“the gift always seeks recompense” Marcel Mauss
It’s that time of year again. One faces the dilemma of having to choose something perfect (-ly designed) for the discerning master of design.
A family day pass for Wet and Wild water park is good if you have the balls to try to coerce the architect to take the children for a day out.
Wet n wild is way more fun if you agree not to think figuratively, as the family is flushed down a large shute with the architect grinning wildly - conveying their illusion of control.
Most architects will appreciate theme parks in a pop-culture sort of way. They love it that some lucky duck gets to design elaborate structures/devices designed to thrill and excite people. They also dig the technology and while other folk may feel a breeze on their face or the cool spray of water as they whiz down a slide, the architect may be contemplating cubic volumes, curves, water flows, gradients and vectors.
contemplating flows
He/she will actually have a great deal of fun but may forget the children so this is recommended if your offspring are self-minding.
But back to Objects. The best gift for an architect is an object, rather than an experience.
One site with tons of brilliant ‘spot on’ gifts for architects is Top3bydesign
Remember the mantra: functional, well designed. The ideal gift for an architect must be an elegant solution to a problem.
ofess - umbrella in 'bottle' - more surreal than magritte
architects are technophiles but will have very particular preferences - if he/she is verbal you might be able to select the right technology artifact
architects' wives 