Here’s the holiday greeting I sent to colleagues this afternoon. This was built as a stage for a local mental health facility. It’s now a mechanical room and the outdoor seating area has been fenced-in as a yard for the chiller.
That said, I’m fond of this alternative. I tried to convince my wife to let me send this version. However, we decided to keep playing it safe. As a government employee, there is no downside in being slightly boring and zero upside in taking any aesthetic risk.
I hope you are enjoying the end of this year, and all the best for the new one!
Our home renovation was the first project under my stamp. The second was this renovation at Building 1300.
It was built as a residential center the disabled. Fifty years later, it’s an administrative building. We removed two kitchens, freeing up space to become an indoor exercise activity space for the clients and a training room for the staff.
In school, we design majestic pretend structures. Sometimes we get to participate in marquee IRL projects — my wife worked on curtain wall details for an addition to an iconic museum and I’ve played a part on three university building projects.
But really, Architecture is a mundane practice.
We make incremental improvements to what’s around us. We get paid to make the world a little better.
Four years ago, I left private practice to become an Owner’s Project Manager for the State of Nevada.
I’m the ultimate middleman — I don’t deliver nothing. The Architect designs the project. The Contractor builds it. The Agency uses the facility to serve the public.
I just shepherd the team to deliver the project on time and on budget, hopefully at an optimal quality.
My tasks are unremarkable. Calculate estimates. Send emails. Meetings and phone calls. Double check drawings and dollar signs. I shuttle documents around our bureaucracy.
My position is five steps below the Governor on the org-chart, but it’s blessedly free from politics. The Citizens elect our Politicians. They determine our directives. The Division gets it done.
But nothing happens without people.
My big paradigm shift after taking this job was realizing that work is all about relationships. As a professional architect, I delivered tangible documents. Now, my only unique skill is familiarity with the government bureaucracy.
I’m here to balance the conflicting demands on a project, negotiate the cross incentives within the team, and chart a path through the process.
It’s not always daisies. On Friday night, I dropped the velvet hammer on a flooring manufacturer for delaying another project. It’s my duty to be fair and firm as a steward of taxpayer dollars.
I grasp the checkbook, but I work for those who do the real work. Construction isn’t easy, but I hope to make it satisfying. I try to conduct myself with honor and enable each team member to to do their best. I care about each of us, in our roles and as individuals.
This is our work. Let’s make the most of this precious opportunity.
Maybe even walk out with a smile.
This Kitchen Demolition project did not go smoothly. It started as an extensive renovation with a consultant architect, but the agency suddenly realized that the funding was about to expire.
With that nasty deadline, I could only deconstruct. I slammed demolition drawings on AutoCAD LT and pushed it out to bid. The contract was approved, signed by all parties.
Then COVID hit.
The Capitol feared we were at the precipice of a depression and killed this little project. (Of course, the cancellation dragged out amidst the pandemic confusion, leaving the contractor in limbo for more than a month.)
By Spring 2021, the looming depression became an economic rebound. The Agency revived the project.
The Contractor held their bid, we waded through a swamp of paperwork, moved the cash into the right budget account, and those kitchens disappeared!
We celebrated with a twelve pack of Dr. Peppers.
Construction is only straightforward after it’s done. Every project suffers its twists and turns.
We can plan, but only so much. When chaos hits, the universe forces us to negotiate. If we choose to collaborate, these frustrations can cultivate relationships beyond mere project roles.
June came and went this year. The twelve month warranty expired — the only part of our job without hiccups.
Wednesday morning, I returned a missed call.
His voice quivered.
Tracey passed away. I thought you should know. She really enjoyed working with you.
䷨䷆
one small project client and contractor respect notice beyond this vale greatest honor of my career
I listened to this book a few months ago and listened to it again after Richard Rohr’s Falling Upwards.
While Rohr book is explicitly spiritual, Brooks stays within the contemporary self-help genre. He mixes psychology, social studies, ecumenical spirituality, with some actionable exercises.
Having listened to this book twice, here are some key takeaways:
A formula for a life of satisfaction is “What-you-have (Divided By) What-you-want”. Unchecked desires will always outpace what you’ve earned, so controlling wants is the key to satisfaction. Acquisition will never lead to happiness.
Thomas Aquinas has a challenge to search for one’s idols – Money, Status, Pleasure, and Power over others. Rank them in attractiveness and the top item is your idol. Tread carefully when toying with your personal idol.
As we get older, our quick witted “fluid intelligence” gives way to plodding “crystalized intelligence”. We used to quickly flip through the Rolodex. Now we’re slower, but the mental phone book is much bigger. Instead of fighting the inevitable, we should change our work to fit our older brains.
We should consider the Hindu concept of Ashramas, the Four Stages of Life (about 25 years each). Start as a child (student), then a householder (prime earning years), hermit (when the grandkids arrive, retreat into wisdom), and finally the wandering ascetic (give everything up for the divine). Most strivers get stuck between the second and third phase. Refusing to enter the hermit phase leads to bitterness as the world leaves you behind.
To grossly oversimplify the book, Brooks closes with this seven word summary
Use things, love people, worship the divine.
This book was worth two listens, but I must admit that audiobooks are a multi-tasking form of consumption. Even though it’s a favorite listen of the year, I haven’t felt compelled to sit down and focus upon the text.
So, a qualified endorsement for us middle aged folks figuring out “what’s next?”
~
I tweaked my upper back a month ago and a coworker brought up the idea of getting a foam roller. I missed out on this fad over the past decade. Its like having your own personal masseuse. Not perfect, but for $17.13 it’s awesome!
Here is a video focused on the upper back, and another that included stretches for the armpits.
As counterpoint, here is a video that questions the efficacy of foam rolling. My takeaway: use the foam roller as a stretching tool, but don’t overdo it. (The channel’s explanation of fentanyl addiction is excellent and depressing.)
The Life of the Architect had an interesting podcast episode about critical skills for an architect.
I agreed with their list — critical thinking, communication skills, attention to detail, and 3D visualization. Admittedly I was a bit weak at 3D visualization, but the other three skills made me a good production architect (DD through CA).
Before listening to the meat of the episode, I jotted my own list of four key skills for a working architect, especially a young professional.
Show up every day, fully. Be reliable and don’t let anything slip through the cracks.
Learn how to research. We’re generalists so we’re always exploring unfamiliar problems. When starting out, it might be picking up an old set and applying the template to a project. After a while, you’ll be tasked with tricky building conditions or complicated regulations. If you don’t know, ask. Learn how to ask questions. I’ve met architects who dislike their telephones. This weakness has stunted their careers.
Get comfortable being wrong. I’ve seen people freeze up at the blank page (often when drawing details). Don’t wait! Jump in! The solution is just a couple mistakes away. The sooner you make them, the sooner you’ll solve the problem.
Learn from your mistakes. This combines the first three points. There’s no point in making early mistakes if you don’t learn from them. Past errors are the library for self research. And if you’re fully present at work, you’ll avoid repeating those old mistakes.
~
I would add one more skill from the Owner’s perspective (and to borrow a point from the podcast). As the Owner’s PM, I need my architects to communicate.
Everything an architect does is communication. Drawings are communication. Design is communication. Coordination is communication.
My biggest frustrations arise when the architect goes quiet or doesn’t follow through on their promises. Keep me posted early and often. Mistakes happen, no big deal, I’ve made plenty in your shoes. We’ll fix it together. But never keep me in the dark.
Life-safety is always number one. But let’s be real, everything else — including design — is secondary to communication.
I was clashing with a difficult personality on a project, especially after they misrepresented what we had requested in earlier meetings.
So I called someone who is great at dealing with difficult parties – subcontractors.
My friend gave a few great tips.
Prepare ahead of each meeting. Force the other party to prepare clear agendas and use them to plan ahead. Try to avoid being blindsided. Be ready to present a trail of actual facts.
A difficult individual often starts on the offensive and relies upon momentum to quell dissention. If things are moving fast, interrupt them. Better to be impolite early than to lose your temper later.
And finally, remember this great experience when the stakes are low. Best to develop these skills before jumping into big projects with high stakes.
It’s not easy dealing with difficult personalities. Hopefully I avoided becoming one on this project!
~
This short film is great. And that’s before I found out that Ian Hubert created this contemplative cyberpunk world all by himself.
Often, under the influence of wine, Liu Ling would behave in a completely free and unrestrained manner, sometimes even stripping off his clothes and sitting stark naked in the middle of his room. Once, when others saw him in this state and chided him for it, Ling famously retorted, “Heaven and Earth are my pillars and roof, my house and its rooms are my trousers and jacket. Pray, what are you gentlemen doing in my trousers?”
From John Minford’s commentary on “8. Water” of the Tao Te Ching.
~
Boxing – A.A. MacLean, D. Deshler, M. Baldwin, Bain News Service, ca. 1910 and ca. 1915
~
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It’s a day of chaos, exacerbated by Independence Day vacations and our biennial budgeting season.
The accountants are closing last year’s books and opening the next year’s funds. Payments grind to a halt, to the chagrin of our vendors.
One day shouldn’t cause so much chaos. The ridiculousness of this fiscal rollover is an unglamorous part of this job.
This year, we are trying some new processes to mitigate the pain. (Let’s hope!)
Our task is to catch problems before things get ugly. Lacking that, we need to communicate our way through the mess.
One day we’ll get it right.
If not this year, we’ll have another chance in twelve months.
~
Do y’all have craziness around any artificial dates? How do you manage?
~
I recently watched Arcane on Netflix. The show is great. One of the highlights of this show is this fight between childhood friends. It’s a masterpiece in storytelling and sound design.
Which leads to this classic fight in Jet Li’s Hero. Real duels are never this neatly beautiful, but movies aren’t meant to be real.
I held a pre-bid walk for a flooring replacement project. It was my first major in-person meeting since the pandemic started.
The meeting went very well.
On paper, it’s a basic demo and install. Simple to draw.
But renovations are tricky. The contractors challenged us with great questions. I wonder if they would have asked such questions in a video conference.
After surviving my share of corporate time-sucks, I get why tech productivity gurus hate meetings.
But we’ve chosen a profession that manipulates the real world. In-person meetings are essential. The room pulses with energy when motivated professionals gather together.
A bid walk for a renovation is a no-brainer. The walk was shorter than the round trip to the site but well worth the commute.
Video conferences have proved their worth over the past two years. It is an indispensable tool for an agency that is split between North and South.
But dang, it’s hard to beat a good meeting in meatspace.
~
How are you calibrating meeting formats during this new normal?
~
David Epstein makes a great argument for separating the chain of communication versus the chain of command.
Seth Godin challenges the concept of “next” and posits that we would be better served in thinking our current project might be our last project.
Cal Newport questions the current self-help pop culture usage of “Parkinson’s Law” (work fills the time available). He reframes it as “Well-established work cultures can harbor irrational behavior. Beware!”
Last year, my friend posted a note when Helmut Jahn was killed in a bike accident.
We’ve hit the age when our heroes are leaving us.
I looked at Helmut’s website. He had an impressive portfolio, but the page stopped scrolling.
When starting my career, there was an infinite supply of next-projects. An endless row of residential remodels lined my future.
Thirty houses later, it stopped. I went corporate and never came home.
Jump again and my government pension plan has given me a logical retirement date and a biennual cycle.
Nevada’s legislature meets every odd numbered year when they give us projects. If the economy stays perfect, I will be assigned a big project every four years and five small projects every other year.
At most, I’ve got five more buildings and fifty small remodels.
Wait! That’s it?
~
The night after the news, my dream mind visited San Francisco to search for an old friend. I went into a cafe. The barista pointed towards the BBQ joint down the street. As I walked along the shaded tree lined sidewalk, I woke up and remembered that Andrew passed away a decade ago.
Our heroes may not be famous, but grasp them tight while they’re here.
~
Who are your heroes? How are you honoring them?
~
This Corridor Crew episode is an exit interview with a member starting his own channel. The guys discuss the need for consistent production and loving the craft. It’s not about the product, it’s the doing.
Seth Godin writes about three skills that will keep one employed. He challenges us to learn the art of “initiation“. Go make shit happen.
Here are some lovely photos by David Alrath of Skovshoved Petrol Station, designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1936.
Grizzlypear would have hit four digits last year, but I had moved some old posts to private.
It was worth the wait because this moment coincides with a programming change.
For the past month, I’ve been playing with a new format. These Penny Delights started as a one-sentence story, but have expanded to include a short vignette, quote, and linked photo.
Beyond the format, I have a rule — I don’t schedule Penny Delights. If I don’t write today, I don’t post today.
I’d like to post every day.
So I’m slowing down on the longer posts. I’ve also revised the Grizzlypear newsletter to publish a weekly digest on Sunday mornings.
If you’d like a Penny Delight each morning, I’ve created a daily newsletter (that will also include the longer posts when they are published). Send me an email if you want to try it out.
Over the years, Grizzlypear has been the home of many experiments, and this hobby has become more fulfilling with each iteration. It’s totally2008, but everyone should start a blog. The internet was supposed to be a utopia of shared knowledge, not a mindless scroll of spoon-fed consumption in the walled garden of a soulless corporation. Plant your flag and start writing. Even without a big audience (we’re up to nine!) the exploration is its own reward.
One of my mottos is “to tinker and delight, together”. Thanks for following this meandering journey. Please forgive my tinkering; I hope you enjoy the new delights.
Who knows, maybe I’ll be writing about five digits in 2052.
I got my first full-time architecture gig twenty years ago. I had graduated Berkeley and entered the Dot.com bust without any computer drafting skills.
So I started by moving dirt.
It was a good detour. I consider my half-year of landscaping the most influential six month stretch of my career. Plus I met some friends I still treasure today. But work in the Oakland hills slowed down so it was finally time to start work in my chosen profession.
I ran down the phone book and came across Ron Bogley Architect and Builder. Ron was still hand drafting so he didn’t mind that I couldn’t AutoCAD. He needed someone at the office working on the drawings while he managed his crew in the field.
Working in the first floor of his house, looking over the back yard, and drawing by hand was an idyllic start to this profession. It was a lonely shock going from being in a crew of boys to working alone, but it helped to have a caring mentor.
We settled into a comfortable rhythm, I’d draw as much as I could, using old sets for reference, and leave some bluelines on his desk in the evening. The next morning, I’d magically have redlines on my desk and we’d keep going.
When I first started, we didn’t even have internet at the office. I remember when we got an iMac with a domed base and an articulated LCD screen.
Even so, the arrival of broadband didn’t make a difference to my life. I only used it for typing up general notes that we’d print onto sticky back. The real work was done standing at the drafting desk, laying graphite on vellum.
But nothing lasts forever. It was a great job in a beautiful city, but there is no margin in small residential and I needed to get my professional license. A couple of years later, I got into Rice University and shipped across country.
If moving rocks in the Oakland Hills was the perfect introduction for my career, then working with Ron was the perfect start to being an Architect. Working in a small firm gave me a chance to do everything – without the computer as an intermediary.
I was lucky to get this job. I got to start my journey before CAD and followed our technological growth into today’s BIM-dominated world. More importantly, working in a very small firm is an antidote to corporate brainwashing. I will always be the happy company man in front of the client, but I know it doesn’t have to be like this. Since my time with Ron, I’ve navigated this profession with an question mark seered in my psyche.
From small to big, every organization is a choice. It’s on us to shape them as they shape us.
~
How did you start in this profession? Did it affect your path?
Hit reply and let’s chat!
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Abandoned places are a bit of a trope, but the Romain Veillon’s photos are still stunning. I looked at them a few times to see if they were CGI. Quite the antidote to life in the desert.
Chuck Jones had a simple set of rules for interactions between Coyote and Roadrunner. I should try something like that myself.
