a word from the editors

by Kelsey Willis & Selina Wabl

a word from the editors:

paraprosdokian (plural paraprosdokians)

Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation. "Where there's a will, I want to be in it" is a paraprosdokian.

origin

from Ancient Greek παρά (para, "against")  + προσδοκία (prosodokia, "expectation")

Here we are again: the hallways within our sticky beehive of Richardson Memorial Hall reverberate with delirious laughter the night before reviews, waft with the scent of freshly crafted walnut models, and buzz with an intangible sense of family - that thing that somehow keeps everyone sane even after repeated computer crashes and dropped models. For us, 2019 was a multicolored blur, marked by oversize fruit stickers, tender giggles during breaks in our Cloud Nine installation, and whispers of controversy over pedagogy and changes in curriculum.

This year’s issue of the Charrette, “Whim”, collects our contributors’ explorations into that which is magical, uncanny, and capricious among us. As always, we hope to be a platform that inspires discourse and controversy. However, this year we hope to also incorporate the less serious, yet equally important moments of whimsy and curiosity that help us provoke deeper conversations. We hope that a flip-through, skim, or deep dive into our zine can ignite a twinkle in your soul amidst the banality of the everyday.

For the two of us, the approaching month of May cues a bittersweet coming-to-terms as we leave the place that has housed us during out most demoralizing nights, but also during moments of gratitude, inspiration, and even triumph. As we pass on our role as Editors-in-Chief of the Charrette, we feel confident that the joyful sparks of creativity and camaraderie in our weekly meetings will continue to fill the nooks of the Architecture school with the same fruitfulness.

Though over the past five years we often inadvertently embodied moths, continually fluttering back to the one reliably illuminated building on campus, we also - most importantly - embodied adventure-hungry gazelles, bounding down the steep stairs to frolic in swampy New Orleans streets.

We hope you’ll all remember to skip, spin, leap, and prance in the world like these quirky animals we have all become together, but also to come back every once in a while to show what you have found on your adventures.

So here we present to you, our final issue as editors of the Charrette.

Cheers, Tulane School of Architecture, it’s been a hoot!