Life of an Architect

Almost 4 years to the day and 100 episodes later, Andrew and I are going to go through an architectural bucket list of people places, and things. I don’t know what Andrew has in mind but I’m feeling that my list will inspire you and change your life…

How do you define a great employee? The answer is most likely dependent on who is attempting to respond, the employee or the employer. I will concede that I have told previous employers that I would be the best employee they have ever had. And I actually meant it when I said it. Did it happen? I like to think so; at least once or twice, but it’s not for me to say. Andrew and I have been both employee and employer, and this is a topic that I think deserves a little time in the spotlight … Welcome to Ep 125: A Great Employee [Note: If you are reading this via email, click here to access the on-site audio player] A Great Employee - Definitions jump to 2:10 As a primer to the conversation, I thought it would be useful to get an understanding of what other people think makes a great employee. To do this, I sought out the input of people from different age brackets, different stages of experience, architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and owners - just to see if there was a pattern in place that presented itself regardless of the baggage people were bringing with them. Turns out that people generally have the same idea of what makes for a great employee. Miranda Davis – Architect at BOKA Powell: "A great employee first takes care of all the tasks they are assigned in the time that they were given/gave themselves. This includes taking notes/mental notes to facilitate that in the capacity that they know they will need to not forget/miss steps (self-awareness). They communicate well, giving notice as soon as they realize they might not finish something on time, giving their team a chance to pivot if needed. They cannot go above and beyond without first fulfilling the original assignment thoroughly and on time, otherwise the extras cannot be appreciated. They listen actively and ask good questions after first troubleshooting on their own, acknowledging that everyone’s time and brain-space is important. They present a willingness to take on other tasks to learn and grow with a good attitude, bonus points for visible enthusiasm." Brannon Heake: "What makes “a great employee” is not only willing to go the extra distance, but also know when it is necessary to do so. A great employee creates healthy boundaries with work, instilling a sense of pace, forecast, and rigor with a project. Lastly, having the self-awareness to remain cool and collected and check your ego at the door is critical. Although hierarchy is important, a great employee looks at their team as a collective rather than who oversees whom." Paul Freeland - Landscape Architect Kimley-Horn: "A great employee thinks critically about their task and the deliverables at hand. They are proactive, checking quality in their work, holding themselves to a high standard. They solve problems on their own and are great at follow-up internally and externally. They are self-motivated and collaborative, with a positive attitude and a willingness to help their team in times of need. They are easy going, open to feedback, and don’t take themselves too seriously." Melanie Hanna - Interior Designer BOKA Powell: "A great employee is subjective and can greatly vary depending on a company’s leadership style, culture, and values. For me personally, a “great employee” can be defined as a self-motivated individual who has excellent communication skills, embraces a growth mindset, and is aligned with the company’s mission, vision, and values. This individual is respectful, celebrates success, learns from failures, and has a “rising tide lifts all ships” mentality." Nick Thorn – Architect at Marlon Blackwell Architects: "A great employee has many positive traits and attributes, but first and foremost, they are effective communicators because this leads to positive engagement with others. They also possess a duality of other important traits; confidence in their abilities while remaining humble, understanding their role while striving to advance their career,

In Ep 124: Show Me the Money, we discuss the current architectural marketplace, where we can find value, what’s the going salary rate based on skill set and experience, and how badly we need this spot or that spot filled. Understanding your value involves a lot of variables and this will help you set your own priorities when making a decision on your worth.

You’re about to graduate from architecture school, or maybe you already have a job, and you’re just simply looking for a change. Going through interviews is part of the sequence of getting a new job, and there are some things that are worth knowing before you step into the room.

Even though artificial intelligence can conceptually trace its roots back to the 1950s, the reality is AI and Machine learning went mainstream not too long ago, but what does this mean to the profession of architecture?

When you think of a building – whatever scale or project type, the items that go to create that building are most frequently associated with the materials that are selected that define the appearance of the building. Brick, glass, wood, and metal are all great choices – but the decision on what to clad your project in goes a long way towards deciding things beyond the appearance. . … Welcome to EP 121: Material Selection [Note: If you are reading this via email, click here to access the on-site audio player] googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1562005974350-0'); }); The "When" jump to 4:13 When does it happen in the process? Is it early? Late? All the time? Do architects do it differently? These were the questions we discussed in this section and one revelation that I discovered was that I have never had a conversation with another architect about when in the process they choose their materials. For me, the first time I start thinking about the materiality of the projects really has more to do with when I start assembling my drawings. If I am going to consider using a masonry wall - I don't need to know which brick I am going to use, just whether or not I need to provide a certain thickness wall that will accommodate using masonry. We also discussed when we start making those decisions. Andrew thinks that due to the nature of the projects he works on (K-12 schools), clients frequently drive the "when". One of the things that has evolved over the last few years is our use of visualization software that depicts a more finished product. I discussed this in greater detail in the article "Renderings for Residential Design" about how we are indicating a more finished product MUCH earlier than in years past. I'm not entirely convinced this is a good thing because it moves the conversation more along the lines of "I don't like that color of brick" rather than talking about how the space works. The "Why" jump to 12:51 Why choose the material? What are the considerations? Do certain clients value characteristics over others? Cost: This is a major consideration and driver in almost every decision that is made. When we get a budget (and we always have a budget) right out of the gate that will influence materiality. Where is the material coming from - am I paying a premium to get a certain material for my project? We also discuss how labor is almost always more expensive than materials. Due to the remote nature of some of the projects I have worked on, and the lack of specifically trained skilled labor, we will not use certain materials. For example, finding a mason in Northern Wisconsin is not as simple as you might think and if I want to build a brick wall, I'm having to import a brick mason in from another part of the state. Performance - Maintenance - Durability - Climate: Maintenance and climate are strong motivators driving material selection and both of those drive performance. For Andrew, especially with his public work, how the material performs contributes directly towards its consideration for selection. Can we select a material that doesn't need to be painted (think burnished block versus painted CMU) so you are trading upfront material cost for long-term reduced maintenance cost. Also, choosing a material based on climate and the labor market that develops to support that selection ... let's consider wood siding. I rarely get to use wood on the exterior of my projects because it requires routinely scheduled maintenance to keep it from falling apart or looking shabby. Even if I paint it, and despite the readily available labor market we have in Texas, we do not have the same robust industry of home painters here that you might find along the east coast. Few clients are interested in stripping down and repainting their house every few years because it is an expensive process. Availability - This might be a bigger consideration for some architects than others.

Deficiencies of the Architectural Profession? Best non-architecture source for creative inspiration? When are you going to retire? We answer questions and more on Ep 120: Ask the Show - Spring 2023

There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes on the Life of an Architect podcast. In today's episode, we cover some changes that we think you will find amazing and some other changes that might merely be incredible. We are pulling the curtains back and discussing 2023 in a way that we've never done before.

Getting a job as an architectural intern is important, it is critical to gain an understanding of what type of firm and what sort of projects you will want to work on as a practicing architect. Welcome to Episode 118: Architectural Interns.

Architects still communicate their designs through the use of graphics – and there are a lot of techniques that are up for consideration ... these are Graphic Matters.

Does the architectural profession expect more time out of its employees compared to any other highly educated service provider? Architects do seem to romanticize the amount of time and effort that goes into our craft, but are we actually a workaholic?

Architecture is not a trade, it’s a craft … and since this suggests that time and evolution are a consideration to development, it also suggests that architects don’t always get it right. Today we are discussing Architects and "The Art of Getting it Wrong"

For the 13th consecutive year, Life of an Architect presents THE definitive holiday gift guide for architects.

The design of an Architect's office presents a unique opportunity to address design culture while providing an opportunity to show off your creative side.

We are talking about "Final Presentations in Architecture School" today as we review what that process looks like, how to prepare, and discuss what really matters.

In this episode of our Talking Shop series. we are joined by Kevin Rice of Diller Scofidio + Renfro and we discuss careers, office culture, and architecture.

We are starting a design exercise called the "Modern Home Challenge" with the intent to go through a design process that would help us understand how to design a modern house that people could afford and would actually want to live in.

Most architects are able to get out of the office and travel as part of their job ... but is work-related travel as awesome as we all thought it would be? In today's post and podcast, we discuss the pros and cons of "Traveling for Work".

How much drafting does a fully licensed architect do? What is something you learned in the industry that you hadn’t been taught in school? Are you as condescending to your employees as your redlines let on? All this and potentially other hateful questions on today’s episode as Andrew and I answer discuss the questions submitted by the listeners. Welcome to episode 108: Ask the Show – Fall Edition. [Note: If you are reading this via email, click here to access the on-site audio player] googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1562005974350-0'); }); Today’s show consists of questions that were submitted through my Instagram account – well, technically speaking, I asked people to submit questions, and we choose about 10 or so interesting ones that we thought we could effectively handle when only allotting ourselves about 5 minutes to answer. If you submitted a question and we didn’t answer it here, it’s probably because your question is either a topic that we plan on really focusing on in a later episode, was too complicated and specific to you that nobody else would really be invested in the answer, or it didn’t make sense – mostly because it wasn’t in the form of an actual question. In addition, we keep questions that were submitted for previous Ask the Show episodes and consider them as well – so some of these questions date back to episode 64. Should we be more realistic about true practice in school or keep up the romantic ideals? jump to 3:13 Question submitted by @allisonharris – Allison Harris Bob: If I can only choose between these two options, I would choose romantic ideals – mostly because I believe that you go to school to learn how to learn and for architects, this manifests itself in critical thinking. I know that is not the point of Allison’s question – it most likely has to do with making sure that architecture students come out of school equipped with the knowledge they need to not only be successful but to contribute in a meaningful way. For most of the roles that are possible, as far as careers in architecture go, most people do not go into school, nor do they come out of school with any real understanding of what those roles are or the part they play in the process. Andrew and I spent some time talking about the educational process and debating the merits of having the first year of an architectural education be more of a primer that introduces architecture students to the entire gamut of what traditionally exists in our industry. This might then allow students to choose a more focused path while in undergraduate school that allows them to zero in on the things that suit their interests and skill sets rather than potentially preparing them to perform a role that they are not suited to perform. Andrew: I think there needs to be a precise balance between the two options. After a few years in academia, I have changed my thoughts on this question, and they continue to evolve. I think the issue is that most schools seem to push to one option or the other when in my opinion, the sweet spot is in the middle ground. Architecture school is about learning how to think about architecture in a way that involves a process of critical evaluation and thought. That is a skill that you will utilize for the rest of your life in the profession. Yet, there is not enough information provided about the actual work that happens within the profession. I think some of this is just academia. Many of your professors, to be bluntly honest, may not know how the profession operates currently. Many have either been out of practice for many years or some never were in the practice at all. So the push to insert more of the “profession” into the curriculum is not always easy or possible. I hate to ride the middle ground here, but in reality, you need to learn the process of creating and thinking about architecture and also be made aware of the possibilities and operations of the practi...

Learn about what happens during the design development phase of a residential project when you hire an architect. This is typically the phase the clients enjoy the most as they see their project come to life and start to get an understanding of what their new home will look like once completed.