In the first article of this series, Architects as Storytellers we looked at the possible historical and etymological origins for why we call the levels of a building “stories.” The main idea is that the frieze of an ancient Greek temple often featured sculpted scenes honoring a god or goddess. The frieze was a narrative device to proclaim the honoree’s story. The ancient Master Builder – the architektōn – made the story a prominent design feature of the temple to be admired by the masses, … [Read more...]
Architects as Storytellers
My fellow architects, you may not know it, but you have a rightful claim to the status of storyteller. Your professional roots of designing and constructing buildings are deeply connected to language, communication, and to storytelling in profound ways. Let me ask you a question: The last building project you completed - how many floors did it have? Or asked another way, how many stories did it have? We deal in stories all the time; we design multi-story buildings or single-story homes. This … [Read more...]
Advantages of Remote Hiring and Onboarding for Architects
Our first experience with remote hiring was March 18, 2020 - the first day the firm started working from home. CO Architects is fortunate that our workload increased throughout 2020, so we had to adapt quickly to recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and integrating new staff virtually. We’ve hired and onboarded 25 new employees since March 2020, representing a staff growth of about 17 percent. Virtual Benefits One advantage of remote interviews is that they feel more intimate and relaxed. … [Read more...]
Behind the Design 002:
HillHouse by Zack / de Vito
Architecture + Construction
Project Name HillHouse Project Location Mill Valley, CA Firm Name Zack/de Vito Architecture + Construction Architect’s Name Jim Zack & Lise de Vito Project Design Team Jim Zack, Andrew Germann, Lise de Vito, Sarah Nicolas Consultants Weller Design (Lighting) Firm Address 156 South Park, San Francisco, CA 94107 Website URL www.zackdevito.com Instagram Account @zack_devito_architecture Photography Credit Bruce Damonte Photographer Instagram … [Read more...]
Behind the Design 001:
Calender Rd. by Allen Architecture, LLC
Project Name Calender Rd. Project Location Arlington, Texas Firm Name ALLEN ARCHITECTURE LLC Architect’s Name Brandon E. Allen, AIA Project Design Team Brandon E. Allen, Anissa Allen, Brad Blessing, Ana-Sofia Gonzalez Consultants JHF Construction (GC), H&H Engineering (Structural), edited (furniture, art, staging) Firm Address 1227 W. Magnolia Ave. LL100, Fort Worth, Texas 76110 Website URL www.allenarc.com Instagram Account @allenarchitecture Photography Credit Brian … [Read more...]
Building Science, Climate Change and The Pretty Good House (Transcript)
This is the transcript from EntreArchitect Podcast Episode 223, Building Science, Climate Change and The Pretty Good House. Listen to this podcast episode or download the audio file here. ***Start Transcript*** Mark R. LePage: 00:00 Do you know how to calculate the exact amount you need to charge your clients in order to earn 20 percent profit on that project? It's simple to do. If you know how. Learn how by downloading our free course profit for small firm … [Read more...]
My 12 Rules for Landing Your First Job in Architecture
Being Unique Got Me Noticed In A Very Noisy World I graduated from Roger Williams University School of Architecture in 1993. The nation was slowly recovering from a recession and architects were not eagerly seeking help from intern architects. Throughout the winter before graduating, I wrote over 100 cover letters and mailed them with my standard one-page resume to every architecture firm in the New York metropolitan area. A few weeks later, the postman delivered an equal amount of rejection … [Read more...]
A Guide to Successful Recruitment at Your Architecture Firm (Part One)
(This is a guest post by Bob Morgan, an architect based in South-East Asia) Good Morning Jobseekers! PART 1: Recruitment Options You have just pulled another ‘Candlelit Vigil!’ – On top of a 60 Hour Week! – We all have to give extra effort at times; but now it is becoming a ‘Regular Weekly Event!’ During some Recovery Time, you recognize the need for help! – It really has become a case of ‘Not Waving but Drowning!’ – Most of us have been there, and have the Tee-Shirts! The Employment … [Read more...]
How to Use an Email Newsletter to Acquire More Leads for an Architecture Firm
Years before launching EntreArchitect, I published a quarterly newsletter for my own residential architecture firm, Fivecat Studio. Without much effort, I acquired hundreds of subscribers through links on a few social media profiles. The newsletter was part of my marketing plan and every few months I half-heartedly scrambled to send something out. Even without the appropriate focus, we benefited directly with a few new projects and some positive quarterly buzz in the local press. I can only … [Read more...]
How To Automate Your Small Firm Architecture Studio
As small firm architects, we are responsible for so many different roles and responsibilities. We are pulled in so many different directions and our schedules are full every day, from morning to evening. We need to meet with clients, develop and distribute marketing, respond to important email, manage our social media accounts, send invoices, collect payments and so much more. Oh yeah… and we need to design and develop our architecture projects as well. We are architects after all. How can we … [Read more...]
How to Establish an Orientation Process for New Employees in Architecture
For this final week of March here at EntreArchitect.com, where throughout the month we have been sharing content on the theme of Leadership, we are sharing a great guest post from earlier last year by Norbert Lemermeyer of Architecture + Business. Establish an Orientation for New Employees The following outlines the standard orientation for a new employee into a small architectural office. This was my orientation some 40 years ago. Recently I talked to Tyler, a newly graduated architect … [Read more...]
5 Principles of Servant Leadership
Successful Leadership as an Architect Late one winter night, under a bare bulb in an empty under-heated DC university dorm room I read Leadership Is an Art by Max De Pree; a book that influenced my approach to leading others from that night forward. Earlier that day, our hosts at the 1992 American Institute of Architecture Students Grassroots conference gave each student leader a copy of the inspirational paperback following a motivational speech about leadership. Full of excitement, eager … [Read more...]