Advocacy For the Profession

Since I was absent the last session, I wanted to share what would have been my presentation on advocacy.

What am I doing to advocate, here’s the 4 things I feel best describes this… Mentoring, Community Involvement, Client Interaction, Interpreting Codes/Laws

Mentoring

Mentor Program – The main goal of this program is to assist new associates in becoming a part of Hixson more quickly, by helping them get off to a faster, more productive start. I personally have 2 mentees and it’s been a humbling experience. We go out to lunch, partake in happy hour, and this gives them an open platform in which to ask me questions about the organization, work life, policies, and anything else that may be on their mind at the time.

ARE – Even though the days and nights of hardcore studying are behind me, I have made myself a resource for the interns in my office. It is not uncommon that a fellow associate will ask me to discern one of the many convoluted ARE practice questions or assist in training on the cumbersome vignette software. I enjoy doing this because I’ve been there and I know it helps to have additional support.

Community Involvement

Fundraising - Is a great way to contribute to our community. Not always does it need to be a monetary donation. Sacrificing time in some cases can be just as valuable.

Repair Affair - Is an example of time donation in which we partner with People working Cooperatively and pick a homeowner who’s disabled or elderly and give their home some much needed maintenance and repair assistance. Last year we built a new porch and stairs for a neighbor in our community. Past year’s project included a ramp for a disabled and elderly gentleman.

CANstruction – This is something near and dear to me because it’s a way to raise awareness about hunger in our community in a creative and innovative way. I have captained a team of Hixson associates for 7 years running and it has been a very gratifying experience. I know I have some fellow competitors in the audience so I’m not going to leak any info about this upcoming year’s entry, but I have to say it will defy gravity.

Client Interaction
It is our role as architects to provide a valuable service to maintain client relations. It is by this avenue we become advocates for our profession. Some people think helping clients achieve their goals is just a job, well there’s much more to it than that.
Since we sell nothing but our time, it is my job to deliver completely unbiased advice based on what is in the client’s best interest. Now I’m going to sound a bit like our CEO Wick here and say “It is our job to be advocates for our clients and help lead them in making decisions, this is how the impenetrable client loyalty bond is formed.”
A majority of our clients are inquiring about how we can make their project more sustainable or interested in obtaining LEED certification. As architects it is our job to be on the forefront of these practices and have the knowledge and skill to back up these types of decisions.

Interpreting Codes and Laws
It is my job to make sure I am informed of laws impacting our practice and doing comprehensive code reviews on each project. This can really come back and bite you if you’re not careful. I recently had a job go out in which the building official was threatening to halt construction because we did not take into consideration the flight path of a nearby airport. The issue stemmed from a tank silo, 60’ tall and within a certain distance to the airstrip which did not adhere to the FAA guidelines. I performed my standard building code summary but failed to take into consideration the small airstrip nearby and its impact. We were able to remedy this situation by placing some lights atop the silo. I got lucky.
 
When speaking with clients I often use the phrase, “In the spirit of the code….” which is my way of safeguarding certain aspects of the code that can be confusing to clients. Plus it sounds like I know what I’m talking about, and who would ever question the code.

Architects are the only design professionals who are educated, trained, and tested in integrating all essential systems that go into creating the built environment for human use and occupancy. Unfortunately, however, our elected officials don't always think along these same lines. Legislators don't necessarily need to understand the importance of architectural training — that's why it's our job to know what bills are being considered and how they are likely to affect the architectural profession.