Crumbling Pots

It was probably about 36 years ago. I was a young and very inexperienced design professional (landscape architect-in-training), working a job I really loved (and thought I was pretty good at, too).

That was when I had to learn some valuable lessons on life from crumbling pots.

I had designed what I thought was a really cool project - a "roof garden" at a hospital's expansion in Decatur, Illinois. It was definitely unique, innovative, and not a standard approach. Essentially, my design was the placement of various-sized geometric wooden pallets in decorative patterns all over an otherwise normal (and ugly) conventional roof, primarily to be viewed from the hospital expansion's new patient rooms. The pallets would be where hundreds of various-sized clay pots would be placed. They would then be filled with potting soil and planted with shrubs/flowers to provide the "garden" part of the design.

Conventional thinking at the time for roof garden design required placement of considerable depths of soil over roof areas, then installing landscape plant materials in same (like a typical garden). That was not possible for this project due to restricted structural loading (weight concerns) for the building's roof, as well as for a lot of other relatively complex and difficult construction/maintenance and drainage realities. As a wide-eyed, novice designer, I wasn't going to let restrictions keep me from coming up with some way to make that roof a garden. There just had to be a way, and I was convinced that I could avoid that restriction.

As the design was being finalized, I was receiving all sorts of accolades from my peers for creating such a unique and unusual design. However, some of my co-workers were skeptical. They were surprised that I had been able to convince the hospital's administration to spend a significant amount of money on such a folly. But, in my headlong pursuit of "greatness," I was confident that it would all work in the end somehow. I pressed on with completion of documents for construction, at times ignoring concerns brought to my attention by other more experienced design professionals. I wasn't interested in hearing what these "naysayer" colleagues had to say. Rather, I was preoccupied with dreams about how it would all turn out. How great it would be to photograph the results when complete. How proud I would be of my accomplishment.

About two years or so later when construction and installation for the roof garden was finished, Voila! My design was in fact cool! Everyone seemed to love how it all looked. I received numerous congratulatory comments on the design and adulation for coming up with the idea and seemingly progressive uses of common materials, in ways that were unique for roof gardens at that time. All was good.

Fast forward another two years. I received an unsolicited and rather excited phone call from my client. "Hey, Mr. Architect. What are YOU going to do about all these crumbling pots on our roof?"

Over the course of two winters, the realities of the elements (freezing and thawing) had ravaged my design. Almost all of the clay pots had crumbled in place. What was once considered a great triumph for me became a huge embarrassment and costly mistake. I had not done my homework. I had not researched the givens and realities of my design. Something that I thought would be a path to greatness (and cool) was now putting me (and my company) in a terrible position. We had a very unhappy client. I was ultimately responsible for creating something that didn't work. I was to blame and I had to own it.

So, what are some of the lessons I learned from this story of crumbling pots? Here's a few:

1. If young and inexperienced, use caution before proceeding with unique, innovative ideas. The "standard approach" may be there for a reason. Perhaps it has been tried/tested and proven it works. That's why it's now the standard approach.

2. It's great to have a desire for doing something really cool. Steps away from conventional thinking are appropriate on occasion. However, some realities and truths are just unchangeable and not to be trifled with. They need to be acknowledged and studied before proceeding.

3. If you are confronted with restrictions that seem to limit you, don't dismiss them outright. Ask questions about why they are there. Find out why they were created. Ask if the restriction applies to your situation before proceeding. Think more long-term.

4. If you are receiving accolades from your peers, be careful. Sometimes they can cause you to ignore advice from the more experienced/wiser people around you. Listen to concerns of others and criticisms of your work. They might be much more helpful to you than all the accolades in the long run.

5. Dreams are great. They really are. But, the realities of life must be evaluated along with your dreams. Dreams can oftentimes turn into nightmares if you don't consider realities.

The good news is that I did not lose my job and our company was not sued. However, I never forgot the lessons I learned about life from these crumbling pots.