Threads like the Phase 3 one remind me of why I got interested in architecture in the first place, and also how little of it deals with the architecture I do every day. I don't think it's a bad thing. I was in my third year studio when that light clicked on in my head and I realized all I had been doing up to that point was trying to dress up space layout planning. I realized there was so much more to architecture than that, changed my approach on my project and ended up getting selected for an award by the faculty for it.
I'm not sure I would have made it through school without that experience. I never felt like I did well in the design studios and they are such a huge part of the curriculum. Getting some affirmation that I could do the design stuff, and not just understand the technical and construction side was enough to get me through. If not for that, I'd probably have become an engineer.
We said goodbye to our 12yo dog yesterday. He had been fighting cancer for the last year. We cried and held him as he passed. We've been digging thru the photos and laughing at the good times we had.
Sorry for your loss proto! We said goodbye to my dog last November. Similar. At-home euthanasia to end a terminal illness (mostly old age). The best you can do is to remember all the good times with him - he would want to know his people were happy!
Apr 13, 21 12:17 pm ·
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Wood Guy
Saying goodbye to beloved pets is one of the hardest things we do, or at least one of the hardest things I've done. I'm glad you have good memories.
Apr 13, 21 12:18 pm ·
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citizen
Condolences, Proto. Memory therapy is the best for this kind of sorrow, I agree....
Ha. I've said it for years . . . that I could put together a decent set of documents using nothing but Bluebeam. Finally did it for a bid set about a month ago. It was simply easier to cut/paste elements as needed from an old set and draw over the top as necessary. It's a really powerful platform for drawing mark-ups.
hell, i've witnessed rather expertly put together, details for shop drawing responses, using all of the linework, noting, and hatching tools from bluebeam. seems tedious, but hell, whatever gets the thing communicated.
I've got a good one. Instead of drawing everything, a co-worker made a scale model, took photos, and then simply annotated them. It helped that it was a 3-season, open kitchen type project
b3ta - I've definitely bluebeam-drafted a few details for RFI responses in the past. Sometimes it's quicker than opening a gigabyte sized model from Revit server. Honestly don't know how I did this job before I learned bb.
My comment: The Ragdale Foundations wishes to thank the jury, Mrs. McMahon's second grade class at Lake Forest Elementary School.
Apparently criticism is not OK here on Archinect, where idiotic bullshit is often glorified and celebrated. This is not ironic at all for a platform dedicated to a profession that is supposedly based on critical thought.
Really, if you have that much trouble / dislike / whatever then just delete my account already. Then you'll only have to censor me once - just think of think of all the time you'll save scanning my comments!
On the odd chance that somebody actually grows a pair and nukes my account I'll take this opportunity to say adios to friends (and others) here.
The Ragdale ring competition winner is always somehow more shit than the year previous.
Apr 14, 21 5:39 pm ·
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Wood Guy
Considering how odd the project and presentation is, it seems like a perfectly suitable comment. I'm not sure I like this post-digital, digital world...
"Thanks for listening, Marc. You bring up a good point. The plan is to introduce much more transparency in the forum soon, including the moderation process and our policy/guidelines."
I believe the common theme is getting a really good zinger in. In my case it challenged a certain profanity laden moderator's fragile views and it couldn't be yelled/cussed at effectively.
Apr 14, 21 7:21 pm ·
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randomised
A lot can change in a year, or not. Not sure why you chose to leave this forum a year ago, but what changed (here) that made you decide to revisit? If you get so worked up about things going on on here, is it worth the ulcer? I get my comments deleted all the time, I stopped getting angry about it (only very recently though). Nobody wants to become the next David Curtis.
Ulcers? LOL. Just zero tolerance for bullshit. It's one thing in the crowd, another thing entierly when it comes from the administration. Which is pretty much a reflection of everything else going on. Which is really too bad.
Is that "criticism" though? I disagreed with tossing out your other comment, but this one? Seems beneath you, as it's not really criticism.
Apr 14, 21 10:39 pm ·
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citizen
I think archanonymous has it right. Forum threads seem to be fair game, but "News" items may be seen as (gag me) "curated" or at least proprietary. In that event, the item's purveyor may have a license to squash, eject, or make disappear. And it appears that some purveyors don't exercise that option.
Apr 15, 21 2:43 am ·
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archanonymous
Miles - not to defend the censorships, but I'm sure if you would have phrased that criticism more constructively/ effectively it would have been able to stand?
Per citizen's comment - I haven't done an article for Archinect in a few years, but when I last was, there was no contributor input on the comments associated with our articles.
I don't know about the contributor input on moderating comments. I've submitted news articles before (quite a while ago and under a different name) and I don't recall there being any method to exercise control over the comments from the contributor standpoint. More recently, I can tell you there is no mechanism for bloggers to exercise control over comments in blog posts. However, I do think that if an author were to flag or complain to the moderators about a comment, they would take that with some added weight.
Getting back to the point of my post above, Paul was teasing more transparency two years ago but I haven't seen it yet. If the whole process was more transparent, or the guidelines more clear, we wouldn't be needing to speculate like this.
Apr 15, 21 11:00 am ·
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randomised
Be the change you wish to see on archinect, they're hiring!
I thought one of the fun things about being critical, was punching up, except if you're a #metoo architect, then you deserve everything you get, I don't care where you reside on the food chain. BTW, when are we going to get back to outing serial sexual abusers?
The component library is a disaster of crowd-sourcing. I just love inserting a double swing door that's 4'-2 3/16" wide next to a 17' tall credenza. I'm done with this amateur hour crap I'm going back to Revit.
It's definitely gone downhill since Google sold it. I just spent an hour trying to figure out why the high-quality paid imagery wouldn't load; it turns out only some areas have it available, but there is nothing that tells you that within the program. I miss just having Google Earth images available. I don't like how they have changed layers to tags--the name change is fine, but the functionality is different. But I still like it and use it almost daily. There's a discussion about it on the EntreArchitect forum today.
Apr 15, 21 4:05 pm ·
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b3tadine[sutures]
The coolest thing I liked about sketch up, was the ability to create topographic meshes from Google geolocate? I think that's what it's called.
The new functionality is terrible. I hate the tags nomenclature, it’s completely meaningless. And I have to click twice as many buttons to get the same action. Very unhappy with it.
I kept a copy of sketchup 6 to load autocad stuff, and work on a 2017 version. I have the 2020 pro at home and don't want to update.
Apr 16, 21 11:02 am ·
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SneakyPete
The tech industry's fetish for false innovation to justify the subscription / upgrade model is pathetic. They really took the lessons learned by the auto and fitness industry (new colors, guys, time to UPGRADE!) to heart. Fuck them. Moving the buttons around and one new "feature" that adds functionality that should have been there for years doesn't mean you're doing good work.
i hate the weird new icon that looks like nothing and double hate that it stamps their ugly tattoo on every image you export from the pro version, as if they're proud of the crappy default graphics and claim to own the work!
Apr 17, 21 7:02 pm ·
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Jaetten
The newest version seems faster, but I don't understand why they changed 'Layers' to 'Tags'? It's like AutoCAD changing the 'Line' command
to 'Score' for the sake of it...
Why are these architects still associating themselves with this rapist? Why is this Academy still inviting this rapist to judge anything!? Please, tell me, what am I missing?
Yup. If you did it, even for free and it sucks it's your responsibility to fix it.
Apr 20, 21 10:26 am ·
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Wood Guy
One of many reasons I'm no longer a contractor. I don't know the situation here but it really does suck to try to help people out and then to have them complain. I'm a people-pleaser which is not a good fit for custom residential construction. Who is responsible for caulking is surprisingly contentious on many residential projects, even when I spell it out in the specs, they are usually ignored. And yeah, contractors can be too emotional for sure!
Apr 20, 21 10:31 am ·
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Almosthip
Going to start a company and call it "By Others". I think I would get all the work
Almosthip: that and TBD. TBD company gets all the work for interiors.
One thing that I consistently have to remind my coworkers of: we are not assigning work to trades (your situation may be different Donna). That is the GC's job. Our documents become the contract for the GC and they are responsible for everything in the documents. If they aren't responsible for something, put "not in contract" as the callout. When a GC sees "by others" on the drawings, they should interpret that as "not in contract."
Donna, your contractor sounds like a peach. I saw a bidder submit a question incorrectly and then get all huffy when we told him to resubmit it correctly so we could respond to it properly. Started threatening that they wouldn't bid the project. I'm thinking to myself, "Ok. Go. You think I want to work with you if this is how you respond to being told to submit something correctly? You think I want to do this a couple thousand times again when you low-ball and win the bid? Please, don't bid this job."
Whenever I come across a revit forum post about an issue I’m having, it always seems like the first few responses are either people who don’t understand the issue or flat out call OP a moron (probably because they also don’t understand the issue). Then, you get a few responses down and it’s like “yeah, this is a known issue - you need a workaround” and it’s a 307 step process that involves the Hungarian version of EagleCAD. Then I check the date and the post is from like 10 years ago. I am obviously not the first person who comes across these issues, but the lack of good support from Autodesk and the revit community is frustrating.
I was looking at archicad as a possibility for my own side work, but it also seems like it also has its issues. I think I’ll just stick with a combo of sketchup, rhino/grasshopper, and AutoCAD for my personal stuff.
My other gripe is that everything is now subscription.
I know a few solo practitioners who do all their drawings in Rhino. It's really no worse than AutoCAD for small sets, but you get all those tasty modeling capabilities.
I too have a deep and abiding disdain for Autodesk. Ask Revit for anything but the most common solution and it requires a workaround. 20+ years to get fuckin slanted walls!
I genuinely wish that I could figure out how to do everything in Rhino, if only to spite Autodesk. I've set up my own drawings in the past for extremely specific paneling set-outs with double-curves, but this was largely leaning on preset standards pulled in from cad. It worked wonderfully in the end though, and were incorporated into a design-assist bid.
If anyone has links to resources on moving to Rhino-only drawing sets out there, blogs or explainers, etc., that would be very much appreciated ...
Or when there is no answer, or you figure out a 250-step solution to the 307-step solution... but they want you to login twice and verify who you are by phone in order to post a reply... so you leave it alone
Apr 21, 21 1:42 pm ·
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archanonymous
@ Bench - I don't think there's one definitive guide. I suppose it really depends on project size and what school you are of regarding things like layers, tags, etc... If you are doing small-ish projects and are willing to draft, should be no problem. I used to put together 10-20 page sets in Rhino all the time. The layout tools and model/ paper space concept is almost exactly the same as old AutoCAD. Nothing is parametric, so just be efficient with tags and notes. If you want parametric tags and tons of layer control, maybe VisualARQ could be a plugin solution for Rhino? I don't think you could use it on a large project effectively.
Good piece. Wagner is typically on point - except for her unforunate categorization of architecture as "a visual art". And while she is absoultely correct in calling out the negative environmental impact of NFTs, I wish she had made a stronger case about the economic causes behind it.
THAT shit garbage rendering of a shit garbage idea sold for $500,000? Fucking money, man. It's worthless. It must be, otherwise why would anyone trade it for THAT?
And this might belong in that other thread, but I've been banished: the fantastic Mathematica exhibit by the fantastic Eameses-- which included a Mobius strip carrying a little train! I saw this on a field trip when I was a pup, and was mesmerized by all the brilliant and fun ways of illustrating math and geometry.
Oh we're back now. I was too busy getting things accomplished to notice. It was weird. I'm not sure I liked it. Will give people the wrong impression about my ability to do things quickly.
On the subject of scale, a picture of a 3' tall matchbook with an 8" push pin is easily mistaken for a picture of a standard matchbook that is 3" tall. Thus the necessity of the light switch to provide scale reference. It's actually a faux switch, just a faceplate with a toggle glued in that I doublestick tape to the wall as necessary. You can also do this with outlets if you are missing one for the underwriters.
Any current or former skaters out there that think of the skateboarding company World Industries when writing specifications for acoustical ceilings where you are using products from Armstrong World Industries, Inc.?
Oh wow this just opened up a whole file of memories I didn't even remember I had. Flashback to mid-90s tduds drawing Flame Boy logos on my trapper keeper.
I've been looking at the term 'Interior Architect' and found that throughout most of Europe it's a licence profession that takes 5-7 years of combined education, BA and MA, with professional experience. In many countries is licenced by the same boards that licence Architecture, and has similar codes of conducts and liability etc.
The role seems much more involved than interior design in the UK, US and Canada. Strikes me how different the 'anglo-sphere' is in regards to this.
Apr 29, 21 7:10 am ·
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Non Sequitur
That term has no legal/professional definition in Canada.
Apr 29, 21 7:30 am ·
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Jaetten
That's what I mean, Non. In the the UK, US and Canada, we call the profession interior design, whereas in a lot of European countries, they call it interior architecture!
Apr 29, 21 7:39 am ·
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Non Sequitur
yep. The professional act in frozen canukistan (and I assume the US too) prevents variation of the term. The int designer association in my jurisdiction have been trying to get professional recognition under our architect's act for many years. It'll happen, but most int-des on that committee don't want the increase in annual dues and extra scrutiny with literally zero advantages (or scope of work increase) except a change in the name.
I get why they want it. After all, it's a profession that affects the quality of life of the people who use the space. It should be a professionally recognised career bound by code of conduct and carry liability for the works undertaken. A lot will disagree with that.
Apr 29, 21 8:20 am ·
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Non Sequitur
but int-des is a 2y college level course in my jurisdiction... Their exams, IDP and cont-ed requirements are also very minimal. Again, this is in my slice of frozen tundra.
Apr 29, 21 9:08 am ·
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Jaetten
Yeah, that's the problem, there's no standardised education. In the UK, you don't 'need' any education... Are you not in Ontario? I know that the ARIDO require a 4 year degree and NCIDQ for membership.
Apr 29, 21 9:12 am ·
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Non Sequitur
it's a 4y degree since 2015 apparently. Hey, I learned something today. Also looks like few universities offer it. Only local colleges.
My local uni has a master's of ID. Several of my co-workers are NCIDQ. They run full projects just like the architects, except they hand off envelope design to others.
Apr 29, 21 10:54 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
BB, half of my office is ID... it's actually part of our corporate name now too after a rebranding effort for equality. Most can run projects very well as long as it's within a narrow area (like an p.eng) but we struggle when it's big picture time. If I had a nickel for every wall that abutted into a glass plane... or was asked to jog a wall to fit a bookcase... I could buy you a pint... or 3.
Apr 30, 21 12:04 am ·
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bowling_ball
Yikes NS, that's not great. Biggest trouble I've had is simply lack of code knowledge by junior staff... Which isn't a big deal until their mistakes slip by me unnoticed (oops, that's on me).
I'm fucking losing it. I wish I could post this as liberty bell instead of as me but seriously, you guys: as a profession we need to start telling our clients NO WE CANNOT DO IT THAT QUICKLY. I'm on a CA call and every single design professional on this call - architecture, engineering, food service, IT, security, everyone - is working 12 hours days trying to review submittals and answer RFIs and find substitutions and update the model and deal with doubled materials prices and one lady just said "sorry, I dropped off the call briefly because I got into my car, I'm actually on PTO today" and it's like WTF humans!! We need to stop working ourselves to death like this just because some Program Manager wants to justify their high salary by berating us all to work faster. Damn.
I am trying to do my part by explaining to new hires the importance of time management, personal time, and the word 'no.' Once the dog gets its nose in the door of your personal life, the dog is going to end up in the room. Something as innocuous as using your personal cell number for business calls is an aspect of work blurring the line. It won't stop if you don't force it to.
* 'You' is not intended to refer to anyone in particular.
it's tough. sometimes you have to look at the situation and judge whether extra effort is going to make the difference between pass or fail on a given project. a strategic disengagement is sometimes the only appropriate response. but like the endless wars, no one wants to admit defeat and get in with better things.
Miles, you obviously haven't had the pleasure of working with the large design-build contractors I have. "Hey I know we agreed on this design a month ago, but we found we can use this crappy substitute instead. Please review and approve. Oh, it doesn't meet code. Well you can figure that out right? If we don't use this, we won't hit the budget and there won't be a project. Oh, and can we get it back by EOD? We need to order material tomorrow in order to keep the schedule."
The food ($$$) is fine, and why the firm keeps going back for more. It's the abuse and/or feeling like you have to sell out on quality that I'd rather get away from.
Design-build for small commercial or residential is usually fine as many times the design-build firm is one entity or a joint venture. The decision makers realize they need to find a good balance between quality and cost. Design-build for the large complex projects is usually a contractor who hires the architect. With design-bid-build or negotiated contracts the architect had a direct contract with the owner and only had to serve them. You could go to the owner and say the contractor is trying to screw you over with crappy materials and sometimes they'd back you up.
But when the architect is hired by the contractor for a design-build contract, they now get to walk the line of pleasing the owner, as well as the contractor. Problem is the owner isn't signing your checks. You can't go to the owner and say the contractor is trying to screw you over with crappy materials because that's just going to get you fired.
I thought about partnering with some MIT whiz kids to create a revit killer, but then I realized that I’d probably just do it long enough to get bought out by autodesk and then use the money to go all frank ghery on my house.
I'll accept any thumbs down here but what I'm really getting tired of is finding myself defending software in my office.
The problem is not Revit, specifically. The problem is two parts: Layman users + overblown expectations from the office's ownership. "The revit salesmen told me it would do all this stuff instantly" Well... no, at least not quickly. It can if you have people who know how to do AND give them a reasonable time frame to do it. Really getting tired and I find myself snapping more often than I'd like to when discussing this with my office's partners.
AND drop your standards... "the flooring transition lines aren't exactly right at the doors"... yes, we clicked the button that uses the walls to make the room rather than 'sketch' them... that's where the auto-feature puts them. We then go back and correct the major areas, but no, we don't go to every door and move the line by 1/2".
Random example #2354 (happened yesterday) of why the higher ups can't have it both ways. "well in my day we drew those lines, every line, purposefully"... I agree, I actually whole-heartedly agree, and you probably spent hours or even a couple days coordinating finish plans just so. But I needed to do 4 floors of interior fit-out in under an hour because we're strapped for interns, refuse to hire more, and you've got a PM doing it for you cause I was light, but I have 8 more versions of this to do today.
I also used this example as another time to pitch my expanded control of the revit template, suggesting that if we added transition strips that could be toggled off/on as a scheduled item, I could then select entire types of doors (carpeted offices from an LVT corridor per say) and set them and they'd have their line where they wanted... but no, only senior staff get control of the BIM template
I do miss my residential design-build days where most of my time was in the field discussing things like "let's turn a board here at the transition from kitchen to dining and run two courses of picture-framed white oak before going back to the red oak". I'm sure if you do it right, firm owners make a killing in that market (I know mine lived on high) but for a salaried employee gig, I couldn't ignore the call of mediocre-design semi-large corporate america
Like really understand revit where they can easily create custom families, use dynamo, etc…
Apr 30, 21 9:00 am ·
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Non Sequitur
Joe, I am the creator & all powerful genie of our office template... and I will steal that transition strip idea. The thing is, no-one but me uses the template. Everyone else just does whatever and downloads everything from suppliers.
We have 3 different BIM teams in our 20ish person office.
Team 1 consists of me, and me alone
Team 2 consists of 2 to 3 architects with skills ranging from deliberately lazy to reasonable.
Team 3 is whatever our interior design department is doing
"It can if you have people who know how to do AND give them a reasonable time frame to do it."
Bingo.
The generational disconnect I often run up against is that, with BIM, (speaking generally here) SD/DD takes more time so that CD takes less time. But that only works if DD is done by someone who can *think in BIM* and given enough time to be done correctly. The old guard often expects CDs to go faster because of technology, but doesn't understand the other side of the coin and so also rushes DD, resulting in hacked together messy models and detail lines galore. There's a tradeoff, despite what the slick Autodesk pitch says.
i think it is possible to both criticize those using the software and the software itself.
my biggest issue is the growing gap between the reality of arch production today, and this question: "how much do you have to explain to someone how to use a pencil?"
The answer to that is surprisingly complex. Pencil? Lead holder? Mechanical pencil? Which lead? How do you sharpen it? Which eraser? Do we need ink at some point? Which line
weight is which lead size? Scum bag? Straight edge? French curves? Tilt angle? Stand or stool? Which light? What drafting surface? Mayline or drafting arm?
of course it's complex- but compared to revit, it's primitive.
Apr 30, 21 2:20 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
Don't know about that square... I understand how the revit hamster ball works well enough but I could not even start explaining how my fountain pens work. That's sorcery to me.
I love loving architecture but I'm too lazy to think of something else to write. Can someone recommend something edgy and fresh to hate? Thanks in advance. #blessed.
Want to see something scary? wall opened from outside, need to replace studs for a new beam support and found this shit, luckily it's only one of 4 locations.
Actual Snow or 1990s Canadian Rapper Snow? You Canucks have to be more specific.
Apr 30, 21 6:11 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
Hey, I grew up in that era. I bought that album the day it came out sir. But no, it’s really just regular white fluffy snow. Time to put the winter tires back on. That was too short of a summer.
Apr 30, 21 6:36 pm ·
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randomised
He come from Jamaica
May 1, 21 2:16 pm ·
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Jaetten
Thanks Non, we got the most snow all winter on April 6th! Still didn't settle... You lucky soul!
Was just reading a book on small firm management and came across the firm archetype "Everyone is dissatisfied". I prefer to say can't get no satisfaction. No no no.
Unless maybe you're in a job with union protection, or you're so well paid that other people are too intimidated and awed to abuse you, or your skill is in extreme short supply and you don't have to eat that shit. None of which applies to this "profession".
May 1, 21 11:58 am ·
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JLC-1
not in this country, but in italy you get the
whole of august no matter what you do. no
May 1, 21 2:24 pm ·
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JLC-1
exceptions.
May 1, 21 3:25 pm ·
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tduds
What I'm hearing, geezer, is that we need an Architects' union.
It me, answering emails while recovering from surgery last year (my fault actually, didn’t bring enough books)
May 2, 21 12:32 am ·
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randomised
What else to do for the summer, work? Everything is closed, schools, construction companies and job sites, etc...they actually had to regulate and divide the country in zones that take their holidays 1 or 2 weeks apart, otherwise all roads towards holiday destinations would be so severely gridlocked when holidays start because the entire country would be on the move (The Netherlands)
Montreal does the same thing. All architecture, engineering, and construction firms shut down at the same time (I think for two weeks in August). Or at least that's what I've been told after I visited during one of those breaks and was extremely confused why a km-long stretch of highway construction was empty for the entire week I was there.
May 2, 21 5:15 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
^bb... it's all of Quebec that does that... and as a result, all my projects get affected because most of the labour and material supply comes out of Quebec.
May 2, 21 5:23 pm ·
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Almosthip
Living in a place with 9 months of winter, Summer is the only time we get anything built that didn't cost a fortune because of heating and hoarding
I missed our local May Day picnic on Saturday because I was...in the office, all day, responding to submittals and RFIs.
I can't explain how annoying it is to be spending hours going back and forth with the millworkers about how to detail the jib doors when I would personally never design a job door. I did one, early in my career in a *very* traditional Classical apartment interior for a *very* demanding client, and never wanted to do one again. But our interior deisgner put them in then resigned from the firm and now I'm left dealing with them. Happy Monday morning everyone!
Went camping, biking, and paddling over the weekend. A co worker was upset because I left work Friday at 11 am (our normal hours). This person said that my absence really messed up her project and her weekend.
I'm involved in any of her projects.
She's not a partner.
I have no idea what her deal is or how my being gone could impact any of her projects.
6 new messages before 8:02 this morning. Going to be a great week! I'm feeling a bit like the dog that caught the car and immediately regrets it.
May 3, 21 10:49 am ·
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Wilma Buttfit
One of the comments was from a client who designed the building themselves and now that it is built "doesn't like it". I "didn't like it" a long time ago.
I once had a client who designed his own project. Every time I gave him anything he redesigned it. Then I’d draw up his revisions and he redesign it again. Eventually he said “I don’t like this”, so I told him to get someone else.
If you ever have the chance to speak with Miles, do it, he's great! Plus, if one of you rich architects can, buy some of his fucking work. I am going to soon.
Never tried a light but I do like medium, I drink more medium than dark. Sometimes I really crave a strong dark coffee. Same way I used to like a smokey scotch before I quite drinking alcohol.
May 4, 21 1:44 pm ·
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SneakyPete
More caffeine in light roasts, too.
May 4, 21 2:35 pm ·
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tduds
I used to love dark roasts. Darker and smokier the better. I'm not sure what changed over the past year but I drifted to light/medium. Now I can barely stomach a super dark coffee.
Jaetten, no matter how dark or light or French, but get your beans roasted locally for optimal freshness. Especially French roasted beans expire quickly!
I was late to work because I stopped to give a guy whose car was stalled in the driving lane a jump. We had a nice chat about how bullheaded structural engineers are - he’s an ironworker.
I've made some strategic moves with one particular repeat client by letting them talk "bad" about our M&E consultants so when I handle communications and drawing coordinations with them, it appears that I'm acting specifically because the client complained as opposed to me just doing what I do normally. The fun thing is this particular client now likes to complain about another arch office they have with another project... and that arch is my very, very good friend. Oddly, there are no complaints to them about me.
Miles, I've been on 2 sites early in my career, that I can remember, where the trades were talking ill of the architect in my presence. The catch is they did so in French (quebec workers) without knowing that I am fully bilingual. They sure looked stunned when I switched languages and interrupted their "chat". Now they know in advance anyways because my last name is on the letter head so only the really dumb ones won't figure out that I speak the common site tongue.
When I'm on a job site I learn the names of people as well as I can and say hello to everyone and am genuinely interested in what they're doing. Seems to keep the architect slagging to a minimum for me.
Going over a quote package at the moment for a gov tenant fit-up (by others) for a new privately-owned 200k sq.ft office building I completed a few years ago (mid 2016!). They are the first tenants and really dragged their feet during the lease negotiations hence the big delay between end of construction and fit-up. Anyways, given the curent Covid19 times, this tenant decided to overhaul everything someone could conceivably touch... to touchless everything. I have sheets for phone apps that control the auto-door-openers for the tower's exit stair doors... for fuck's sake.
Anyways, total bill is just under 900k loonies. 9 floors, 4 elevators, 2 entrances... and 20ish 4stall bathrooms.
Thought about it. I've never worked with them on my own but I do know that in my area they're only about 2% less costly than wood studs. With the revised detailing and construction methods and minimal cost reduction I'd just stay with wood.
My recollection is that a lot of it is used as a sort of conference center/retreat for MS employees.
May 6, 21 11:06 pm ·
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Wilma Buttfit
Um, I'm gonna need to see proof of compliance with the building and zoning codes to allow a private residence to serve as a conference center and retreat.
May 6, 21 11:49 pm ·
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citizen
Mr. Gates will see you now in his study. Please drive the cart that direction half a mile and turn right at the gift shop. If you get lost, please use the flare gun to alert the search party.
Very proud that my alma mater Delft University of Technology (TUD) will only serve vegetarian food from now on, the architecture faculty will be the first to make the transition!
That would make it very difficult for me as a diabetic to regulate my blood sugars and weight. As you know vegetarian protean sources tend to be high in carbohydrate. I'd need to have some fish and dairy.
all the fake meats and cheeses are so loaded with salt. Rando, I assume you are vegan, what is the deal with honey for vegans?
May 7, 21 11:30 am ·
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Jaetten
Chad, nuts and seeds are a great source. Pumpkin seeds are approx 30g per 100g of protein, but also come in at around 600 calories. not sure what the GI is though.
Anything produced by animals, or insects, that is consumed by humans, goes against the idea of being vegan. Some of the spaces I design are vegan as well.
Non, I sure hope they don't serve Hawaiian pizzas!
And for all the other meat lovers...they will not sell meat in the cafeterias. They will still allow people to eat meat, you can bring it or order takeaway whatever. And they will still serve dairy products, they're not yet vegan, just vegetarian.
Just saw my neighbour from across the street return from a morning run completely sweaty and red faced and all first smoking a cigarette before going back inside ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
May 7, 21 5:55 am ·
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Wood Guy
From what I understand, nicotine opens up the alveoli so they can breathe better. It's obviously a paradox, though.
May 7, 21 10:18 am ·
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bowling_ball
Some of the best endurance athletes I know are casual smokers, including a co-worker who did an Iron Man a few years ago. I don't get it. But then again I don't understand running a marathon, either.
Thread Central
there seems to be a generational divide in the “automotive central” vs “cycling central” crowd.
How so? I don't have a good idea of most peoples' ages here but a lot of the same people have posted in both threads.
Threads like the Phase 3 one remind me of why I got interested in architecture in the first place, and also how little of it deals with the architecture I do every day. I don't think it's a bad thing. I was in my third year studio when that light clicked on in my head and I realized all I had been doing up to that point was trying to dress up space layout planning. I realized there was so much more to architecture than that, changed my approach on my project and ended up getting selected for an award by the faculty for it.
I'm not sure I would have made it through school without that experience. I never felt like I did well in the design studios and they are such a huge part of the curriculum. Getting some affirmation that I could do the design stuff, and not just understand the technical and construction side was enough to get me through. If not for that, I'd probably have become an engineer.
We said goodbye to our 12yo dog yesterday. He had been fighting cancer for the last year. We cried and held him as he passed. We've been digging thru the photos and laughing at the good times we had.
Sorry for your loss proto! We said goodbye to my dog last November. Similar. At-home euthanasia to end a terminal illness (mostly old age). The best you can do is to remember all the good times with him - he would want to know his people were happy!
Saying goodbye to beloved pets is one of the hardest things we do, or at least one of the hardest things I've done. I'm glad you have good memories.
Condolences, Proto. Memory therapy is the best for this kind of sorrow, I agree....
I'm sorry for your loss, proto. It's so sad to lose a beloved pet. Twelve years is a good long run, I'm glad you got to share your lives!
I'm so sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing.
Today I created an entire set of pricing plans in Bluebeam & I'm weirdly proud of that.
Ha. I've said it for years . . . that I could put together a decent set of documents using nothing but Bluebeam. Finally did it for a bid set about a month ago. It was simply easier to cut/paste elements as needed from an old set and draw over the top as necessary. It's a really powerful platform for drawing mark-ups.
hell, i've witnessed rather expertly put together, details for shop drawing responses, using all of the linework, noting, and hatching tools from bluebeam. seems tedious, but hell, whatever gets the thing communicated.
I've got a good one. Instead of drawing everything, a co-worker made a scale model, took photos, and then simply annotated them. It helped that it was a 3-season, open kitchen type project
b3ta - I've definitely bluebeam-drafted a few details for RFI responses in the past. Sometimes it's quicker than opening a gigabyte sized model from Revit server. Honestly don't know how I did this job before I learned bb.
I still like sketching mine. I've got a decent hand when need be.
B3tadine - agreed, the day our scanner stops working I won't know what to do...
Another post deleted and thread locked (for me).
Brooklyn-based Almost Studio provides a new interpretation of mobility
with their winning competition proposal 'That's a Wrap'
My comment: The Ragdale Foundations wishes to thank the jury, Mrs. McMahon's second grade class at Lake Forest Elementary School.
Apparently criticism is not OK here on Archinect, where idiotic bullshit is often glorified and celebrated. This is not ironic at all for a platform dedicated to a profession that is supposedly based on critical thought.
Really, if you have that much trouble / dislike / whatever then just delete my account already. Then you'll only have to censor me once - just think of think of all the time you'll save scanning my comments!
On the odd chance that somebody actually grows a pair and nukes my account I'll take this opportunity to say adios to friends (and others) here.
The Ragdale ring competition winner is always somehow more shit than the year previous.
Considering how odd the project and presentation is, it seems like a perfectly suitable comment. I'm not sure I like this post-digital, digital world...
I think the common thread here is you can say whatever you want in the forums, but on news articles, you can't be (too) critical.
I think it would be great if the moderators would just be more clear with what they'll allow vs. what will get you blocked from commenting.
Paul made the following comment over two years ago. I don't know that I've seen these efforts yet. How's the plan going?
"Thanks for listening, Marc. You bring up a good point. The plan is to introduce much more transparency in the forum soon, including the moderation process and our policy/guidelines."
I believe the common theme is getting a really good zinger in. In my case it challenged a certain profanity laden moderator's fragile views and it couldn't be yelled/cussed at effectively.
A lot can change in a year, or not. Not sure why you chose to leave this forum a year ago, but what changed (here) that made you decide to revisit? If you get so worked up about things going on on here, is it worth the ulcer? I get my comments deleted all the time, I stopped getting angry about it (only very recently though). Nobody wants to become the next David Curtis.
DC was a peach tho. Ah, memories.
Ulcers? LOL. Just zero tolerance for bullshit. It's one thing in the crowd, another thing entierly when it comes from the administration. Which is pretty much a reflection of everything else going on. Which is really too bad.
Is that "criticism" though? I disagreed with tossing out your other comment, but this one? Seems beneath you, as it's not really criticism.
I think archanonymous has it right. Forum threads seem to be fair game, but "News" items may be seen as (gag me) "curated" or at least proprietary. In that event, the item's purveyor may have a license to squash, eject, or make disappear. And it appears that some purveyors don't exercise that option.
Miles - not to defend the censorships, but I'm sure if you would have phrased that criticism more constructively/ effectively it would have been able to stand?
Per citizen's comment - I haven't done an article for Archinect in a few years, but when I last was, there was no contributor input on the comments associated with our articles.
I don't know about the contributor input on moderating comments. I've submitted news articles before (quite a while ago and under a different name) and I don't recall there being any method to exercise control over the comments from the contributor standpoint. More recently, I can tell you there is no mechanism for bloggers to exercise control over comments in blog posts. However, I do think that if an author were to flag or complain to the moderators about a comment, they would take that with some added weight.
Getting back to the point of my post above, Paul was teasing more transparency two years ago but I haven't seen it yet. If the whole process was more transparent, or the guidelines more clear, we wouldn't be needing to speculate like this.
Be the change you wish to see on archinect, they're hiring!
https://archinect.com/jobs/ent...
I'd be interested in articles by Miles.
I thought one of the fun things about being critical, was punching up, except if you're a #metoo architect, then you deserve everything you get, I don't care where you reside on the food chain. BTW, when are we going to get back to outing serial sexual abusers?
Annnnnd my post below confirms, architects blow.
Another Architect died yesterday.
another unlicensed practitioner
Does this mean there's an opening?
150Y sentence for practicing without an arch license is steep, but fair.
If you build a better Ponzi scheme, the world beats a path to your door.
What do you suppose his carbon footprint is as he burns in Hell?
Is it just me or is Sketchup getting worse as the years go by?
The component library is a disaster of crowd-sourcing. I just love inserting a double swing door that's 4'-2 3/16" wide next to a 17' tall credenza. I'm done with this amateur hour crap I'm going back to Revit.
Gonna skip the whole saga about being unable to log in this morning but my god what a mess of patches on patches this world we've built has become.
It's definitely gone downhill since Google sold it. I just spent an hour trying to figure out why the high-quality paid imagery wouldn't load; it turns out only some areas have it available, but there is nothing that tells you that within the program. I miss just having Google Earth images available. I don't like how they have changed layers to tags--the name change is fine, but the functionality is different. But I still like it and use it almost daily. There's a discussion about it on the EntreArchitect forum today.
The coolest thing I liked about sketch up, was the ability to create topographic meshes from Google geolocate? I think that's what it's called.
The new functionality is terrible. I hate the tags nomenclature, it’s completely meaningless. And I have to click twice as many buttons to get the same action. Very unhappy with it.
I kept a copy of sketchup 6 to load autocad stuff, and work on a 2017 version. I have the 2020 pro at home and don't want to update.
The tech industry's fetish for false innovation to justify the subscription / upgrade model is pathetic. They really took the lessons learned by the auto and fitness industry (new colors, guys, time to UPGRADE!) to heart. Fuck them. Moving the buttons around and one new "feature" that adds functionality that should have been there for years doesn't mean you're doing good work.
SP - I wholeheartedly agree. Rhino is the one bright spot amidst all the software I regularly use.
i hate the weird new icon that looks like nothing and double hate that it stamps their ugly tattoo on every image you export from the pro version, as if they're proud of the crappy default graphics and claim to own the work!
The newest version seems faster, but I don't understand why they changed 'Layers' to 'Tags'? It's like AutoCAD changing the 'Line' command to 'Score' for the sake of it...
Yo! Yo! What. The. Actual. Fuck?!
Why are these architects still associating themselves with this rapist? Why is this Academy still inviting this rapist to judge anything!? Please, tell me, what am I missing?
They're hoping some of it rubs off on them ... and it has.
That entire juror list reads like "If you don't live in NYC, F U". Thom Mayne probably secretly hates LA
Yeah, f*ck that Annabelle Selldorf!!!
Well, she shouldn't rape?
I have no idea who any of these people are. It sounds like that is a good thing.
Josh Mings - It's no secret Thom Mayne hates LA - have you seen the "architecture" he's inflicted on this city?
He hasn't done New York any favors.
^^ I was gonna ask if his buildings elsewhere are any better...
“ Well, she shouldn't rape”
Xactly, so good that you drew attention to her!
Contractor response to a punch list item LOL:
Women are accused of being emotional but I swear. Contractors are so prickly.
Well, what you did as a favor was poorly done so fix it?
Yup. If you did it, even for free and it sucks it's your responsibility to fix it.
One of many reasons I'm no longer a contractor. I don't know the situation here but it really does suck to try to help people out and then to have them complain. I'm a people-pleaser which is not a good fit for custom residential construction. Who is responsible for caulking is surprisingly contentious on many residential projects, even when I spell it out in the specs, they are usually ignored. And yeah, contractors can be too emotional for sure!
Going to start a company and call it "By Others". I think I would get all the work
Almosthip: that and TBD. TBD company gets all the work for interiors.
One thing that I consistently have to remind my coworkers of: we are not assigning work to trades (your situation may be different Donna). That is the GC's job. Our documents become the contract for the GC and they are responsible for everything in the documents. If they aren't responsible for something, put "not in contract" as the callout. When a GC sees "by others" on the drawings, they should interpret that as "not in contract."
Donna, your contractor sounds like a peach. I saw a bidder submit a question incorrectly and then get all huffy when we told him to resubmit it correctly so we could respond to it properly. Started threatening that they wouldn't bid the project. I'm thinking to myself, "Ok. Go. You think I want to work with you if this is how you respond to being told to submit something correctly? You think I want to do this a couple thousand times again when you low-ball and win the bid? Please, don't bid this job."
Nobody appreciates my caulk.
Sure we do:
https://archinect.com/forum/thread/149984694/show-us-your-caulk
Whenever I come across a revit forum post about an issue I’m having, it always seems like the first few responses are either people who don’t understand the issue or flat out call OP a moron (probably because they also don’t understand the issue). Then, you get a few responses down and it’s like “yeah, this is a known issue - you need a workaround” and it’s a 307 step process that involves the Hungarian version of EagleCAD. Then I check the date and the post is from like 10 years ago. I am obviously not the first person who comes across these issues, but the lack of good support from Autodesk and the revit community is frustrating.
I was looking at archicad as a possibility for my own side work, but it also seems like it also has its issues. I think I’ll just stick with a combo of sketchup, rhino/grasshopper, and AutoCAD for my personal stuff.
My other gripe is that everything is now subscription.
Like your license.
AXO - lets see some of your work. Post up.
I know a few solo practitioners who do all their drawings in Rhino. It's really no worse than AutoCAD for small sets, but you get all those tasty modeling capabilities.
I too have a deep and abiding disdain for Autodesk. Ask Revit for anything but the most common solution and it requires a workaround. 20+ years to get fuckin slanted walls!
It took you 20 years to fixture out slanted walls?! That's on you bud.
You're such a Chad.
I genuinely wish that I could figure out how to do everything in Rhino, if only to spite Autodesk. I've set up my own drawings in the past for extremely specific paneling set-outs with double-curves, but this was largely leaning on preset standards pulled in from cad. It worked wonderfully in the end though, and were incorporated into a design-assist bid.
If anyone has links to resources on moving to Rhino-only drawing sets out there, blogs or explainers, etc., that would be very much appreciated ...
Oh don't be so grumpy AA. You'll get heartburn.
Or when there is no answer, or you figure out a 250-step solution to the 307-step solution... but they want you to login twice and verify who you are by phone in order to post a reply... so you leave it alone
@ Bench - I don't think there's one definitive guide. I suppose it really depends on project size and what school you are of regarding things like layers, tags, etc... If you are doing small-ish projects and are willing to draft, should be no problem. I used to put together 10-20 page sets in Rhino all the time. The layout tools and model/ paper space concept is almost exactly the same as old AutoCAD. Nothing is parametric, so just be efficient with tags and notes. If you want parametric tags and tons of layer control, maybe VisualARQ could be a plugin solution for Rhino? I don't think you could use it on a large project effectively.
this is good.
https://www.archpaper.com/2021...
Good piece. Wagner is typically on point - except for her unforunate categorization of architecture as "a visual art". And while she is absoultely correct in calling out the negative environmental impact of NFTs, I wish she had made a stronger case about the economic causes behind it.
THAT shit garbage rendering of a shit garbage idea sold for $500,000? Fucking money, man. It's worthless. It must be, otherwise why would anyone trade it for THAT?
I don't mind a facetious comment being pulled down, but do they have to do it so quickly?
The address is One Hermaphrodite Plaza.
I don't get it.
Context is important; it followed Pete's (thus far intact) comment:
To me this looks like the 'Eye of Sauron'.
That's not a euphemism.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1070716033718091776/qmtOX8VL.jpg
I hate it when I can't get images to attach. The link shows the Overstock logo.
@citizen You're not the only one. I suggested that they put some hair around it. I'm surprised that 'Pete's is still there.
And this might belong in that other thread, but I've been banished: the fantastic Mathematica exhibit by the fantastic Eameses-- which included a Mobius strip carrying a little train! I saw this on a field trip when I was a pup, and was mesmerized by all the brilliant and fun ways of illustrating math and geometry.
that smile, pure joy!
My exact thought, randomised. I need more of that!
And we’re back! Yay!
Phew, I was starting to get the DTs...
Act of terrorism, no doubt, right? What else is there that could disturb this impenetrable fortress?
Yeah, but that one thread is still on the first page.
Must have been the Russians.
Nothing like having your favorite forum down all morning to remind you how much of a habit visiting it can become!
I was on a site visit & missed all the drama.
It was touch and go there for a while.
I need an adult.
My entire daily routine got messed up, actually got some work done for a change!
No drama, tduds, just a 502 Bad Gateway error.
Oh we're back now. I was too busy getting things accomplished to notice. It was weird. I'm not sure I liked it. Will give people the wrong impression about my ability to do things quickly.
The site was down? Huh. Probably too many MIT students trying to log on to get us to do their homework.
I can’t believe Balkins actually became a hacker and accomplished taking the site down.
Sorry Josh, what? Can't tell if you're joking but you must be... right?
He hooked up his Commodore 64 to the mainframe and went to town via dial-up!
Mentioning the Commodore64 and Balkins in the same thread. Bold move, Cotton.
I got a home 3D printer for home and I thought I'd be printing façades and other AEC related things but all I've done is print toys and figurines...
Extrusion or solution based?
Miles, what does your work typically go for? I love a lot of it!
Thanks! 1,500 to 15,000
Miles, let me know if you do payment plans, and if you have a price list.
b3ta - email to set up a phone call and we can talk.
Here's a piece I just finished:
I took the liberty of framing it, hope you don't mind
WTF is up with the ignorant egotistical hypocrites devoid of the most basic reasoning skills? If this is the future we are truly doomed.
The image above is my parting gift to Jay.
Nice light switch, as always.
I think Jay is just inexperienced and doesn't know.
The light switch is necessary for scale.
I'm hoping Miles comes back with a photo that shows the other angle and the light switch is 16" tall.
There's your next project: Big Light Switch
I can't begin to tell you how difficult it is to make a light switch that's 1/4" tall.
Chad, profound ignorance + titanic ego = insufferable twat. Jay's cup is not just overflowing, it is at the bottom of an ocean of his own stupidity.
On the subject of scale, a picture of a 3' tall matchbook with an 8" push pin is easily mistaken for a picture of a standard matchbook that is 3" tall. Thus the necessity of the light switch to provide scale reference. It's actually a faux switch, just a faceplate with a toggle glued in that I doublestick tape to the wall as necessary. You can also do this with outlets if you are missing one for the underwriters.
Smart.
Any current or former skaters out there that think of the skateboarding company World Industries when writing specifications for acoustical ceilings where you are using products from Armstrong World Industries, Inc.?
No, just me then?
Any Flame Boy or Wet Willy fans?
Oh wow this just opened up a whole file of memories I didn't even remember I had. Flashback to mid-90s tduds drawing Flame Boy logos on my trapper keeper.
Thanks for making me feel old.
Damn theres a throwback...
I've been looking at the term 'Interior Architect' and found that throughout most of Europe it's a licence profession that takes 5-7 years of combined education, BA and MA, with professional experience. In many countries is licenced by the same boards that licence Architecture, and has similar codes of conducts and liability etc.
The role seems much more involved than interior design in the UK, US and Canada. Strikes me how different the 'anglo-sphere' is in regards to this.
That term has no legal/professional definition in Canada.
That's what I mean, Non. In the the UK, US and Canada, we call the profession interior design, whereas in a lot of European countries, they call it interior architecture!
yep. The professional act in frozen canukistan (and I assume the US too) prevents variation of the term. The int designer association in my jurisdiction have been trying to get professional recognition under our architect's act for many years. It'll happen, but most int-des on that committee don't want the increase in annual dues and extra scrutiny with literally zero advantages (or scope of work increase) except a change in the name.
I get why they want it. After all, it's a profession that affects the quality of life of the people who use the space. It should be a professionally recognised career bound by code of conduct and carry liability for the works undertaken. A lot will disagree with that.
but int-des is a 2y college level course in my jurisdiction... Their exams, IDP and cont-ed requirements are also very minimal. Again, this is in my slice of frozen tundra.
Yeah, that's the problem, there's no standardised education. In the UK, you don't 'need' any education... Are you not in Ontario? I know that the ARIDO require a 4 year degree and NCIDQ for membership.
it's a 4y degree since 2015 apparently. Hey, I learned something today. Also looks like few universities offer it. Only local colleges.
My local uni has a master's of ID. Several of my co-workers are NCIDQ. They run full projects just like the architects, except they hand off envelope design to others.
BB, half of my office is ID... it's actually part of our corporate name now too after a rebranding effort for equality. Most can run projects very well as long as it's within a narrow area (like an p.eng) but we struggle when it's big picture time. If I had a nickel for every wall that abutted into a glass plane... or was asked to jog a wall to fit a bookcase... I could buy you a pint... or 3.
Yikes NS, that's not great. Biggest trouble I've had is simply lack of code knowledge by junior staff... Which isn't a big deal until their mistakes slip by me unnoticed (oops, that's on me).
I'm fucking losing it. I wish I could post this as liberty bell instead of as me but seriously, you guys: as a profession we need to start telling our clients NO WE CANNOT DO IT THAT QUICKLY. I'm on a CA call and every single design professional on this call - architecture, engineering, food service, IT, security, everyone - is working 12 hours days trying to review submittals and answer RFIs and find substitutions and update the model and deal with doubled materials prices and one lady just said "sorry, I dropped off the call briefly because I got into my car, I'm actually on PTO today" and it's like WTF humans!! We need to stop working ourselves to death like this just because some Program Manager wants to justify their high salary by berating us all to work faster. Damn.
I am trying to do my part by explaining to new hires the importance of time management, personal time, and the word 'no.' Once the dog gets its nose in the door of your personal life, the dog is going to end up in the room. Something as innocuous as using your personal cell number for business calls is an aspect of work blurring the line. It won't stop if you don't force it to.
* 'You' is not intended to refer to anyone in particular.
it's tough. sometimes you have to look at the situation and judge whether extra effort is going to make the difference between pass or fail on a given project. a strategic disengagement is sometimes the only appropriate response. but like the endless wars, no one wants to admit defeat and get in with better things.
Design/build takes the pain out of CA. On the other hand you still have to deal with the clients.
Miles, you obviously haven't had the pleasure of working with the large design-build contractors I have. "Hey I know we agreed on this design a month ago, but we found we can use this crappy substitute instead. Please review and approve. Oh, it doesn't meet code. Well you can figure that out right? If we don't use this, we won't hit the budget and there won't be a project. Oh, and can we get it back by EOD? We need to order material tomorrow in order to keep the schedule."
Hard to push back on the hand that feeds you.
Bite that fucking hand if it only feeds you unhealthy food.
The food ($$$) is fine, and why the firm keeps going back for more. It's the abuse and/or feeling like you have to sell out on quality that I'd rather get away from.
Design-build for small commercial or residential is usually fine as many times the design-build firm is one entity or a joint venture. The decision makers realize they need to find a good balance between quality and cost. Design-build for the large complex projects is usually a contractor who hires the architect. With design-bid-build or negotiated contracts the architect had a direct contract with the owner and only had to serve them. You could go to the owner and say the contractor is trying to screw you over with crappy materials and sometimes they'd back you up.
But when the architect is hired by the contractor for a design-build contract, they now get to walk the line of pleasing the owner, as well as the contractor. Problem is the owner isn't signing your checks. You can't go to the owner and say the contractor is trying to screw you over with crappy materials because that's just going to get you fired.
It is almost pathologically impossible for me to say no sometimes.
"yes, if...."
I do fondly talk about the time I said no, fired the client, and got paid to email an autocad background. That, was joyous.
I love architecture but I hate revit. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
yes we need to stick together to beat back the monster of horrible software.
I thought about partnering with some MIT whiz kids to create a revit killer, but then I realized that I’d probably just do it long enough to get bought out by autodesk and then use the money to go all frank ghery on my house.
I hate Revit until i need to document a project in anything else.
I love Revit, but hate architecture, should I turn tricks?
can you be my mep engineer?
I think of Revit like that old quip about Democracy. It's the worst thing except for everything else we've tried.
I'll accept any thumbs down here but what I'm really getting tired of is finding myself defending software in my office.
The problem is not Revit, specifically. The problem is two parts: Layman users + overblown expectations from the office's ownership. "The revit salesmen told me it would do all this stuff instantly" Well... no, at least not quickly. It can if you have people who know how to do AND give them a reasonable time frame to do it. Really getting tired and I find myself snapping more often than I'd like to when discussing this with my office's partners.
AND drop your standards... "the flooring transition lines aren't exactly right at the doors"... yes, we clicked the button that uses the walls to make the room rather than 'sketch' them... that's where the auto-feature puts them. We then go back and correct the major areas, but no, we don't go to every door and move the line by 1/2".
Random example #2354 (happened yesterday) of why the higher ups can't have it both ways. "well in my day we drew those lines, every line, purposefully"... I agree, I actually whole-heartedly agree, and you probably spent hours or even a couple days coordinating finish plans just so. But I needed to do 4 floors of interior fit-out in under an hour because we're strapped for interns, refuse to hire more, and you've got a PM doing it for you cause I was light, but I have 8 more versions of this to do today.
I also used this example as another time to pitch my expanded control of the revit template, suggesting that if we added transition strips that could be toggled off/on as a scheduled item, I could then select entire types of doors (carpeted offices from an LVT corridor per say) and set them and they'd have their line where they wanted... but no, only senior staff get control of the BIM template
I do miss my residential design-build days where most of my time was in the field discussing things like "let's turn a board here at the transition from kitchen to dining and run two courses of picture-framed white oak before going back to the red oak". I'm sure if you do it right, firm owners make a killing in that market (I know mine lived on high) but for a salaried employee gig, I couldn't ignore the call of mediocre-design semi-large corporate america
Non - I work in a large office and there are maybe 2 people
2 people in the entire office who both know how to use revit and put a set together. It’s usually either or.
Like really understand revit where they can easily create custom families, use dynamo, etc…
Joe, I am the creator & all powerful genie of our office template... and I will steal that transition strip idea. The thing is, no-one but me uses the template. Everyone else just does whatever and downloads everything from suppliers.
We have 3 different BIM teams in our 20ish person office.
Team 1 consists of me, and me alone
Team 2 consists of 2 to 3 architects with skills ranging from deliberately lazy to reasonable.
Team 3 is whatever our interior design department is doing
"It can if you have people who know how to do AND give them a reasonable time frame to do it."
Bingo.
The generational disconnect I often run up against is that, with BIM, (speaking generally here) SD/DD takes more time so that CD takes less time. But that only works if DD is done by someone who can *think in BIM* and given enough time to be done correctly. The old guard often expects CDs to go faster because of technology, but doesn't understand the other side of the coin and so also rushes DD, resulting in hacked together messy models and detail lines galore. There's a tradeoff, despite what the slick Autodesk pitch says.
i think it is possible to both criticize those using the software and the software itself.
my biggest issue is the growing gap between the reality of arch production today, and this question: "how much do you have to explain to someone how to use a pencil?"
The answer to that is surprisingly complex. Pencil? Lead holder? Mechanical pencil? Which lead? How do you sharpen it? Which eraser? Do we need ink at some point? Which line weight is which lead size? Scum bag? Straight edge? French curves? Tilt angle? Stand or stool? Which light? What drafting surface? Mayline or drafting arm?
I only use pens.
I do all of my thinking with my No. 15 pen.
of course it's complex- but compared to revit, it's primitive.
Don't know about that square... I understand how the revit hamster ball works well enough but I could not even start explaining how my fountain pens work. That's sorcery to me.
I love architecture but I hate clients. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
Be your own client. Then you can hate yourself!
that's how i justify making them pay for what i design!
I love architecture but I hate Bjarke Ingels. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
I love architecture but I hate deciding which school to go to on my own. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
I love architecture but Jay112 seems to hate me. Am I still a worthy architect despite my 18 years of lame, narrow minded experience?
I love alcohol but hate hangovers. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
Not if you hate hangovers. In fact, I'm about to start a pre-hangover right now. Cheers!
I love architecture but hated architecture school. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
I love architecture but hate NCARB. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
I love love, but hate hate. Is it worth getting up every morning?
This wins.
I love loving architecture but I'm too lazy to think of something else to write. Can someone recommend something edgy and fresh to hate? Thanks in advance. #blessed.
Bad day? I get 25 paid holiday days per year, plus paid sick time and 8 paid bank holidays. Does that help?
I love memes, but I hate repetition. Is it worth going for the easy meta joke?
Want to see something scary? wall opened from outside, need to replace studs for a new beam support and found this shit, luckily it's only one of 4 locations.
definitively needs a good bead of caulk.
i think my house has that a lot worse. That's why i keep it covered up
^ Exactly. Don't ask, don't tell, don't worry. Drywall-as-calming influence and beloved secret-keeper.
If EIFS it’s more more than 4 locations.
It's not EIFS, just a 30 year old house.
for anyone interested, it’s snowing right now.
Actual Snow or 1990s Canadian Rapper Snow? You Canucks have to be more specific.
Hey, I grew up in that era. I bought that album the day it came out sir. But no, it’s really just regular white fluffy snow. Time to put the winter tires back on. That was too short of a summer.
He come from Jamaica
Thanks Non, we got the most snow all winter on April 6th! Still didn't settle... You lucky soul!
Another 12 hour day whhhheeeeeeeeee! But luckily I’m headed to the liquor store now.
I just sent my husband to get boxed wine.
Cheers! Time to turn off and enjoy the weekend.
The problem is I just love, truly love, the taste of bourbon. I’d drink it all day long if more than a few glasses didn’t make me blotto.
Was just reading a book on small firm management and came across the firm archetype "Everyone is dissatisfied". I prefer to say can't get no satisfaction. No no no.
In reference to my post on the previous page about us working ourselves to death:
Unless maybe you're in a job with union protection, or you're so well paid that other people are too intimidated and awed to abuse you, or your skill is in extreme short supply and you don't have to eat that shit. None of which applies to this "profession".
not in this country, but in italy you get the
whole of august no matter what you do. no
exceptions.
What I'm hearing, geezer, is that we need an Architects' union.
Happy May Day comrades.
It me, answering emails while recovering from surgery last year (my fault actually, didn’t bring enough books)
What else to do for the summer, work?
Everything is closed, schools, construction companies and job sites, etc...they actually had to regulate and divide the country in zones that take their holidays 1 or 2 weeks apart, otherwise all roads towards holiday destinations would be so severely gridlocked when holidays start because the entire country would be on the move (The Netherlands)
Montreal does the same thing. All architecture, engineering, and construction firms shut down at the same time (I think for two weeks in August). Or at least that's what I've been told after I visited during one of those breaks and was extremely confused why a km-long stretch of highway construction was empty for the entire week I was there.
^bb... it's all of Quebec that does that... and as a result, all my projects get affected because most of the labour and material supply comes out of Quebec.
Living in a place with 9 months of winter, Summer is the only time we get anything built that didn't cost a fortune because of heating and hoarding
I missed our local May Day picnic on Saturday because I was...in the office, all day, responding to submittals and RFIs.
I can't explain how annoying it is to be spending hours going back and forth with the millworkers about how to detail the jib doors when I would personally never design a job door. I did one, early in my career in a *very* traditional Classical apartment interior for a *very* demanding client, and never wanted to do one again. But our interior deisgner put them in then resigned from the firm and now I'm left dealing with them. Happy Monday morning everyone!
Interior is no sweat. Trying doing it exterior with full weatherproofing.
Went camping, biking, and paddling over the weekend. A co worker was upset because I left work Friday at 11 am (our normal hours). This person said that my absence really messed up her project and her weekend.
I'm involved in any of her projects.
She's not a partner.
I have no idea what her deal is or how my being gone could impact any of her projects.
kinda wtf?...maybe just ask her to see what's up
and, hopefully this person is not in a position to give "peer reviews"
She’s probably on archinect
She is neither.
maybe she is Jay11whatever
That would be interesting however she is a very good architect and quite knowledgeable so that's not possible.
I don't know, maybe we have the start for a solid M.Night shamasomething movie script here. What a twist!
Oooooo! That would be cool! Erpt . . . model's done upgrading. Time to do some architecture.
6 new messages before 8:02 this morning. Going to be a great week! I'm feeling a bit like the dog that caught the car and immediately regrets it.
One of the comments was from a client who designed the building themselves and now that it is built "doesn't like it". I "didn't like it" a long time ago.
I once had a client who designed his own project. Every time I gave him anything he redesigned it. Then I’d draw up his revisions and he redesign it again. Eventually he said “I don’t like this”, so I told him to get someone else.
I'm still looking for the perfect gif to respond with.
If you ever have the chance to speak with Miles, do it, he's great! Plus, if one of you rich architects can, buy some of his fucking work. I am going to soon.
'rich architects' is an oxymoron. Poor architects get a nice discount.
There are plenty of rich architects, but they were either born that way or married into it. The former are lucky, the latter are smart.
If you marry for money you will surely earn it.
Was that a proposal Miles?
Either I'm being thick, or there is no French Roast Coffee that is roasted in France that is available in the UK....
Hey, y'all voted for Brexit
Exactly. Delicious Bruxelles Brew for everyone!
Regrettably, Josh. Not the best decision... I really miss my French Roast....
French Roast doesn’t come from France, it’s just a dark roast. Coffee beans don’t grow in France.
I know it doesn’t grow there, I want a roast that has been roasted in France by a French company ;)
I prefer light roast, dark tastes burnt.
Never tried a light but I do like medium, I drink more medium than dark. Sometimes I really crave a strong dark coffee. Same way I used to like a smokey scotch before I quite drinking alcohol.
More caffeine in light roasts, too.
I used to love dark roasts. Darker and smokier the better. I'm not sure what changed over the past year but I drifted to light/medium. Now I can barely stomach a super dark coffee.
Jaetten, no matter how dark or light or French, but get your beans roasted locally for optimal freshness. Especially French roasted beans expire quickly!
as long as it's black and not decaf, I'll drink it. Don't even care the vintage or temperature.
Too soon for another one of these?
I love architecture, but hate coffee. Is it worth sticking with the profession?
^no
‘No’ for too soon or for sticking with it?
yes
42
46 & 2
Just ahead of me.
people are weird
"Inside the ‘Tartarian Empire,’ the QAnon of Architecture"
https://www.bloomberg.com/news...
too much fat in their diets, blood doesn't really flow in the brain
That's one of my favorite empires.
Beef Tartarian Empire?
Looks like the clogged colon it will cause after eating...
I was late to work because I stopped to give a guy whose car was stalled in the driving lane a jump. We had a nice chat about how bullheaded structural engineers are - he’s an ironworker.
i am imagining a picture of you in your miata jumpering an ironworkers big truck. i love it ;D
You can go to any construction site and have the same conversation with any tradesman about architects.
You can go to the comments section of any Archinect news article and have the same conversation about architects.
Well, maybe not you Miles. They seem to have you on their radar.
I've made some strategic moves with one particular repeat client by letting them talk "bad" about our M&E consultants so when I handle communications and drawing coordinations with them, it appears that I'm acting specifically because the client complained as opposed to me just doing what I do normally. The fun thing is this particular client now likes to complain about another arch office they have with another project... and that arch is my very, very good friend. Oddly, there are no complaints to them about me.
My first jobs were construction labor on my father's projects. People didn't know I was related and talked massive shit about the architect.
Miles, I've been on 2 sites early in my career, that I can remember, where the trades were talking ill of the architect in my presence. The catch is they did so in French (quebec workers) without knowing that I am fully bilingual. They sure looked stunned when I switched languages and interrupted their "chat". Now they know in advance anyways because my last name is on the letter head so only the really dumb ones won't figure out that I speak the common site tongue.
When I'm on a job site I learn the names of people as well as I can and say hello to everyone and am genuinely interested in what they're doing. Seems to keep the architect slagging to a minimum for me.
i talk shit about the architect on projects where i'm the architect, so i totally understand.
Going over a quote package at the moment for a gov tenant fit-up (by others) for a new privately-owned 200k sq.ft office building I completed a few years ago (mid 2016!). They are the first tenants and really dragged their feet during the lease negotiations hence the big delay between end of construction and fit-up. Anyways, given the curent Covid19 times, this tenant decided to overhaul everything someone could conceivably touch... to touchless everything. I have sheets for phone apps that control the auto-door-openers for the tower's exit stair doors... for fuck's sake.
Anyways, total bill is just under 900k loonies. 9 floors, 4 elevators, 2 entrances... and 20ish 4stall bathrooms.
What spec section do the Three Seashells fall under?
Are they touchless? Where are the sensors and batteries?
He doesn't know about the Three Seashells.
I’ll make sure to recommend the swearing ticket machine dispensers.
I want to build a utility shed for my lawn mower and yard work stuff. I don't want to take out a second mortgage for the wood framing though.
Use reclaimed materials instead and upcycle!
may be cheaper going to costco and buying a plastic one.
buy some goats instead and let them "mow" the lawn 24/7.
Tried. Can't find any that are worth reusing.
Load bearing steel studs
Thought about it. I've never worked with them on my own but I do know that in my area they're only about 2% less costly than wood studs. With the revised detailing and construction methods and minimal cost reduction I'd just stay with wood.
Load bearing goats
lol reclaimed goats.
sometimes I just peek in archinect to get a good laugh
Reclaimed, load bearing goats it is!
i read today that mr gates's house is 66k sqft, and it made me wonder: is there a size threshold above which a structure is no longer a house?
I also checked on Versailles, just for shits/giggles: over 679k sqft [63k sq m]!
So Bill keeps the house?
There's a lot of that house that isn't house.
What do you even do with that much space?
^raise goats.
My recollection is that a lot of it is used as a sort of conference center/retreat for MS employees.
Um, I'm gonna need to see proof of compliance with the building and zoning codes to allow a private residence to serve as a conference center and retreat.
Mr. Gates will see you now in his study. Please drive the cart that direction half a mile and turn right at the gift shop. If you get lost, please use the flare gun to alert the search party.
Donna: sounds like some kind of tax dodge.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/06/business/bill-melinda-gates-mansion-divorce/index.html tbh it just likes a nicely done ski resort. so unremarkable.
https://www .bcj.com/projects/pacific-rim-estate
7bed, 24bathrooms. nice
Very proud that my alma mater Delft University of Technology (TUD) will only serve vegetarian food from now on, the architecture faculty will be the first to make the transition!
Excellent news! :)
What do they use as an alternative to ham for their Hawaiian pizzas?
What about the bacon?
They use cardboard. All vegan 'bacon' is naff... Avoid it! Other fake meats aren't bad, its just that bacon crap...
Have you ever had bacon? Have you ever had bacon drenched in maple syrup?
Yep, before I was vegan, I would always have the most salty fatty thick sliced I could find. So thick that bread would look thinly sliced!
That would make it very difficult for me as a diabetic to regulate my blood sugars and weight. As you know vegetarian protean sources tend to be high in carbohydrate. I'd need to have some fish and dairy.
all the fake meats and cheeses are so loaded with salt. Rando, I assume you are vegan, what is the deal with honey for vegans?
Chad, nuts and seeds are a great source. Pumpkin seeds are approx 30g per 100g of protein, but also come in at around 600 calories. not sure what the GI is though.
mmmmm, bacon
Anything produced by animals, or insects, that is consumed by humans, goes against the idea of being vegan. Some of the spaces I design are vegan as well.
so beta, no leather shoes, no wool sweaters?
Non, I sure hope they don't serve Hawaiian pizzas!
And for all the other meat lovers...they will not sell meat in the cafeterias. They will still allow people to eat meat, you can bring it or order takeaway whatever. And they will still serve dairy products, they're not yet vegan, just vegetarian.
No to wool and leather. I have vegan boots.
#allhawaiianpizzasmatter.
JLC-1, I'm not a fulltime vegan (yet)...
I've been calling what I am; vegan adjacent.
My food is vegetarian...
Just saw my neighbour from across the street return from a morning run completely sweaty and red faced and all first smoking a cigarette before going back inside ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
From what I understand, nicotine opens up the alveoli so they can breathe better. It's obviously a paradox, though.
Some of the best endurance athletes I know are casual smokers, including a co-worker who did an Iron Man a few years ago. I don't get it. But then again I don't understand running a marathon, either.
This guy is not a casual smoker though, he's a casual runner...
holy shit. 82 year old Helmut Jahn was riding his bike yesterday and killed by a car.
Anyone know the whereabouts of Peter Zumthor?
sad. but i guess as far as architect deaths go this is in the better tier, puts him in the likes of gaudi and aldo rossi
@ B3ta, he's in the waiting room at the repair shop.
^ Rather insensitive of me to take this shot. Condolences to his family, colleagues, and admirers.
looks like the architect assassin has struck again, back in CA. keep safe everyone.
if celebrity deaths come in threes I have a few heroes I'm gonna hire bodyguards for
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