Do You ...

  

Remember?

• Slide Rules
• Drafting Machines
• Ignition Points
• Maylines
• Full Size Spare Tires
• Pounce
• VHS
• Betamax
• Letraset
• Blueprints
• Floppy Disks
• Zip Drives
• Slide Carousels
• R-11 Insulation
• Platform Shoes (Oh, No.  They came back - this time with heels.)
• Mimeographs
• Polaroid Pictures
• DOS
• Norton Commander
• Wordperfect
• Quattro Pro
• One Button Mice
• Chisel Points
• Rapidographs
• Walkmen
• Roofing Kettles
• Snow Chains
• Automatic Seat Belts
• Fortran
• Punch Cards
• Laser Disks
• Road Map Atlases

Some of these are still being used, of course. Exactly how retro are you?

Quote some Homer. I dare you.

For what seems like years, I have been reporting opinions and surveys of the diminishing value of design professions and similar artistic endeavors. In our related professions, Architects and Graphic Designers have been pushed aside in favor of virtually every kind of Engineer. Through the last recession, staggering unemployment percentages have been cited by many sources.

Now, we have non other than the New York Times reporting on some consequences of this trend. To see their article on the reduced interest in humanities studies, go to http://goo.gl/PskAvi. There you will see comments about such places as Harvard University, which has "... had a 20 percent decline in humanities majors over the last decade."

In my case, I came out of an Architecture School which was considered to be Engineering-oriented - my School of Architecture was part of the "Faculty of Engineering". During my class reunions, it's not uncommon for us to laugh about the group antagonism we had for mandatory "dance" class intended to make us aware of human movement though space. Over the years, however, many of my peers and co-workers have had more diverse and broad-based experience than I. As a consequence, I have developed a great respect for someone who is equally adept at quoting both William Shakespeare and I.M. Pei.

Where will we be as a society if we become dominated by technicians and scientists? The pleasure of the arts, the appreciation for history, the impact of emotions, the value of discourse and contemplation - will these all be lost? I hope not.

My suspicion is that this trend - which is no doubt real - is cyclical, related to the miserable economy we may be coming out of. Perhaps, in thirty years we'll be advocating that our children become philosophers. Now wouldn't that be fun?

I've Fallen ...

and maybe I won't have to get up. In this case down is good and up is bad. However, this is all very much sad irony.

My partner in life and business is a Graphic Designer. The template for this blog, and all things graphic in No Left Turn, are her doing. For a number of years now, we have watched as one business reporter after another slammed Architects for the perceived uselessness of their education and career choices. Through these times fraught with all the negative press we have soldiered on together - pretty much committed to our chosen fields.  It's often been a struggle to maintain the commitment. Now there comes an odd turn of events.

For the first time that I can recall, there comes a news story from Business Insider that her profession is now one of the top ten "Useless". Oddly Architecture is absent from the list. See the story at http://goo.gl/CtWVrQ.

Years ago, we hosted a small dinner party for couples where one was an Architect, and the other was a Graphic Designer. That evening was one of modest self congratulation, where we chatted up the compatibility of the two professions and how we as couples got along.  Now, years later, I hadn't expected that we would be comparing negative perceptions instead of positive ones.

Oh well, the good news is that we still like what we do, and enjoy one another as well. Too bad one of the dinner party couples broke up years ago. But that's an entirely different kind of story.

Shoot Me

In my last posting, I mentioned how much of my work entails writing. In a manner somewhat similar to how I view building construction, I think that sentence structure and composition should follow established rules. I think this curiosity might has started with the 'by the book' teachers I had in elementary school who taught us how to diagram sentences. It was all very structural. Looking at subject and predicate, parts of speech, modifiers and all that stuff was great fun. Yes - now you can see the inner nerd.

Later, there came a growing fascination with how proper punctuation makes more order out of the potential mess of throwing words together. On this subject, there is no better reference than Eats, Shoots & Leaves, the wonderful book by Lynne Truss. Her extended title, The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, is apt.

An interesting aspect of all this analysis is that I eventually came to realize that if you want to write in a manner that is conversational, you have to ignore the rules. Imperfect sentence formation, use of jargon, bad grammar, you name it - they're all part of the game. The old biddies at Old Tappan Elementary School would be aghast. Me - I just stumble along. Okay, please don't shoot me.  

Writer's Block

Much of what I do to put food on the table involves writing. Specifications, reports, newsletters, memos, simple correspondence, and this - my blog.

All the other stuff has a purpose, an agenda if you will. The outline , the format, the intent, and occasionally even the content can be predetermined. Sometimes this all may be a business variation of paint-by-numbers, albeit hopefully with some intelligence and business acumen to make it cogent.

This blog, on the other hand, has no prerequisites. I can write about whatever suits my fancy.  Recently I read another that I like to follow entitled "Nothing Special". It seemed like a drawn-out Tweet or Facebook post - decidedly humdrum. I wondered what prompted it.

I normally want these postings to be germane to my business purpose, but how could this be when nothing truly unique comes to mind? Maybe I should write about why I like two spaces between sentences, but Blogger messes with my formatting when I do that. But, that would be "Nothing Special". Don't lose faith, the next post will have more content.

Even Bigger!

 

Now, this is getting really crazy.

I just assembled a Construction Document progress specification for a proposed nearby high school. In spite of my best efforts to stream-line things, my attempt was foiled - mostly by the Mechanical/Plumbing/Electrical Engineer.

How could this happen?

I blame the idiosyncrasies of specification writing software. It used to be that specification sections would often describe related components - all plumbing fixtures, for example. In order to produce the spec for a specific project, the writer would open the spec section document in their favorite software. Components would be added or deleted as needed. With the right combination of master spec spec and software, this could be as simple as toggling elements on and off.

For the truly lazy, there's a tempting alternative. If a master section includes only one component, no editing may be needed. After setting up enough of these "master" sections in advance, all the casual spec writer has to do is list the needed sections for an administrative assistant to copy and collate. Voila - you have what passes as a project specification, lacking only actual custom components.

Here's the rub - this approach can easily triple the number of individual sections. Each one with redundant general requirements. I hate it, and I suspect most Contractors do as well. My latest high school project had an assembled specification of more than 2500 pages, more than 1400 of which were multiple mechanical, plumbing and electrical sections. Who really reads all this stuff? I have to admit, even though I assembled it, I didn't have the patience.

Would you?

Some Consolation, I Guess

Over the last few years, virtually every Yahoo news story about College degrees and professions listed Architecture as the worst possible choice. Yahoo has recently modified their position.

Architecture degrees are now just the second worst possible choice. See http://goo.gl/YwiLbl to see what I'm talking about.  The numbers they quote imply that 1 out of 8 architects are now pounding the pavement. We have to take solace in the fact that as recently as last year some sources were saying it was nearly 1 of 5.

The article cited says that a better choice is Civil Engineering. I suppose the employment prospects are better, but how many budding architects do you know who would be equally happy designing roads and bridges? Not many, in my experience.

Just goes to show you that the common perception of what attracts people to the design professions can be slightly misguided.

Change?

Now NPR has jumped in on a story about Architects. Hear what they have to say at http://goo.gl/8ecsO

Their headline is staggering: "While some jobs are coming back in this economy, the market for many architects remains tough. There were nearly 220,000 people working in the field in 2008. Today, more than 25 percent of those jobs are gone."

55,000 jobs gone. Wow. People from Gensler and NBBJ were interviewed, as well as one young Architect who now toils at 1/2 of his pre-recession income.  The NBBJ person had a clearly spoken opinion. Paraphrased: "Change or keep looking for work."

It makes me feel a little better about the "change" I made a number of years ago.  In my case, I can't say it's because I was following any business advice. I was just sticking with what I enjoyed.

The NPR story ended on a slightly bright note.  There was the claim that business appears to be rebounding, however slowly.  The latest I heard is that 2013 will remain tough.  How are you doing?

How Big?

I recently starting a new project - the writing of specifications and project manuals for two public schools. I don't do this often, but I work on staying current with codes and standards for work like this. I like the exercise. So here I am - a lapsed Construction Specifications Institute member, an up-to-date American Institute of Architects card-carrier, and an actual LEED Accredited Professional - and I'm bewildered by what our industry has accommodated.

My client, the Architect of Record for the two projects, has explained that the School Districts, the State reviewers, and the Construction Managers are asking for as much detail as possible for each delivery, even for the early design phases. Consequently, the request is to put out as many full three-part specification sections as possible.  In printed hard copy, each project manual will be well over a thousand pages, and these are not particularly large projects.

I'll be paid adequately for my efforts, so I guess I shouldn't care; but this trend is routine. It sure seems largely unwarranted though. Each section is like a mini contract: General Conditions, Product Specifications and Methodology.  Words piled on top of words.  These days, what with computers and tablets, few people need full-fledged paper copies; but what purpose is served by all the piling on? Is this an extreme legal CYA consequence, or the result of defensible concerns?

The last time I did this, my approach for early design submittals was to simply describe what we wanted. We did, however, pile in on for the final construction documents. A compromise to be sure. The building stands fine today.

Has anyone found a better way? I sure would like an alternative to the virtual pile I am about to create.

Wrong Coffee Mug

Actually I don't hate MY job; but Yahoo Education News thinks that many employers do! The beating up on Architects continues.

See a recent story at http://goo.gl/LQAa2. They continue to cite the following: "Recent architecture graduates had an unemployment rate of 13.9 percent." It used to be that I would counsel budding Architects to choose the profession not for the income potential, but rather for the job satisfaction. Now if Yahoo is to be believed, there is a one in seven chance that you can't even get the job satisfaction. (Of course, that's assuming the other six are enjoying what they are doing.)

Have Architects actually become the blacksmiths of the 21st Century? I hope not. But we are admittedly right now in low demand for conventional design services. Is this permanent? Not likely. Will the demand ever return to what it once was? Perhaps - but slowly, I suspect. Will the rewards of the profession be different? Without question.

OK, I can see that they may not want us; but do they really hate us? What do you think?

Does it really work?

What is the "it" I'm asking about?

Social Media has become the catchphrase attached to reaching our through the various Internet programs, smart phone apps, posting and message services. All forms of Twitter, Facebook, IM, blog postings, etc., etc.

The fact that you're reading this means that you're into it to some extent.

The fact that I'm writing this, to me, is the bigger, more relevant, question. Do I do it because my words are of value?  Am I self-involved? Is this real marketing? What's the purpose? I started blogging when an editor for a major architectural magazine advised me to. I had been doing newsletters that I thought might be of interest to clients and potential clients, and was trying to get them considered for publication. I was turned down by the magazine because of a policy that their articles were all written by commissioned authors, as a way to preserve the editorial "objectivity" they thought consultants like me failed to honor.  He said that the magazine's website, however, picked up subscriptions to blogs they thought to be of value.

That all led me down the rabbit hole. Twitter notices, LinkedIn posts, Facebook re-posts, etc. Now even the newsletters are finding a place on the web. (see http://goo.gl/ozmQZ) Each new venture is because somebody said it's important for me to get my word "out there". But, does it really work? To date, I have no validation.

Why do I keep it up? The principal answer is that, for me, this is a way to maintain currency and relevancy as a consultant. So, yes, I'm doing it for myself. However, I sure would like to get some commentary back, and get some perspective from those you might be on the receiving end of these sorts of interventions.

I still don't know. Does it really work? What do you think?

Lucky 13

Just before Christmas, I went to a party attended by many in our related professions - Lots of Architects, Engineers and Contractors. Fortunately, there were enough regular folk to make the party interesting. I even learned about something that has little relevance to much of anything important.  I now can say that I have tried a shot luge. But that's probably the subject of a different kind of post.

In any event, the inevitable happened - some of us talked about what we were expecting in the way of business for 2013. For me, the surprise was that there was little agreement.  One operations manager from an international construction firm talked about how he sees few prospects for Connecticut, while Massachusetts was busy. The implication was that the work bust/boom cycles may have started in some locations.

Another was pessimistic about subcontractor survival. After too long taking work just to keep the doors open (and losing money in the process), some are so deep in the hole that climbing out may not be possible given the price/fee competition that continues unabated.

An Architect bemoaned the pursuit of design perfection that was spending the low fees that they were getting for their commissions.

I, on the other hand, with not much more than hope and intuition to go on, was trying to argue for optimism. Here's some of my logic: We have been down so long, that there is now a pent up demand for improvement. Owner's are starting to come to grips with the growing backlog of deferred maintenance. Commercial and institutional businesses that have held off on improvements, either because they didn't have the money or couldn't convince lenders they are good for the debts, are trying to find ways to upgrade. They're concerned about their lost ability to compete in whatever realm they're part of.  And, businesses and consultants know that they have left things go for so long, they will need help and advice on how to recover.

Is this logical or deluded? Tell me a year from now!