“Give me your pen,” Elia said as he lowered himself into a chair at the desk and pulled my sketchbook toward him. He carved his idea onto the page with bold, practiced strokes, each mark punctuated by a vibrant commentary that delved to the heart of my concept. “You see, this drawing is meant to show what you stand for, what you think about architecture and its impact on the political and the social [human experience]. We are cultivating a particular way of thinking here.”