Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Finishing


People prefer starting to finishing. Baptism or funeral, is there a doubt as to which you would rather attend. Yet all of us work on projects that start, develop and must take a final form. Doing well is so difficult that there are people called “closers” who have the rare skill to seal a deal. In running, some distance runners have a “kick” developed by mental and physical training giving them a last burst of energy so they don’t fade before the finish line. For those in the productive arts, time runs out, patience ends, distractions accumulate, and maybe almost finishing is good enough.

Designers in particular struggle with finishing because their work is abstracted from the reality envisioned. Architects, landscape architects and urban designers make drawings, not parks, cities or buildings. Their work represents what will be built, and the competence and completeness of their drawings and models insure a smooth or turbulent construction phase. Designers are people too. They also get frustrated with the design process, with unclear directions from clients, with higher than anticipated costs and unreasonable schedule demands as well as the often conflicting pressures from numerous stakeholders that public projects engage. Then there are the permit reviewers, inspectors and contractors and their requirements – it’s a long list. Young designers require time to develop the patience and fortitude required to finish a complex set of drawings. Experience has this lesson: a sloppy ending has serious consequences. And this lesson also has a more positive side: there is joy in polishing. A well-planned design project allocates time for all phases with sufficient cushion to absorb the unexpected without compromising the final effort and result.

One technique to carry you through is to imagine that this project is your last. What if this work completes your career? What is the benefit of experience if that understanding doesn’t bring you to this point where it is possible for this to be the best work you’ve ever done? And even if it can’t be your best for some reason beyond your control, you can still act as if it is finding the resources to sidestep excuses and finish to your satisfaction. One never knows if the opportunity to do more will present itself. The resources to finish well may depend on accepting this possibility.

A great wine has a “finish.” A smooth, rich and interesting lingering aftertaste confirms the beauty of a satisfactory and enjoyable experience. The taste plays through an entire sequence. Certainly everything we make has a beginning and is completed to some degree, but only the best work finishes well. In design, the great advantage is anticipation. Designers know the general process and can guide the steps. Remembering Vitruvius and his architectural triad – strength, utility and grace – finishing employs these as motives and not just as a way to consider design. The designer too needs mental strength, respect for the usefulness of a well-performing design, and the grace to finish with style.

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