December 2006

Call this month’s article the “Introspective” rather than the “Perspective”. It’s been a few years since my career in architecture began. I find the issues and challenges faced at this stage of a practice are very different than those from earlier days. The evolution of an architecture career, like many other professions, is a continual growth of knowledge. We train in school to learn how to design, how to think as an architect, and maybe we learned a little about how to put a building together. It’s amazing how little we really knew.

We spend the early years of our career developing the drawings, learning how to put a building together, facing the challenges of coordinating with those pesky beams and ducts, and hopefully, trying out our design ideas. Along the way, we focus on becoming licensed, and learning what it means to be an Architect. The responsibilities change as we take charge of projects, but the focus is still the project. Our design abilities grow, our technical knowledge grows, and then we learn new things about managing the work of others and dealing with clients on our own. The challenges change. Along the way, it becomes more than just the project. We learn about running a business, about marketing, about financing, and we become more aware of the impact of architecture and architects on society. Hopefully, we reach a point in our careers where we have a broader view of the issues we face as architects. The challenge becomes sharing that knowledge and having a positive impact. It means being involved beyond the projects, whether it is serving on a Planning or Zoning Board, local master planning committees, running for elected office, or volunteering for community charrettes. We need to be involved in our local communities.

When I started writing this column at the beginning of the year, I thought I’d focus much of the discussion on quality in architecture. As I look back on the previous articles, it turns out that most of the discussion has been on architects being involved in society, rather than the quality of our work or the individual project. As usual, I encourage our members to be involved. To be an architect, you have to believe that what we create in space has an impact on individuals and on society. That’s also true of what we create in our relationships and our involvement with our communities. Where are you in your growth as an architect?

Merry Christmas!