2013-06-19T09:07:16-04:00 http://archinect.com/blog/article/73763676/time-management-or-lack-of-it bigness 2013-05-23T12:11:50-04:00 >2013-05-27T20:53:51-04:00 <p> So, yeah, apologies.</p> <p> Starting this blog seemed like a very good and very manageable idea, but then when it all steamrolled into march it was firmly positioned on the back seat where it languished so far.</p> <p> The situation so far:</p> <p> The location</p> <p> We have settled into our "office" at the beginning of March, making this our third month here. We found a room within what will become a co-working space in the future months. We traded a very basic interior design intervention with a as-yet-unlimited free rent deal. The plusses are: the location (bang in the center), the infrastructure (web, phone, toilets, a small kitchen) and the possibility of developing a network with the future co-workers. The minuses are the lack of natural light or ventilation (our current room has no windows, it will become the calling room and we will move elsewhere in due time) and the lack of privacy in an office which is a&nbsp;continuous&nbsp;hustle and bustle.</p> <p> The work</p> <p> We've designed four restaurant interiors so ...</p> http://archinect.com/blog/article/66901586/backlit-water-or-the-art-of-presenting-yourself bigness 2013-02-04T12:42:09-05:00 >2013-02-12T20:47:59-05:00 <p> As time goes by I am starting to realize that this whole gig will be as much about planning as it will be about improvisation.</p> <p> <br> When me and Stefano started talking about our marketing strategies we sort of pushed the whole multimedia/printed material part of it in the back of our mind, thinking it would be more about one-to-one communication and hand-shaking than collecting views on a website. But it turned out we were wrong, at least in part.</p> <p> <br> We found ourselves in the position of having to quickly provide a client with samples of our work. And this client was 6000 km away. This forced us to come up with a bit of a presentation strategy. We realized that we should (and could, given the scarce time and cash resources) concentrate on three aspects:</p> <p> -a website<br> -business cards<br> -pdf slideshow</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> <strong>The website:</strong></p> <p> Considering you might not have any web programming experience, or have some (like me) but not enough to manage a whole website on your own with getting stuck for da...</p> http://archinect.com/blog/article/66015050/location-location-location-free-location bigness 2013-01-22T11:33:00-05:00 >2013-01-28T16:22:18-05:00 <p> When you think about setting up an office you obviously should start to work out, first and foremost, how you are going to get clients. But that is such an extensive subject (and really a lifelong quest for anyone in any business) (and I know really so little about it right now) that it would really make no sense trying to address it in one blog post.</p> <p> The second thing you think about is the office itself. The physical space, your location.</p> <p> We started working together about two months ago, each one in his own house with the occasional rendez-vous at Stefano's place (he has a bigger flat). But this is time-consuming, unsustainable (specially for spouses and flatmates) and, personally, I find working from home terribly distracting. WIth the added downside of not being able to receive clients.If you have some money saved you could rent a space, but what you really want is somewhere you can stay for free. You won't be draining your resources, and you will buy yourself a little bit ...</p> http://archinect.com/blog/article/65626429/starting-up-starting-up bigness 2013-01-16T15:11:26-05:00 >2013-01-28T16:22:30-05:00 <p> Salve!</p> <p> This is a blog about starting up your own practice. From scratch. From nothing. From zero, with no trust-fund money, political connections or rich spouses.</p> <p> Well, this is actually a blog about ME (and my partner) starting MY OWN practice. But you get the picture.</p> <p> So, on with the presentations: I am Richard, 31, born in Italy of a British mother and raised between Italy and the UK (where I graduated in 2006). I then went on to work around the world for a few years (Asia, the Middele East, Europe...). I moved back to Italy in March: I got burned badly after a misjudged career choice, and found myself stuck in Paris with just one idea: "screw this, I'm gonna set up office or give this gig up completely". So moving back to the place where I had most non-architectural connections seemed like the logical choice.</p> <p> (Strange how when you travel and work around the world you tend to surround yourself mostly with other architects, which in turn tend to refuse to become your clie...</p>