A rethink in architecture

As a SCI-Arc alum (class of 2001), I thank you for Carolina A. Miranda’s column about the Sunset Spectacular [“Form, Function, Furor,” Aug. 26], which should prompt a rethink of the “bent” heart of architectural power and labor practices — if not for the present generation of practitioners, then at least for students today who will become practitioners in the future.

And if I also may answer the question you posed, architecture should also be examined in relation to how it was made, by whom and, especially, at whose expense. There is a greater story of beauty to be told in architecture beyond formal aesthetics.

Jeff Chan

Singapore

The use of unpaid interns is a common “dirty little secret” in the architectural profession, and is a serious barrier to entry for the less economically advantaged, who have been historically underrepresented.

For a profession in need of greater diversity, we as architects must do a better job of outlawing this exploitative and discriminatory practice.

Alex Ward Santa Monica