The Last Architects

Chapter Ten.

 I stared angrily at the wooden table before me, already heavily dreading life in a few minutes. We had agreed to work in a public space since that may deter any actual violence from both of us so we had settled on the very back of the library. Hopefully, he was too much of a coward to come.

But as his blond hair caught my eye I sighed, lifting a hand to get his attention, setting my things to the side for his bag. "Good afternoon." I grumbled, crossing my arms as I leaned back in my seat.

"Oh, save the pleasantries." I sighed and he rolled his eyes as he sat across from me. "I have a board of designs ready, as long as we can build it, we're done and happy." Aha. I felt my eye twitch as he took out his large notebook, setting it down for me to see, gesturing to some pretty and dainty and stupid designs.

As I looked them over I began to laugh, ignoring his immediate anger directed at me as I pushed the notebook back over to him. "These can't even be built, lil whimsical fairy." I took out my pencil and a piece of paper, "this is a city building. That is some sort of Victorian asylum. Do you know how much this kind of material costs?" I couldn't stop laughing even as I sketched out his design, then began to cross out parts and add my own details that soon changed the whole building to something I much preferred.

"...No fucking way. That's just a jail cell! If you submit this, the government will contact you to design their prisons." He frowned heavily and I scoffed. "The Professor said it has to be sustainable. Fine, we don't have to make it big, but this is just ridiculous. Do you know how much you'd be relying on energy for this design? It's impractical. I say Art Deco solar." It was better than what he had presented before... But still so expensive.

"From what material? And it does not require that much energy." I sketched out another design, "I think it's best to keep it simple, spacious and clean. Do you not know how many diseases the 40s to 80s had? Because designs like this house dust, rats, pests." I pointed to his design with my pencil.

"You are so insufferably stupid. Did you know that the cause of most of those incidents were due to lack of proper cleaning supplies and upkeep? The average middle class person can easily avoid that. It still exists in poorer communities because they can't afford proper house hygiene. But shut up and look." He began to design smaller buildings after tying his hair into a messy bun. "French art deco. The terra-cotta pillars work as water catchment as well as being incredibly durable and the glass block partial walls help to heat the house while if you build it out of stucco, it works as an insulator for both the cold and hot."

"This has to last without so much maintenance. You are designing apartments for a town. This takes..." I paused, one of his simpler designs being decent. So I leaned over, nudging his hand away before he added anything stupid, pulling the paper to myself. "So many little details aren't necessary and a waste of time, so if we keep it simple. This isn't a building that takes its time to progress, it has to be quick and efficient. And focusing on such stupid things will not only slow the process but also raise the price. I can get behind this structure, but not the little fairy swirls." I narrowed my eyes as I fixed the problems of his design.

He stared for a second before digging around in his bag, getting a piece of rolled up paper, and hitting me over the head with it. "Stop being so closed minded! The little details are what keeps a building's worth from dropping. Each unique characteristic in the house is why it's a timeless piece. Modernity will soon go out of trend and all the prices of the houses will drop to nothing because no one wants them. This design will stand forever and only grow with society. A house costing so much because it's worth it is not a bad thing!"