hour rite of passage into the computerized, self-scheduled sections it is today. I persuaded a reluctant designer not to go out for drinks but stay at the office to study for their exam, while I kept them company. Together we celebrated when tests were passed. My ode to LB.
Being vulnerable in partnerships in order to synchronize and set mutual goals. Strengths and weaknesses of the team can reveal and nurture a collaborative spirit and supportive energy. Creating a relationship of non-dominance where teachers and students learn from one another. Value in genuine camaraderie.
