Life of an Architect

Depending on your age, sooner or later you will end up at one convention or another. For some people, this is a yearly migration full of can’t-miss opportunities. For others, it’s three days of questionable decisions and most likely, a lot of fun. Welcome to Episode 104: Conventions – The Best and Worst of Times

Architects and the Art of Being Happy is a difficult topic but there are some direct and simple steps you can take that will improve your daily experience.

Today, we are discussing the concepts around business development, which is something that, with almost 99% certainty, no architect was ever taught in school. So we invited our long-time friend, who has dedicated himself to improving the business aspects of small firms across the country, to join us in this conversation.

The design process for each person is different even though there will always be some similarities. I assembled my own sequence process of Discovery - Exploration – Presentation – Modification – and then Execution. This is a formulaic process that I use that allows creative people a methodology to going about their business without needing “inspiration.”

It's taken almost 4 years to get here, but the Life of an Architect is celebrating a milestone. Welcome to the 100th Episode where Andrew and I take exactly 100 minutes to tell you all the insider secrets as well as behind-the-scenes stories of things that went wrong.

Construction Drawings are the documents architects use to convey architectural intent - size, location, quantity - and learning how to properly prepare them is getting harder and harder.

Being an architect for some people means standing up in front of a bunch of people and talking about your architectural decisions. If you are a student, you definitely will be architecture presentations so you might as well learn some tips that will make those moments wildly more successful.

The architectural profession seems to unnecessarily romanticize the amount of work it takes to do our job so it was only a matter of time before we discussed "Burnout" in today's post and episode 97 of the Life of an Architect podcast.

Every good architecture project has a concept. Every. Single One. This is the Big Idea that you will build your entire project around and if you look at your project and can’t recognize it, you need to keep working until you’ve developed one. Today, Andrew and I will be discussing what this might mean and what it possibly looks like.

Whenever an architect sits down with a client on a new residential project, the first phase that happens is “Schematic Design”, the initial part of the process where everyone tries to figure out what exactly the project is supposed to accomplish.

Bob Borson and Andrew Hawkins from Life of an Architect answer the most commonly asked questions about being an architect

Ever wondered if you should be an Architect? Here are the Top 10 Reasons NOT to be an Architect - revisiting the list I wrote 12 years ago.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons to be an Architect - a list that has been revisited since I originally wrote it 12 years ago.

Traveling is an important part of being an architect - Seeing different cultures, climates, materials, and spatial solutions is an ongoing life adventure. Welcome to Architects and Traveling.

Graphics are the language that architects use to communicate intent to the people we serve. We draw to explain our designs, to explain the materials, and much more ... so welcome to Episode 90: Architectural Graphics.

Can a large architecture firm operate with a small firm mentality? In this episode, we discuss this concept with Mike McGlone from Alamo Architects.

For the 12th consecutive year, Life of an Architect presents THE definitive holiday gift guide for architects.

Architectural model making is built into the creative process in school - so why do we quit once we leave school? Here is a case for making models:

Getting licensed as an architect is difficult. It requires considerable time and dedication but what if we reimagined the Path to Licensure

Design and fabrication is a topic that all architects discuss. How does it inform the creative process, who gets involved, why does it make sense?

There is a process in "Building an Architect" that starts when you are a shiny teenager, through college, with the process continuing for your entire career.

In today's 'Ask the Show' episode, we answer ten questions ranging from salary, quitting your job, the value of a prestigious degree, and more.

Do you know what a Side Hustle is? And if you are an architect, it isn't if you have one, it's how many of them are you likely to have?

Motivation is the ingredient that defines the difference between desire and will in the process of setting and attaining goals …

Is Architecture Art? THis is a question I have been asking architects for years and the answers are always interesting ...