“For Here, Please” by Aleksandra Jaeschke

Presented in “Model Behavior,” October 4 – November 18, at The Cooper Union

 The models used in architecture are no longer appropriate. Their system boundaries are too narrow to account for the social and ecological impacts of the production of buildings. And they don’t consider the erratic and wasteful behaviors of those who will eventually consume them in ways that often undermine the social aspirations and environmental claims declared by the designer. I want to tell a story to reflect on these issues using coffee as a model for thinking about them. I am a consumer, so the account of my erratic behaviors will inevitably overshadow the story of the socio-ecological impacts that only a coffee picker can tell. And since coffee is instrumental to how many of us think, this is a model story with a twist to it.