{"id":62740,"date":"2020-07-22T08:45:53","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T12:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/?p=62740"},"modified":"2020-07-17T16:14:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T20:14:59","slug":"lessons-learned-in-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/lessons-learned-in-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Valuable Lessons Learned During My First 10 Years in Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike LaValley is the architect, speaker, and writer behind\u00a0Evolving Architect<\/a>. For more creative and nerdy insights, follow him on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0or check out his\u00a0upcoming book<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

2019 marked the end of something profound to myself and my career. I have worked in the profession of Architecture for 10 years. In May 2008, I graduated from Syracuse University with a hope, a dream, and a whole lot of student loans. It turns out that college at a private school is expensive.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to take on the world.<\/p>\n

And although I meant well from the beginning, the road to getting here wasn\u2019t easy. It was paved with lessons both professional and personal that have shaped me into the person I am today.<\/p>\n

As a way to reflect on who that person is, I\u2019ve broken down the 10 most important lessons I\u2019ve gleaned from working in the profession and practicing my craft. These aren\u2019t in any particular order (except for #10 – it\u2019s objectively the best because I said so), but they may mean more or less to you depending on where you are on your own career path today.<\/p>\n

Enough chit chat! Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 1: Fast, Good, Cheap. Pick Two.<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Image via Jems<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

It makes sense, right? Someone starts an architecture firm in order to make money. Sure, there\u2019s the idyllic hope that every firm owner is trying to better the world through design, but if the office isn\u2019t making money, you don\u2019t have a job.<\/p>\n

In comes practicality.<\/p>\n

I learned very early on at my first job that there are really only three factors that directly affect a project. Speed, quality and cost. Depending on who you talk to, or who you work with, each project will prioritize those three factors in a different order.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to you as the Architect to work within the priorities and develop a project that best resonates with the client. Now, that said, many clients want all three \u2014 but it literally isn\u2019t possible.<\/p>\n

For example, let\u2019s say you\u2019re making something quick and cheap. For simplicity, let\u2019s say it\u2019s a rocking chair. If I skimp a bit on the materials and purchase some scrap wood and basic nails, I could probably make a chair fairly quickly. There\u2019s no guarantee that it will be good though. To be honest, there\u2019s no guarantee it will even last much longer than a few sittings.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s flip that around and say that we want a chair that\u2019s done well and quick. In that case, I could probably fabricate a great chair and make it happen in relatively little time, but you better believe it will be expensive. I wouldn\u2019t break myself down just to get a high quality product to you quickly without being properly compensated.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just a fact of life – you can have something fast, good, or cheap. It\u2019s up to you to decide what matters most. But hey, at least you can pick two.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 2: Develop skills to make yourself invaluable<\/h2>\n

I started working three months before the world melted in 2008 and the Great Recession wreaked havoc across the globe. I couldn\u2019t have predicted it in my wildest dreams.<\/p>\n

As entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk sometimes refers to the market dips, it\u2019s like \u2018getting punched in the face.\u2019<\/p>\n

There were many times in the first years of the Recession when I caught myself trying to figure out what my next moves were. Would I get fired? Would I need to change jobs? When would my next raise be? Would I ever get a raise again?<\/p>\n

The questions stopped being focused on the negative when I realized something simple – I need to make myself invaluable.<\/p>\n

Instead of focusing on all of the possible negative outcomes that I couldn\u2019t control, I started pouring into skill building, learning, and self improvement.<\/p>\n

It may not be at the forefront of the profession\u2019s mind today, but when I started working, LEED was the only thing I heard people talking about. I knew that not everyone had a LEED AP credential, but I also knew it was a straightforward way for me to set myself apart.<\/p>\n

When an opportunity came up to bring a renovation project through the LEED process, I jumped at the chance to help. At the time, you needed direct experience with a LEED project to acquire the LEED AP credential. I took charge and did everything I could to learn more about sustainable design and help move the project forward.<\/p>\n

In February 2012, I walked into the credential testing center and walked out three hours later as a LEED Accredited Professional.<\/p>\n

The credential today doesn\u2019t mean quite what it did when I got it, but for several years, it gave me something else that many of my peers didn\u2019t have – a marker that identified me as a professional. While many of my friends were waiting to get their experience, I took the initiative to go and get it myself.<\/p>\n

I became more confident in my skills and ultimately took my credential and kept pushing myself farther.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 3: School experience isn’t the same as job experience<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Image via Archinect<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

When it comes to working in an architecture office, the first thing I always imagined I\u2019d be doing out of school would be almost identical to what I did in studio. Anyone who\u2019s ever actually stepped foot inside an architecture office knows that it\u2019s something quite different.<\/p>\n

In fact, the two are so at odds with each other sometimes that you have to remind yourself of what made you become an architect at all.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean that in a cynical way by any means. It\u2019s just that an architecture operates under a different set of rules.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re in school, your professors are trying to teach you methods for analyzing problems in a \u2018safe\u2019 environment. It may seem like torture sometimes depending on who your professors are, but your decisions in studio are far more likely to kill a stick figure in your drawings over your neighbor in a local development project.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re in an architecture office, design decisions have a real impact on cost, schedule, constructability, and ultimately, the safety of those who use the buildings you design.<\/p>\n

However, I don\u2019t believe that school experience is invalid. Quite the opposite – I think the framework you create for yourself can be invaluable in terms of how you approach problem solving and creative thinking.<\/p>\n

The difference is that you need to refocus that creative know-how back into the world. The world has constraints that you can\u2019t even imagine when you\u2019re in school. Learning the constraints inside and out is the only way you can learn to break them without getting someone killed.<\/p>\n

Architecture is not for the faint of heart.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 4: No one will tell you how to shape your career<\/h2>\n

I love trying to figure out what the next phase of my career looks like. I sincerely treat my career like an adventure.<\/p>\n

I pick the vehicles, the pit stops and the destinations.<\/p>\n

The hard truth though – no one will choose your adventure for you.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of autonomy needed to practice architecture. It\u2019s very easy to wake up after years of drafting only to find out that you don\u2019t have all the requirements met to even get your license.<\/p>\n

You have to take charge of each step.<\/p>\n

Now, don\u2019t get me wrong here. I don\u2019t mean that everyone needs to follow the SAME path, just A path.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re more than likely to find a bunch of peers at your office ready and willing to help you make some of these decisions based on their own experiences, but ultimately it comes down to what you want from your professional life.<\/p>\n

Choose the adventure you want to look back on years from now and say, \u2018yeah, I did that myself.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 5: Networking is the most important career trait to nurture<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Image via Architizer \/ Young Architect Conference<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

You know something crazy? I\u2019ve had jobs at three different firms. One was only for a summer internship. The other two were full-time positions.<\/p>\n

Okay, not too crazy.<\/p>\n

But this is – NONE of them came without previously networking with the owners of those firms.<\/p>\n

I met my first boss interviewing to go to Cornell University (I didn\u2019t go there, but that didn\u2019t matter). I met my second boss through the Syracuse Alumni Network. I met my current boss volunteering with my local AIA (American Institute of Architects) Chapter.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t emphasize what networking has done for my career. Whether it was making connections with alumni or just putting myself out into the community, I look back and realize that it\u2019s very possible to create your own luck.<\/p>\n

Now, if I had made a bad impression with any of these gentlemen, I could have had a very different career experience. Networking isn\u2019t something that you do in the short term. Networking is a skill that needs nurturing.<\/p>\n

The weirdest, most frustrating thing about networking is that you have no idea when the connections will matter in your career. To be honest, some won\u2019t in direct ways.<\/p>\n

But networking hasn\u2019t only provided me with jobs, it\u2019s given me good friends, and made me more outgoing than I would have been on my own. My advice, be present with everyone you meet. You never know if that person might just be your next employer or friend.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 6: You don’t know, what you don’t know. If you don’t know, ask<\/h2>\n

The lesson I see most people around me break is that they don\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know. It\u2019s the most difficult rule to recognize you\u2019re breaking because you don\u2019t even realize you\u2019re breaking it.<\/p>\n

The way I get around this \u2014 assume you know nothing.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry about what others think when you\u2019re asking a million questions. Questions are the best!<\/p>\n

Would you rather make a decision without thinking about it because you\u2019ve just \u2018always done it that way\u2019, or would you rather ask questions to someone more experienced for another point of view? When in doubt, just ask a bunch of questions. If you don\u2019t truly know the answer to something you\u2019re working on, you have to ask.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 7: Work on your own projects outside the office<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Image via Avimeo<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

I personally love this lesson. Very early on in my career, I realized that I needed to develop my own portfolio of work outside of the office. You might ask yourself, \u201cMike, why would you ever need to do that when you\u2019re working on such great projects IN the office?\u201d It\u2019s a fair question, and a good one.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always seen myself in control of my own career, my own destiny. I treat almost everything I do in my career with that mentality. Let\u2019s take a theoretical side step: What if you weren\u2019t allowed to use ANY of the drawings, renderings, sketches, or models in your own portfolio?<\/p>\n

It seems a bit odd, but it happens in our industry. Whether it\u2019s an employer\u2019s desire to keep intellectual property (which to be fair, they\u2019re paying you to create) or there\u2019s a contractual clause an employer has with the client (also very fair to recognize), you may not be able to take that awesome work with you wherever you go.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I don\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n

Sure, I\u2019ve built a solid resume from working on the variety of projects I have in the office, but I come from an early career experience when the world was melting and I needed to make myself invaluable. That type of feeling has never really left and I think it\u2019s served me well.<\/p>\n

In 10 years, I\u2019ve entered almost as many independent design competitions. It probably sounds odd, but I don\u2019t care if I win. I use the competitions as a framework to develop killer projects that mean something to me and that I can use in any portfolio I choose because they\u2019re MY designs.<\/p>\n

I have two rules with each competition I enter. I have to end up with some kind of tangible product (graphic, model, etc) that I can use in the portfolio. I have to learn a new technique, program, or building type to advance my skill set. If you enter a competition with the rules above, I can tell you now that you\u2019ll exponentially learn more and have the proof that you did.<\/p>\n

Also, competitions are really fun.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 8: Always take responsibility for your actions<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m not perfect. Not even close.<\/p>\n

I make mistakes all the time. Sometimes they\u2019re small and sometimes they\u2019re not. But I always glean something from the heartache, solve the problem and move on a bit wiser. The trick is to take responsibility though for\u00a0EVERY, SINGLE, MISTAKE\u00a0you make.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t emphasize that enough. I mean, I could with bigger font, but you get my point.<\/p>\n

Above the others, there is one mistake I remember like it happened yesterday. It haunts me a little.<\/p>\n

When I was working on a renovation project in the earliest years of my career, I was in charge of reviewing potential products for a series of windows. The project was a private development to convert a historic three story building into office and residential space. The project was required to obtain a LEED Silver rating (a mid-level of sustainability accreditation for a building).<\/p>\n

I looked at the recommended criteria that were established by the sustainability consultant for the windows. I was able to quickly identify that of the seven preliminary selections that were made by a supervisor, all except two could be chosen based on the criteria needed to meet sustainability baselines.<\/p>\n

Five possible windows.<\/p>\n

I let my supervisor know what I had found and he, in turn, told the Construction Manager that any of the five would be acceptable selections for the project. Side note they were all basically the same. Key word – \u201cBasically.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contractor ordered something like 35 of these large, historic, sustainable super windows and everything seemed fine.<\/p>\n

That was until I realized that one of the windows didn\u2019t quite match ALL of the criteria. As it turns out, U-Factor is kind of a big deal. For the uninitiated, it essentially measures how well a window insulates.<\/p>\n

Can you guess which of the remaining \u2018acceptable\u2019 windows the contractor ordered?<\/p>\n

Yep. The ONLY one remaining window that didn\u2019t match the criteria we needed to hit to maintain the energy model for the overall building.<\/p>\n

When I realized the error, I had two options:<\/p>\n

Accept the mistake I made and inform my supervisor that I had essentially cost the project thousands of dollars because of one number I missed.
\nPretend it never happened and go about my life.
\nLook, as much as it would have been great to pretend, that\u2019s just not who I am.<\/p>\n

I walked straight into his office, paperwork in hand, and explained what had happened.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember what I looked like in that moment, but I imagine there was very little color in my face with a hint of panic.<\/p>\n

The most interesting thing happened though – I wasn\u2019t yelled out of the office for being \u2018stupid\u2019 or even fired (both of which I assumed were perfectly acceptable scenarios). My supervisor looked at me and simply said, \u2018thank you, Mike for bringing this to me.\u2019<\/p>\n

We both knew what had happened. He could see I was already pretty tormented by it.<\/p>\n

Oh, and if I had just \u2018pretended\u2019 it away – we wouldn\u2019t have found other ways to fix the error without replacing the windows. We wouldn\u2019t have solved the problem. In fact, it would have become much, much worse once all of the final paperwork had been assembled for review, once the building was done, once everyone had stopped working.<\/p>\n

Long story short \u2014 if you mess up, own it. It will suck in the moment, a lot. But if you don\u2019t own up to your mistakes, you could be inadvertently running toward disaster rather than stopping it in its tracks.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 9: Master the art of communication<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Image via Land Civil<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Do you know what the most valuable course was that I took in High School?<\/p>\n

Typing.<\/p>\n

When you start practicing architecture, I don\u2019t honk anyone expects the mountain of writing you\u2019ll have in front of you.<\/p>\n

I write everything from emails to reports, requests for proposals to contracts and all documents in between. Over time, I\u2019ve started to really enjoy it too. I can\u2019t explain why other than to say that writing has become another way for me to express a part of me that I couldn\u2019t otherwise.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been introverted for the majority of my life. Only in the last few years have I really come out of my shell and put myself out there.<\/p>\n

In a lot of ways, writing allowed me to share my voice on my own terms.<\/p>\n

That said, communication in all forms is the quintessential skill for an architect to master.<\/p>\n

Think about it this way – drawings, specifications, renderings, sketches, emails, phone calls, etc. – they\u2019re all just methods to explain your intent and your vision to someone else.<\/p>\n

If you were the greatest architect in the entire world (I have no doubt that you could be), but you couldn\u2019t explain your designs to anyone – you would never realize any of your greatness.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take for granted the power of your voice in any medium.<\/p>\n

\n

Lesson 10: Keep learning always<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m a real believer that an Architect\u2019s journey on the path to learning never ends. Once you\u2019re in the profession, you\u2019re in for life.<\/p>\n

The most profound lesson I\u2019ve learned in the last year or so is that I will never actually learn everything the profession has to offer. In some ways I have to be okay with that.<\/p>\n

I have to realize that the profession of architecture is more like a never-ending buffet.<\/p>\n

Sure, you need to practice moderation and balance the types of courses you choose to make sure you\u2019re well-rounded, but you have so much knowledge at your fingertips that you also need to try a LOT of different things to stay relevant and strong.<\/p>\n

\n

I hope you\u2019ve latched on to at least one of these lessons. It took 10 hard years for me to learn them.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to ten more.<\/p>\n

Architecture – you and me, we\u2019re gonna be alright.<\/p>\n

This post originally appeared on Mike LaValley’s Evolving Architect<\/a> blog. Architects: Showcase your next project through\u00a0Architizer<\/a>\u00a0and sign up for our\u00a0inspirational newsletter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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