Archinect - Features

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Forensic Architect

2022-06-15T17:45:00-04:00

A forensic architect holds many responsibilities within the development of a construction project. Skilled in conducting investigations to identify and mitigate potential dangers or risks associated with building damage, such as construction defects, these professionals offer a bias-free, third-party perspective and solutions to a firm’s most significant construction and design deficiencies.

For our 12th installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles, we explore the role of a Forensic Architect and look at some of the qualifications and duties associated with this position. We will also take a closer look at the valuable contributions a Forensic Architect brings to a design team.

Archinect’s Guide to Job Titles: Building Façade/Envelope Specialist

2022-03-14T19:54:00-04:00

Expertise in facade design has become a growing niche for firms and individuals who specialize in building envelopes, facade fabrication techniques, and performance-based design solutions. A facade specialist helps firms create unique building exteriors that blend architecture, engineering, and material innovation.

Our latest installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles explores the role of a façade/envelope specialist, the qualifications needed to pursue this as a career path, and what firms are looking for when hiring.

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Model Maker

2022-01-04T13:55:00-05:00

When beginning architecture school, a student is introduced to four basic design elements: Point, Line, Plane, and Volume. The process for designing a building requires these four elements to operate. These elements serve as the backbone to crafting an effective design proposal and successful project for a design firm. For our eighth installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles, we explore the role and career path of a Model Maker.

An architectural model serves as the physical manifestation of a design proposal. A model may highlight the use and aspects of a planned structure beyond the reach of a composite sketch or digitally composed image. A tangible, three-dimensional form, the architectural model is a key component to the visualization of a building and the communication of layout and inter-spatial design relationships.

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Project Manager

2020-06-05T12:48:00-04:00

As we continue our investigation of the most foundational job titles in the architecture industry, we now move to the Project Manager (PM), a title often closely associated with the Project Architect (PA), which we covered in a previous article. Because a Project Architect and a Project Manager can sometimes be the same person or share many of the same responsibilities it can be tricky to differentiate between the two. In team structures where the PM functions in a separate role, duties can include internal and external team management; financial and budgetary management; scheduling; staffing; and overall communication between the parties involved in a project.

This is our seventh installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles. We’ll look at the Project Manager and explore the nature and essence of operating in this role. We will also investigate what one might expect from an individual pursuing this career path in architecture.

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Project Architect

2020-03-13T16:52:00-04:00

In our study of the various job titles within the industry of architecture, we’ve so far explored a wide variety, each with its own unique qualities. Today we move to the Project Architect (PA), a position that quite literally captures the essence of the architect. Project Architects are typically tasked with the technical delivery of a project: leading the production of the construction documents, ensuring its quality, coordinating with consultants, leading an internal team of design professionals, and a number of other duties key to the development and delivery of a given project. Sometimes this role might overlap with that of a Project Manager (PM), and sometimes they are one in the same, both topics we’ll discuss in this piece.

This is our sixth installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles. We’ll look at the Project Architect (PA), the multi-faceted position that truly captures the historical and intrinsic characteristics of the architect. Let’s look at what this role entails,...

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Designer

2020-02-25T14:26:00-05:00

Within the architecture studio, designers exist as a polymorphic phenomenon so varied and nuanced that there subsists no exhaustive description of their fundamental nature. On a foundational level, designers design, but they are also so much more than that. Some might run their own projects, working through all phases of a project, while others may only operate in the schematic phases. The differences are endless. Moreover, designers can be junior, intermediate, and senior; all experience levels spanning eons uncommon in other positions. And so the challenge becomes one of defining such a wide-ranging position, a task this series has set out to tackle.

For our fifth installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles, we peer into the nature of the Designer, probably one of the most varied job titles in the profession, in an effort to wrap our heads around its essential building blocks. How might we better understand the foundations of this role? How does one fit into the larger team str...

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Job Captain

2020-02-06T12:09:00-05:00

As projects move from pre-design to construction, the coordination and maintenance of the operational progress of the project team, both internal and external, and the work itself must be managed closely. Project Managers (PM) often oversee multiple projects, regularly interacting with the client, multiple smaller teams for each project, and ensuring the vision of the work stays on point. But, the PM often relies on a Job Captain to oversee the actual production of design deliverables, construction documentation, construction administration tasks, and other daily maintenance duties required to keep projects moving and on schedule.

For our fourth installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles, we dive into the Job Captain, that in-between team member crucial to the project flow. What qualifications does one need to operate in this role? What's the pay like? And where does it lie in one's larger career trajectory?

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Studio Director

2020-01-23T12:00:00-05:00

In our third installment of Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series, we attempt to tackle the nuanced role of the Studio Director. As with most positions within architecture firms, the lines are quite blurry when it comes to the role of Studio Director. For some, this leadership position acts as a kind of operations specialist and strategist while also functioning as a firmwide design leader. For others, the Studio Director might function as a buffer between design teams and the higher-level leadership of an organization. And for others still, this individual might run their studio as a kind of "mini-firm" within a larger firm, responsible for their own business development, hiring, project management, and overall growth. The intricacies and variations associated with such a dynamic posting can't be explained exhaustively, there will always be some deviation. Nevertheless, what follows is our attempt to capture the inherent essence of this career path in architecture.

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: BIM Specialist

2019-12-16T15:06:00-05:00

The design, development, and construction of a building is an inherently complex ambition. For the architect, coordinating both the countless members of the project team and managing the production of the construction documents present its own set of challenges. Building Information Modeling has introduced itself as an invaluable tool in documentation, management, and project maintenance for architects and consultants in the AEC space. The intricate nature of BIM solutions coupled with the specialized knowledge needed to operate it properly has brought about the emergence of a new kind of professional, commonly known as the BIM Specialist. Critical to the health of a firm’s workflow, the BIM Specialist plays a crucial role in a project’s success. Let’s take a deep dive into this role, explore some of its common characteristics, and look at what skills and qualifications one might need to pursue an opportunity in this area.

Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Intern

2019-12-06T11:34:00-05:00

As one progresses in their professional journey, the depth of knowledge required to practice architecture arises as a requisite reality. Aspiring practitioners enroll in college and proactively acquire foundational skills for their future careers as architects. Internships act as a salient supplementation meant to deepen the practical education of the up and coming pupil, with an aim for growth and development. But what exactly does an intern do? What do firms look for in an intern? And what characteristics make up a good internship?

This is the first in a new series titled, Archinect’s Guide to Job Titles where we will be taking a deep dive into each of the architecture industry’s professional job roles. Some of the positions we’ll be looking at in the next few pieces include BIM Specialist, Studio Director, and Project Manager. For this piece, we’re excited to kick off with an exploration of the intern, which will also be followed by another series looking at exemplary internship...