Habitat for Humanity AIARE Build Day

Here is the announcement for a community service event I am organizing:

When: Sat. Nov 2, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m

Where: Woodland Hills, Cotati

The AIA Redwood Empire is once again partering with Leadership Santa Rosa and Habitat for Humanity of Sonoma County (HFHSC) for a Build Day on Saturday, November 2nd.

The latest home build project by HFHSC is Woodland Hills, a series of 5 new single-family homes in Cotati, and construction is about to begin.  Our group will be framing and raising walls on our Build Day, the most exciting part of the building process in my humble opinion.  However, our group size is limited, so you need to get signed up as soon as possible, or you might miss out on this fun, inspiring, community building experience.  If you’ve got high schoolers in your family, this is a great way for them to get some of those community service hours they need for graduation.  If you’re tired of sitting in the office and you want to get your hands a little dirty for a day, this is your chance!

To sign up, or to get more information, contact Carl Servais at 703-9439 or at carl.servais@tlcd.com.

“The frightening thought that what you draw may become a building makes for reasoned lines.” – Saul Steinberg

Why Should I Join the AIA?

My AIA Redwood Empire Spring 2013 Newsletter article:

Why Should I Join the AIA?
That's the question every architect has to ask him or herself at some point.  Well, there are plenty of compelling reasons to be an AIA member.  Pragmatically, membership in the AIA gives you access to a plethora of programs and continuing education events, often times at a reduced cost.  I'm a numbers guy, so here's an example. AIA members can save $300 on registration for this year's AIA National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver, and new members can attend for free, a $775 value.  Locally, your AIA Redwood Empire chapter organizes membership lunches, CRAN home tours, wine and learns, and lectures, many of which are reduced cost or free for AIA members.  All that, and you get a subscription to Architect Magazine too!  But seriously, there is not typically going to be enough payback in savings to cover the cost of annual AIA membership fees.  However, there are important reasons to be an AIA member that don't have a payback you can calculate.  What is the value of the AIA's government advocacy that pursues policies that will stimulate work for architects?  What is the value of being part of a network of professionals where you can find support and advice from colleagues who are united in a common purpose?  What is the value of AIA Redwood Empire's mission to advance design and the built environment through education, public awareness, collaboration, and by empowering its members?  As an AIA member, how do you measure the credibility gained when you're looking for a job at a firm, or when you're looking for clients?  How do you calculate the benefit to the profession of the AIA's support for students, associate members, and emerging professionals?  I may be a numbers guy, but I find these immeasurable benefits more compelling than the more pragmatic benefits.  In the end, if you ask me why I am a member of the AIA, the answer is simple:  Because I am an Architect.

Depressing

I heard from a colleague at work recently that Architects have the highest unemployment rate of any profession......We're Number 1!!!

I can't say that I'm suprised based on observation and, unfortunately, my own experience.  I spent a little over a year between  architecture jobs.  In the interim, I was a stay-at-home Dad, a Community College Instructor, a U.S. Census Enumerator, a Sonoma State Extended Education Green Building Certificate recipient, a California Architect's Board Supplemental Exam candidate, and all-around busy-body.

Then today, I read an article in Salon about the state of the architecture profession.  Let's just say...not good.  Perhaps the most depressing exerpt:

Robots assembling buildings

Some academics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have put together an incredible exhibition demonstrating building construction using little flying helicopters.  The structure is a simple sculptural assembly of foam bricks, but the demonstration is remarkable for the possibilities it envisions.



I can imagine a future construction site erecting scaffolding around a building perimeter for the use of cameras and recharging platforms.  Would you still need to deliver materials to the site, or would the robots fly directly to warehouses, or directly to the manufacturers to pick up materials?  How many different materials would be developed to accommodate the robots' capabilites, or would different materials require different types of robots?  Would each building material manufacturer also design a corresponding assembly robot that would come with the purchase price or be leased when you purchase the material?  How would flying robots work for concrete, thousands of robots each bringing small quanities, or would they simply handle the equipment we use today?  What about robots that contain a small amound of liquid that quickly hardens into different types of finish material?

And what does this construction method do to architecture as we know it today?  There seem to be lots of limitations, but it also seems to open up new possibilities geometrically.  Would the architect simply deliver a three dimensional model?  Could this be the dawn of a truly paperless design and construction process?

I think what I love about this project is how simple it is and, as a result of this simplicity, how vast the possiblities are.

I'm Baaaack

It's been a while, but I think I'm ready to get back to blogging.  There has been a lot of happenings since last I wrote.  Most importantly, I need to do a little bragging, because I passed the CSE the second time around.  I was given one last opportunity to try the oral version of the CSE before it goes extinct, so I took a chance, despite a crazy schedule that did not really allow me to prepare as well as I would have liked.  I passed it anyway, to my great relief.  I have sent in my hundred bucks, and now await my official papers as a licensed architect in the State of California.  Goal.....accomplished.

Press Release

I recently had to write a press release for a job application.  No resume, no cover letter, no references.  Just a press release.  It was a bit of a challenge, but it was also nice to have a break from the formulaic monotony of sending job applications.  I try to make each application tailored to the position, but it still ends up being cutting and pasting, reworking language, etc.  This application required a whole new perspective and original content.  I hope it pays off.  Here's the press release:

From the department of Google searches

I was doing some leisurely Google searching today and I found an article from the Petaluma Argus Courier written a couple years ago when I was still at Wattenbarger Architects in Petaluma.  At the time, we were still building out our office space.  Actually, we never really finished building, so the fact that we were still under construction isn't a very specific timeframe.  The article was from after we got our much-needed, much-delayed bathroom door, but before the office closed due to the recession.  The picture from the article shows the cabinets we designed being built.  The cabinets will always be a fond memory of my time at the Petaluma office.  The material was purchased by my boss, Ross, at an auction where all the old machinery and things were being sold off from a closed down silk mill in town.  I spent a solid week in the old mill, disassembling the enormous redwood shelves.  The shelves had been built in place and they were too big to move in-tact, so I, a desk-jockey by trade, got to spend some time with a hammer and crowbar.  It was a lot of fun, but a lot of effort.  We came up with a beautiful design, and the furniture shop down the alleyway from our office put the whole thing together.  The final product was, and is, quite beautiful and elegant.  It was great to be a part of bringing those old redwood boards back to life.

FAIL

I managed to fail the CSE.  I will try again ASAP.  Of course, they are switching to a multiple-choice computer exam next year.  Frustration squared.

Catching up

It's been a while since I last posted, so I guess I should catch up on a few things.

I took the California Supplemental Exam 4 weeks ago and, true to form for the State beaurocracy, I haven't received the results yet. (fingers crossed)

The healthcare reform bill passed with great fanfare or consternation, depending on which side of the political spectrum you were on.  I see it as a great step forward and a major accomplishment against great odds.  I, and quite a few others, lost a lot of faith in whether the bill would pass after Scott Brown's election to the Senate, and after President Obama's State of the Union speech.  Speaker Pelosi really came through, in my opinion.

I will be starting a new job with the Census at the end of the month.  Obviously the work will only be temporary, but work is work.  I'm looking forward to getting out in the community, maybe getting some exercise and meeting some new people.  I'm excited about performing a job that is actually written into the Constitution.

There was finally some significant job growth around the country last month.  Hopefully the economy has turned the corner and job growth will continue.

That's all for now.  I will try to be blogging more regularly now that I have gotten back into it.

Green Building Codes

There seems to be a wave of Green Building Codes coming down the pipeline.  California developed their Green Building Standard several years ago,

How Slums Can Save the Planet?

I am a big fan of Stewart Brand's book How Buildings Learn.  It is one of the few books I read in architecture school that helped me to understand just what architecture was about.  In this article by Mr. Brand, however, I am left with an empty, wretched feeling about where he is coming from.  He describes the slums around the world as some sort of hub for innovation.  The only caveat to his romantic vision comes in this paragraph:

Solar hot water

How long before California requires solar hot water in all new single family residential construction?  Hawaii is there already.

Architecture Blogs

I'm thinking about doing a little research into architecture blogs.  There are a few different types of blogs that are out there.

I have noticed that within the last few years, a number of firms have included blogs on their websites.  I expect more and more firms will explore this medium, either as a way of sharing communications to colleagues within the office, but also to clients and prospective clients.  It seems to provide an interesting window into the firm's culture.  TLCD and QKA in Santa Rosa are both doing it, to different degrees.

There are also a number of architectural commentary blogs that I have yet to explore.  I'll try to come up with a list of worthwhile blogs that I can follow on a regular basis and share interesting articles.  Stay tuned

Perkins + Will gobbles up another one

These guys must be doing something right.  They just keep growing, and growing, and growing, and growing.........

References

So I get a former student emailing me yesterday and asking if I can be a reference for him.  He earned his AS degree in architecture and now he's out looking for a job.  This presents a bit of a strange situation for me, as I am unemployed and also looking for work in the architecture field.  Clearly, we are not at the same position level, as I have a Master's degree, 6 years of full-time work, and my license.  But in this market, beggars can't be choosers, so I have to expand my search parameters, as will he.  It's not unreasonable to think we might end up applying for the same position at some point.  I fell a bit anxious about this fact.  Will I become Obi Wan to his Darth Vader?  Will the apprentice sleigh the master (so to speak)? 

California Architect's license

Most states will give a license through reciprocity to someone who has met the NCARB certification requirements. NCARB is the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. They provide a national standard for internship, the Intern Development Program (IDP), and a national standard for licensure examinations, the Architect Registration Exams (ARE's). NCARB certification is a national standard that certifies an architect's education (accredited program), experience (IDP), knowledge (ARE's), and that the architect is licensed.

"We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us."

Here's an essay I wrote a few years ago for the AIA Redwood Empire newsletter in support of the SMART train funding that was on the ballot in November 2008.  I like to think it was my essay that pushed the voting over the top and got the SMART train funding passed.  (A boy can dream, can't he?)

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

These famous words by Winston Churchill reveal the important role that architects have, not just in designing the physical world, but also in affecting the people and communities that are shaped by those designs. I suspect this important role is part of the allure of architecture for many people because architects have the chance to create an enduring mark on the world. I believe this desire to leave a legacy can and should also be manifest by architects in active and educated political involvement.