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.

citizen architect

At the recent Vision session dedicated to the topic of advocacy the group was provided with multiple avenues to advocate for the profession at the local, state and national levels.  The conversation was enlightening to the lobbying efforts of ArchiPAC, and clearly laid out the goals and agenda for the upcoming year.  The red button topics at the state level were identified and the AIA Cincinnati advocacy group introduced itself.  All certainly eye opening and noted.

Still, I believe the strongest venue for advocacy for the profession is as citizen architect, grounded in the local issues through community groups, school boards and local and city planning groups. What better way to advertise the architect as problem solver, as ethical, as a facilitator, with the ability to think outside the box and to the see the big picture. (Note: Andrew Goldberg highlighted these qualities as the architects’ strengths as recognized by the broader public).

Unfortunately, it seems that the academic education of the architect is heavily dedicated to theory over practice and to designing unconceivable high rises rather than community centers (at least these were the trends in my school days).  While this offers a military like training in remolding the mind of the architect to think critically I believe it is important for students to dig themselves out of the studio, on occasion.  Lead by the success and publicity of the Rural Studio many architecture schools have added programs that address local and community issues.  So I do think that academia has evolved.

Anyways, local involvement and activity outside the office in my mind plays the strongest advocate for the profession.  This involvement promotes the strengths of the architect to the community and legitimizes the necessity of the profession.

How to give a forgettable presentation

Have you ever been to a presentation that you couldn't remember the content of a mere hour afterward? I'm sure everyone has been to at least one of these. For me, sometimes the problem is that the content of the presentation is not particularly interesting or maybe it's too basic or too advanced for me to relate to. Most often, though, the issue is that the speaker himself was not terribly interesting or memorable and didn't capture my attention or failed to hold it for more than a few minutes. In today's world of pervasive technology, I am as guilty of multitasking on my phone if I'm not enthralled with a presentation as anyone.

In December's VISION session we heard from Peggy Kennedy about making your presentation memorable by including personal elements. I certainly agree that storytelling and personal elements are very important to making a presentation, and the presenter himself, interesting. However, I also learned from Barbara Hall in the morning portion of this session that in my DiSC personality assessment that I am a high dominance personality type. That can (and does) mean that I bore easily or get distracted if a presenter is giving me too much fluff and not enough direct, hard substance. There's probably a reason I loved Dragnet re-runs and Joe Friday's "Just the facts, ma'am" approach as a kid. So, what's the best balance? For me, I love a presenter who interjects real-world experience into their presentations as a way of adding a personal element but still conveying important information and not straying too far from the facts. That's what I strive for when I give a presentation as well, so hopefully all you other personality types out there can relate!

a new year's resolution for 2013 & after

                                            Early 20th-century New Year's resolution postcards
                                                     
Now that 2013 has arrived and many of us are setting new goals and resolutions for the new year, it's a good time to recall what Barbara Hall shared with us at our last Vision session.  One of her suggestions was that we focus on our areas for potential rather than on our weaknesses.  After taking the DISC online assessment provided by Unlimited Potential and reading our personalized reports, we are equipped with a greater knowledge of our individual behaviors and the motivations that drive our actions.  We have, also, gained a better understanding of our own strengths and weaknesses, which with practice, can enable us to communicate more effectively with others and achieve deeper satisfaction both at work and in our personal lives.

In the book titled, "StrengthsFinder 2.0," which we read prior to our Vision session #2, Tom Rath informs his readers just how prevalent the sense of disengagement is in the workplace.  He writes, "Over the last decade, Gallup has surveyed more than 10 million people worldwide on the topic of employee engagement (or how positive and productive people are at work), and only one-third "strongly agree" with the statement:  'At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.'."  He goes on to say that their studies show that people are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life when people have the opportunity to concentrate on their strengths each day.  This latter statement urges us to take the time to know ourselves better so that we can put our strengths to use rather than neglecting them.  Focusing on our strengths, Rath says, will lead to a more fruitful, enjoyable life.  This is a new year's resolution we can't afford to lose interest in.

get thee a vision, get thee a vision

Villa Vignamaggio. Photo courtesy of Benedetta.

In Act 5, Scene 4 of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Benedict says, 

"Prince, thou art sad; get thee a wife, get thee a wife." 

Shakespeare's phrase, taken from my favorite of all his plays, kept popping into my head while driving away from Aileron on Friday, December 12th after learning about our DISC behaviors and motivators from Barbara Hall of Unlimited Potential Leadership Development Group, LLC coupled with excellent presentation coaching from Peggy Kennedy of Brand Tune-Up. 

Each of the VISION participants, certainly myself included, were inspired to search out new personal and career goals. It seems as though many of us are surprised to find out that our workplace behaviors may not be the same as our natural behaviors. It was another eye-opener to learn that contentment is linked to whether our motivators are aligned with our current careers. Imagine with me as Branagh says to each of us, 

"Prince, thou art sad; get thee a vision, get thee a vision."

Who could better articulate this phrase than that of Kenneth Branagh who played Benedict in the 1993 movie taped at the sumptuous Tuscan Villa Vignamaggio? Follow this link on You Tube to watch the clip.

a legacy marked by hard work

photo credit: merobson, http://www.flickr.com/photos/merobson/3334684475/sizes/m/

One of the thoughts that were commonly presented by the firm leaders was the concept of “hard work” or “working hard.” It seems appropriate that architects would be talking about “hard work” because that is one of our signature traits after all. On any campus in the U.S. where there is an architecture school, I venture to assert that not a minute goes by when the building is unoccupied during academic sessions.

We could all agree that thinking about how to work “smarter” is a key goal for any of us. Perhaps, most of all, I am thinking about our privilege in America where hard work is ideally, directly rewarded via Capitalism. We could work our fingers to the bones and not be appropriately compensated if we lived in other areas of the world. So, to me, it was inspirational to hear the stories of the firm leaders who forged their way to success by a devoted belief that a bit of suffering now can yield a bigger return later down the road. 

Personality in Architecture

Design is personal.  The objects and environments that shape our environment shape us.

For designers and architects, the people at the front end of the design process who make the decisions that shape these objects and environments, the process is somewhat reversed.  In the same way that every artist’s work could be considered a self-portrait, the final constructions of architects bear the identity of the designer’s hand.  A Wright house will not look like a Johnson house. A Meyer museum will have a different personality than a Gehry museum.  A Foster skyscraper will be totally different than a Nouvel.

But this is an illusory image, idealistic and fantastic.  The idea that a larger than life design personality simply arrives in town to build structures which bear their signature identity like little gifts given out of some magical workshop far, far away, that these gifts are given only on seldom occasions and are in fact unwrapped with ribbon cuttings prior to opening reminds me of a much deeper cultural belief in fantasy. 

 

Our first Vision class discussed the topic of legacy and leadership in Architecture.  Firm leaders presented what they believed about the profession and the candidates presented what inspires them to pursue design.  What struck me most about these presentations was the deeply personal motivation shared by all for pursuing architecture as a profession.  No one is doing it for the money, because there isn’t any.  No one is doing it for the fame, because it doesn’t exist. They are doing it because they care, they want to give, and they have the talents to do it.

I made some notes during our conversation and wanted to consider the following statements as it relates to personality in architecture.

“Be true to yourself. Don’t wear a mask.”

It’s easy for Peter Zumthor to be true to himself. He has a practice that is established, a history of successful, beautiful buildings, and the unique privilege of not having to pursue clients – they pursue him.  But how do you be true to yourself as you are still learning and trying to grow your expertise?  How do you not wear a mask but still pull a rabbit out of your hat?

“Know thyself. Sell Thyself”

Every project is unique.  This is exciting and challenging and what makes design so interesting.  But how can you know that you’ve never done something before and still sell the service?  How can you both promise quality and performance and at the same time own mistakes and shortcomings, knowing that design and construction will be messy and mistakes will happen?

“It’s not the grades you make, but the hands you shake”

Architecture is a service business and as such is based in people.  It is not a remote profession (although technology allows us to practice this way more and more and I would argue that remote design has the same effects as remote wars on the mental health of the professionals and outcomes of a particular problem).  You have to be there, to listen, to see, and to shake the hands and look in the eyes of the people for whom you are designing.

In the end, architecture is for people and architecture is for life.  And life is messy, full of joy and sadness.  What we offer as architects is not signature design, but a personality and process, a way of thinking through design problems and finding the best solution from our personal experience.  We can’t promise trophies, but we can guarantee that we will lead the process to the best of our abilities and that we will do it with joy, hard work, and personality.  In return, we don't need fame and fortune, just the opportunity to create and give. Of course some milk and cookies would be nice too.