Architects duke it out

Developer Russ Murfey, left, debates Mike Stepner with moderator Stephen Russell in between.

Five architects and a developer, colleagues all, duked it out Thursday in a make-believe Fight Club boxing ring, all to prove a point:

It's not all about design.

Sponsored by the alumni board of the NewSchool of Architecture and Design, the two-hour slugfest before an audience of nearly 150 students and professionals had veteran designers doff their traditional, good-guy personas and debate the pros and cons of the real world.

"What we really wanted to do was get the students out of the studio and expose them to a broad range of people in creative design industries," said Peter Soutowood, a NewSchool alum who oversaw "Alley Rounds" at the Space 4 Art gallery in East Village for the second time. "A lot of licensed architects would say that real design...is about 5 percent of the job and wish it was 95 percent."

The majority of the time involves working with clients and building officials, marketing for new business and managing the office.

The first round between NewSchool professors Robin Brisebois and Jeff Kennedy addressed the worth of an architect in improving the lives of people.

"It's all very self-centered to say it's all about us," Brisebois said, half tongue-in-cheek. "We simply are not in charge. We simply aid and abet the project of human habitation on the planet and serve other people who have other agendas than we architects do."

Kennedy, who specializes in sustainable design, replied, "We're not bad animals. We're good animals -- we just have bad habits. We need to change our habits and if I can give up carbs for a month, I think we can do this."

Round 2 pitted urban architect Frank Wolden against artist-architect James Enos.

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Architects duke it out