S-a-n— P-r-e-c -a-r-i-o Prayers from
Precarious Architectural Workers
O
h Santa Precaria, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid maternity leave. Protect us architects and planners Designers and fabricators, The office managers hanging by a thread. Give to them paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. Santa Precaria, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us interns and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to undocumented workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever. Amen.
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-a
H-o-l-i-e-s-t—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h Holiest Precario, Protector of us precarious of the earth, Give us this day the piece of mind That health care can bring. Protect the adjunct faculty, And the cultural laborers, The temp and part-time employees hanging by a thread. Give to them an inkling of stability And the security of a retirement plan, Compensation and benefits, And help them find the next gig. Holiest Precario, Who loves the many of us at the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us creative and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose clients do not value our labor, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to undocumented workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever.
S
anta Precaria, Protector of precarious Designer-educator-practitioner combo, Give us conference fees, research funds, sabbatical! For who load themselves With 1/2, 2/2, thesis, advising, committees, Protect them from refereed, blind, double blind, It’s deafening. It’s snowing! Santa polar vortex Precaria! Give to them TAs, book money, how about parking lots, Who wander the campus with over-qualified loans. Grant hope to us educated idiots. Santa Precaria, Who protects us adjuncts and assistant professors, Pray for us tip-toeing eaves-dropping brown-nosing. And extend to all deans, chairs, provosts, chancellors Our humble supplication. Remember the souls Whose design is teaching is service is community is urgent. Count their activism as work. Save them from disciplined interdisciplinary talks. Tortured by Economically Correct hiring practices, We recycle Economically Incorrect curriculum Onto our pupils. So bestow upon us new political framework, Santa Precaria, For ever and ever!
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-a
S-a-n—D-i-s-a-v-o-w-a-l
O
h San Disavowal, Our protector, we collected by abused ambition, Give us open eyes so that we might wake up. Do not protect us from the myth of salvation, From talent, from education, From the myth of rewarded genius. Give us the truth: That creativity is the enemy, The desire for it our greatest restraint.
San Disavowal, who keeps us from the top of the pyramid, No longer prey on us architects, And extend your mercy to related disciplines. Remember that our efforts’ value is expiring, Tortured by the pagan god ‘Good Design’. We, undercut, wander with neither future nor home, Paycheck nor Promotion. Grant money persists to document failures, To improve our position, Bestowing on us the shackles of dreams, That keep us in the dark.
O
h Santa Precaria Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid overtime. Protect the CAD drafters And the render angels, The interns hanging by a thread. Give to them the strength to not work on weekends, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us interns and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the student loan-ridden souls Whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god The AIA Contract, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to unlicensed workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever.
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-a
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid paternity leave. Protect the unlicensed designers, students, And the construction workers, The freelancers hanging by a thread. Give to them paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from debilitating debts. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us deeply indebted interns and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls who do overnighters And don’t get overtime, Forced to stay in shitty jobs, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to indentured workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever.
O
h Santa Prada, Our protector, we peddlers of form Give us back our economy robust Protect us from LEED For the Ivy League architecture grads all living in Queens Free them from Starbucks And provide them with jobs that don’t involve BIM Also save them from Patrick Schumacher Santa Prada who protects us, barely, from minimum wage And whose 12 year old shoes we wear, The ones with the red stripe on the heel, Pray for us over 40 architects who haven’t built squat And extend to all the other saints our phone numbers, For we are still single Remember the souls who have deep student loans Tortured by the pagan god, Sallie Mae Who, uncertain, wander with neither dental care nor IRAs And all still have roommates, or live with their mothers. Please San Palladio, save Architecture from apathy Save me from poverty And save our cities from any more Calatrava.
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-a-d-a
S-a-n-t-a— K-i-c-k-s-t-a-r-t-e-r
O
h Santa Kickstarter, Our inspiration, we precarious of this new community, Take the hand of one who wanders, lost, in darkened halls. Lift the scales from my eyes, That I may see the grand design. Let me recognize my place within the woven tower, And the woven tower’s place within the world. Give me the insight to realize That while I am contained within, I am a part of what constructs without. Help me to see that I am not alone. Santa Kickstarter, who teaches us to find strength in others, And to invite the world to partake in innovation, Let me help to make this structure of intention real. Let me draw together masses To share in making the unprecedented, With contributions from 800,000,000 sympathetic souls And in return, let them each carry A piece of something lasting And greater than each of us. Guide my path from out of conception, and into completion, And help me guide others From out of complacent familiarity and . . . INTO MYSTERY!
O
h Santa Precaria, our protector, we recent architectural school graduates, precarious of the earth request your favor. Remember us young graduates, poised for easy exploitation, indoctrinated by patterns of overworking and self-sacrifice in school and tortured by firms with ever-revolving doors under the directives of mismanaged, underpaid projects and unreasonable employers. Santa Precaria, fortify our spirits so we can negotiate for compensation commensurate with the value of our labor irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religious or political inclinations. Help us understand that we do not have to sacrifice our private lives, dreams of family, or of simple life fulfillment outside of the office to still perform creatively and competently. For the future of the profession, Grant us self-respect and strength to self-advocate. Bestow upon us success and well-rounded life fulfillment Amen
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-a
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
“T
he day is short and the work is great, and the laborers are sluggish, and the wages are abundant, and the master of the house is demanding.” - Rabbi Tarphon “It is not necessary for you to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” - also Rabbi Tarphon (with compliments to Harold Bloom)
O
h Santa Prada, Our protector, give us lost architectural souls wise guidance Give us back our dignity Protect us from Capital, the pagan almighty God Pray for all of the recent graduates With immeasurable illusions Free them from despair and abuse And provide them with jobs that actually pay Save them from permanent unpaid overtime Also save them from Starchitects’ failed anger management Oh Santa Prada, Pray for us middle aged architects who haven’t built yet And are slaving for competitions that We have no chance of winning And lead the way to a decent social life beyond the studio, Where our date is on our lap not in our laptop Oh Santa Prada Save us working women architects from divorce And family court that is giving away our children, Since we can not afford the procedures And are working too hard to be awarded child custody Oh Santa Prada save us from the clients who still think that the world can be designed in seven days
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-a-d-a
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day a community of workers. Protect us from competitors Who will work for even less than we; Give us a union that sees our love and loyalty, That wants for us a living wage. Give to us paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save us from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us taking public transportation from work After midnight. When our partners stop recognizing us. Remember the souls whose alienation is growing, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Kinship nor dignity. Grant hope to us architectural employees, And bestow upon us brother and sisterhood, For ever and ever.
O
h Santa Palladia, Our protector, we architects of the earth, Give us this day paid maternity leave. Protect the corporate workers And the AutoCAD-drafting angels, The temp employees hanging by a thread. Give to them paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. Santa Mies van der Roha, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us interns and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to undocumented workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever.
S-a-n-t-a—P-a-l-l-a-d-i-a
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid paternity leave. Protect us from unpaid overtime, And let my supervisor know how much I care. For those who are hanging by a thread, Give us unpaid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save us from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us interns and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to us without contracts, And bestow upon us security and respect, For ever and ever.
O
Saint Precarious, our Chaperone, We huddled masses of architecture graduates. Save us from Capitalism, or save us from ourselves. Protect us from schizo bosses and manic PMs, From charismatic starchitects and fanatical groupies. Grant us a 40-hour workweek and regular sleep. Redeem the 5,600 hours of our lives squandered on IDP, And deliver us from 6 too many AREs. Saint Precarious, Who defends us from the Old Boys’ Club, Give us this day overtime pay. Grant skepticism to the Kool-Aid consumers, And restore to them their righteous indignation. Remember the unpaid interns, Who, tortured by grandiose delusions, Fritter away their youth—click, click, click — A screen their sole companion. Emancipate them From a lifetime of eyestrain and carpal tunnel, For ever and ever.
S-a-i-n-t—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o-u-s
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid maternity leave. Protect the staff, the drafters, the IT specialists, The model-makers, the renders, the InDesign monkeys, The unholy staff person hanging by a thread. Give to them paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us interns and facilitators, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to undocumented workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever. Amen.
O
h San Precario Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid paternity leave. Protect the part-time laborers And the freelance martyrs, The temp employees hanging by a thread. Give to them paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us interns and knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to undocumented workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever.
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h Santa Precaria, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Forgive me for giving in and giving up. Protect me from my feelings of guilt For wanting more than to hang by a thread. Give to those left behind paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us who love design and imagine better worlds, And extend to all us your sympathy and grace. Remember the souls whose aspirations f lounder, As we confront the pagan god of The Free Market, Who, uncertainly, search for future and home, Pension and dignity. Grant hope to creative workers, And bestow upon them joy and glory For ever and ever.
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us stamina to work into the night, To see beyond the missed meals And the departed loved ones. Give to us hope for overtime pay Paid leave and benefits, And save us from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from disappearing into the night, Remember the souls whose work is fueled by love, But are tortured by the pagan god of The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander from office to office, With neither pension nor dignity. Grant enlightenment to us enchanted workers, To move beyond joy and glory To prosperity and riches.
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day wages that are better than our baby sitter’s. Protect us from mere project to project hiring, Please, no more dangling by a thread. Give to us paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save us from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us who make models, Print drawings, and get the coffee, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god of mismanagement, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor money, Pension nor security. Grant hope to those who bounce from office to office, And bestow upon us enlightenment and glory For ever and ever.
O
h San Precario Our protector, we architectural workers of the earth, Give us this day an Architecture Lobby A place of grace and wonder, A place of guiding angels, Inspiring us who are hanging by a thread. Give to us paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for a Lobby that will support us in our need, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember crusaders fighting against expiring contracts, Fighting for those Tortured by the pagan god The Free Market, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor dignity. Grant hope to us organizers, And bestow upon us and ours joy and glory For ever and ever.
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
S-a-n-t-a—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-a
O
h Santa Precaria, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day respect and direction. Protect us from the chaos of creativity, And send us the managerial angels, To guide the path to health and happiness. Give to us paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs. Santa Precaria, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us creative knowledge workers, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose mentorship is lacking, Who, uncertain, wander with neither direction nor freedom, Appreciation nor dignity. Grant hope to us multi-taskers, And bestow upon us enlightenment, For ever and ever.
O
h San Precario, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Give us this day paid paternity leave. Protect us academics and theorists, The teachers and learners hanging by a thread. Give to us paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save us from layoffs. San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray for us lecturers and critics, And extend to all the other saints our humble supplication. Remember the souls whose contracts are expiring, Tortured by the pagan god of competition, Who, uncertain, wander with neither future nor home, Pension nor security. Grant hope to those who bounce From teaching gig to teaching gig, And bestow upon us joy and glory For ever and ever.
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
S-a-n—P-r-e-c-a-r-i-o
O
h Santa Precaria, Our protector, we precarious of the earth, Think this day for the millennials. Who will be more productive than their parents, For less pay and job security, With greater debt and less access to credit. Who will wait longer for homes, children, and retirement. Grant them paid leave and retirement plans, Compensation and benefits, And save them from layoffs San Precario, Who protects us from the bottom of the pyramid, Pray also for midlevel workers Whose security is only marginally better. Remember them During the regular quinquennial recessions, Let their career plans be adaptable and robust. Let their skillsets remain relevant and above passing styles. Shelter their savings from the whims of the market, So that they may retire with dignity. And let them have healthy work-life balances. Most importantly, give them all strength. Enlighten them with the market savvy And business acumen that their employers never mention, That their teachers tend to overlook. Grant them the wisdom and courage To advocate for the reality they want. For prayers are answered when hope turns to action.
Prayer to Saint Anthony, Patron Saint of Lost Things
T
ony Tony Look around Through minds and desks of architects There is something to be found In their time-consuming projects Tony Tony Let us know You who locate items sundry Where our misplaced hours go And for these hours where’s our money? Tony Tony help us locate Fortitude against the urge To overtax ourselves and underrate Our worth. In numbers courage: Now we stand en masse on rightful ground, Give us respect for a purpose well-found.
S-a-i-n-t—A-n-t-h-o-n-y
The Architecture Lobby is an organization of architectural workers advocating for the value of architecture in the general public and for architectural work within the discipline. From the bottom up, we resist the acceptance of low wages based on the assumption that architectural firms themselves make little profit. From the top down, we reject thinking that accepts marginal profits for our expertise.
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