My friend Brian Billings was discussing the business of architecture with me this morning. I don't often get into such philosophical discussions these days, so it was a good trip. I've been diligently sending out networking emails all day since, but every once in a while a memory or thought about 'architecture as a business' talks from bygone days sorta bubble up. I've known some architects who make it seem effortless to get things done, and others who work their butts off and make it known. I've known the artsy kind who prefer not to have a license, and the super technical kind who focus on details and answering RFIs. Business is rough for all of them right now, I'm guessing. They're saying things are going to change. Isn't business constantly in flux? It seems like it to me. I'm probably just not old enough to remember the days when all that changed was a particular architect's preoccupations.
I feel like architecture hasn't changed fast enough. A grip of years ago dean Fisher at the University of Minnesota was waxing philosophical about how architecture ought to be more like medicine as a profession. It seemed like all of us in attendance bought into the argument. It looked like we were all going to go out and change the world. But I haven't seen dean Fisher's vision coming true. There are instances like one office's wiki, but I'm not sure if they're sharing it with anybody outside their office. There are some aspects of architecture being shared such as Revit models of various pieces of equipment, etc. But in the medical profession, are they leaving some doctors behind with nothing to do? Do doctors have to deal with patients' representatives? Do millions of people go out and get surgeries performed by nurses? I'm being intentionally vague. The point is business as I know it leaves quite a bit to be desired. But we trudge on.
Welcome to my business, by the way. I'm looking for green architecture projects to work on. But I do all kinds of other things too, in case the other pages seemed confusing. Yes, they're works in progress. I do graphics because after 10 years of composing drawings, diagrams and text on a weekly if not daily basis for critics to rip apart (sometimes literally) I feel just about as comfortable in graphic composition as in drawing. I do art too, but I won't try to sell you that. I do jewelry because after building models of hotels based on liquid kevlar in 3D, metal doesn't seem so strange. I do feng shui interiors because after spending over six years working around interior designers it seems to make perfect sense to do so. I do gardens because those same years plus more I worked with a great landscape architect who made it seem like doing just the building would be a cop out. I do sustainability because without it we're all screwed, and they pretty much drilled it into our heads in college. I do the chickens as an example of whole design, sustainability, health and the fact that I love them. Is this a weird business? Probably. But it's Friday, and normally I'd talk about something light and airy but instead I got on the topic of my future as an architect and architecture business in general, and I couldn't stop myself.
I feel like architecture hasn't changed fast enough. A grip of years ago dean Fisher at the University of Minnesota was waxing philosophical about how architecture ought to be more like medicine as a profession. It seemed like all of us in attendance bought into the argument. It looked like we were all going to go out and change the world. But I haven't seen dean Fisher's vision coming true. There are instances like one office's wiki, but I'm not sure if they're sharing it with anybody outside their office. There are some aspects of architecture being shared such as Revit models of various pieces of equipment, etc. But in the medical profession, are they leaving some doctors behind with nothing to do? Do doctors have to deal with patients' representatives? Do millions of people go out and get surgeries performed by nurses? I'm being intentionally vague. The point is business as I know it leaves quite a bit to be desired. But we trudge on.
Welcome to my business, by the way. I'm looking for green architecture projects to work on. But I do all kinds of other things too, in case the other pages seemed confusing. Yes, they're works in progress. I do graphics because after 10 years of composing drawings, diagrams and text on a weekly if not daily basis for critics to rip apart (sometimes literally) I feel just about as comfortable in graphic composition as in drawing. I do art too, but I won't try to sell you that. I do jewelry because after building models of hotels based on liquid kevlar in 3D, metal doesn't seem so strange. I do feng shui interiors because after spending over six years working around interior designers it seems to make perfect sense to do so. I do gardens because those same years plus more I worked with a great landscape architect who made it seem like doing just the building would be a cop out. I do sustainability because without it we're all screwed, and they pretty much drilled it into our heads in college. I do the chickens as an example of whole design, sustainability, health and the fact that I love them. Is this a weird business? Probably. But it's Friday, and normally I'd talk about something light and airy but instead I got on the topic of my future as an architect and architecture business in general, and I couldn't stop myself.
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