Architecture

I am an Architect. I use a capital “A” here to distinguish what I do — designing, detailing, and constructing buildings that preserve the health, safety and welfare of the public — from other more recent dilutions of the title. “Software architect” indeed.

I am an Architect. I received my license from the State of California in 2006. This followed eight years of internship, of which two years overlapped the final five years of professional architectural education at the University of Southern California. Prior to college, I took the equivalent of three years of architectural drafting at North Eugene High School, the last two of which were on the computer (AutoSketch and AutoCAD).

I am an Architect. I currently work in forensic architecture, which means I investigate building defects. Such investigations can range from examining construction documents and correspondence to on-site destructive testing. The work is almost always related to litigation. It is an unfortunate aspect of the architecture and construction industry that too many professionals either do not understand what they are drawing or what they are building — or just don‘t care. This keeps forensic architects very busy.

I am an Architect. I am also a Certified Access Specialist and LEED Accredited Professional, which means I have specialty certification for disabled accessibility and sustainable design (respectively). I am also know the various building standards codes very well.

I am an Architect. I see my profession drifting further and further away from the Renaissance ideal of “master builder,” the highest level of creative and scientific endeavor. I often fear that the future of this profession is to be relegated to in-house design duties of large design-build contracting firms. Architects have been ceding our traditional duties for decades, and now we are witnessing the results of that short-sightedness. Powerful new tools such as BIM, which should level the playing field between architects and contractors, also threaten the traditional design process in ways that are still being worked out. The profession will survive, but it will likely be much faster and leaner than it is today.

I am an Architect. A former boss and mentor once expounded that the future of architecture is specialization; there is too much to know in today‘s profession, too much complexity, for anyone to be good at everything. While I agree to some extent, I also reject the notion that there is no place for a generalist. Someone must know at least a little about everything to ensure that all of the specialists are working together efficiently and that nothing is overlooked. Notwithstanding my aforementioned specialties, I see myself as just such a generalist.

I am an Architect. There is so much to be excited and optimistic about in the design and construction industry. Despite these hard times, work continues. Design is still a valued commodity. Hope remains high.

I am an Architect.

Design

For those in the profession of architecture, “design” is typically held out separately from the myriad duties of an Architect. The title Designer is often held in higher regard than Architect. The reality is that all successful Architects are successful designers. I use “success” here not measured by awards and accolades but by fitness of purpose. The obscure Architect whose work actually functions as intended is far more successful than the “black cape” Architect whose buildings all leak and look shabby after only a few years.

I am a designer.

Accessibility

Disabled access is a controversial issue. Otherwise mild-mannered folks of all backgrounds often become enraged when presented with the notion that disabled persons are entitled to accessible design.

Accessibility is not just a “good idea.” It is not an issue of building code compliance that remains “grandfathered in” so long as you don't change anything in an existing building. Accessibility is a civil right equal to freedom of religion and freedom from racial or sexual discrimination. Failure to provide accessible facilities is no different than hanging a sign on your building that says “Whites Only.”

I am a Certified Access Specialist.

Sustainability

Sustainability is another controversial issue. There are those who argue that nothing human beings can do to the environment will adversely affect the planet, despite overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus to the contrary. Even if the majority of scientists are wrong, sustainability still makes sense through simple logic. Polluting the environment means there is less “clean” environment to inhabit and enjoy. Removing more natural resources than the planet can replenish means that eventually those natural resources will be expended. Sustainability seeks to stop the decline of the environment and natural resources and produce a stablized system in which the current level of exchange between the natural and artificial worlds is maintained for future generations. (The next step beyond sustainability would be regenerative actions, such as increasing the natural state and returning natural resources to the planet. Given the resistance to sustainability, I don‘t think we‘re ready for that yet.)

I am a LEED Accredited Professional.

BIM and CAD

Once upon a time, the earliest architects used sticks to draw diagrams in the sand that represented what they wished their workers to build. Over time, stick lines in the sand begot painted lines on stones, which in turn begot inked lines on paper. This turned out to be the dominant form of design communication for centuries. As computers became smaller and more affordable to businesses, their inherent accuracy and data portability was leveraged to develop the earliest Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) programs. These programs were mere automations of the traditional two-dimensional drafting methods: lines and arcs and patterns were drawn on a flat medium to symbolically represent building components.

Despite existing almost from the beginning of CAD, it is only recently — since the turn of the millennium — that three-dimensional Building Information Modelling (BIM) programs have risen in prominence. Unlike the conceptual 2D representations in CAD, or even the conceputal 3D representations in early modelling and rendering programs, the 3D representations in BIM are not conceptual but as realistic as possible. While the work may still appear to be two parallel lines on the computer screen, in BIM those lines are “known” to be a wall with specific construction properties (layers of materials, fire-resistance ratings, height limitations, and so forth). For the first time in history, architects have the chance to (virtually) build a building before it is physically constructed. The data contained in a BIM file can be shared with contractors, schedulers, building operators, and even maintenance staff.

BIM is the future of the architecture and construction industry. Those who “get it” will survive and prosper; those who don‘t will fade away and be forgotten. BIM is not like CAD. A cogent argument exists debating the merit of drafting on a computer versus drafting by hand. The only analog to the digital BIM file is the building itself.

I am a BIM believer.

AutoLISP

AutoCAD rose to be the dominant computer drafting program for several reasons, including generalization (it was not targeted to a single profession and therefore was adopted by nearly every profession that uses drafting), widespread piracy (of which it is debatable whether its publisher secretly encouraged), and constant incorporation of other drafting programs' best concepts (AutoCAD is not necessarily the best program for any given functionality, but it has nearly every function otherwise available). One of the lesser-thought-of reasons for AutoCAD‘s dominance is the powerful customization capability imparted by its native programming language, AutoLISP. Based on the common LISP programming language, AutoLISP offers the ability for end-users to “scratch what itches” and expand the already impressive functionality of AutoCAD. Whether creating automation subroutines or interface customization, AutoLISP creates an environment with nearly limitless possibilities.