Chris Stewart

September, that most Glaswegian of months has more birthdays than any other, the reason being the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ or the drunken fumblings of a festive season. I often wonder if Jesus looked like Mary and Joseph, in the same way children miraculously morph, often with an emphasis but always a combination. Design seems a more complicated matter.

As a student I often distressed at the mantra 'too many chiefs, not enough indians', a contradiction as we were prepared as 'master servant' fodder, while tutored to be individual. Andy and Isi, who repeated these words were I suspect fortunate in a more generous mentor. In the same way every writer has a book inside them, I have always believed that every decent architect has design inside them, which when added to our training can be a horrible under use of resource and a narrowing of our built environment. Autumn brings with it a new academic year and contrary to those yellowing leaves, I feel more of an opportunity to turn a new one. Excitement and opportunity fills my heart, not the desire to glorify another. It is easy to understand why the one true conception - not a product of the many - is a preference, too many hands watering down the idea, a Frankenstein mish mash of parts. There are others though who see a bouncing fertile soup, breeding fresh numerous thoughts, rather than some seedless barren hermaphrodite.

My academic year has begun jumping between Strathclyde University's old building and half finished new one, the vessels have changed but happily not the content. At this stage the half finished is shiny and worringly tutors have been issued with blue tack which does not set the correct mood for artistic conception. What then is the architectural version of the dimmed lights, a red rose and Marvin Gaye? Is it the black polo, the rotring pen and powermac or something more dirty dancing like the concept model, the collage and dada poem. Personally I split lovemaking into two parts, firstly the idea and secondly hand / eye coordination but always look out for unwanted stylistic bed companions, Post Modern Classicism fast becoming the beige cardigan of architecture.

Starchitects rarely seem to collaborate, or if they do it is as a series of individual efforts taking on the appearance of a MENSA kindergarten. Many a pub conversation has drifted towards the creation of an architectural super race, what would the offspring of Zaha and Norm look like and when did I start refrerring to them by their first names. This naturally happens when one gets so well known and can not be manufactured no matter how hard Cheryl Cole tries. One word architect practices are a rairity, typically being a collection of serious surnames; in the nineties, a shrine of christian + surname; and a much more recent and more fun trend is the bizarre. We all love Dress for the Weather, Pidgin Perfect and Ice Cream Architecture.

There is an ancient Jewish concept that great prophets have an 'integral age', the notion that the prophets of Israel die on the same dates as their birth or conception. The old testament was often daft but it is worth reminding ourselves that Jesus (one name) was actually more socialist than Karl Marx (two names) and more caring than The United Kingdom Independence Party (bizarre).

Scary SEDA Green Drinks, 31st October at Strathclyde University featuring Jonathan Charley discussing the Ecology of Disasters, fancy dress optional.