Archinect - Features

A Studio of 4,500: Inside Gensler's Culture

2015-07-10T12:22:00-04:00

The sun never sets on Gensler. One can visit their website and watch in real time as the bell curve of night fails to shadow all 46 of their office locations. Founded in 1965 by M. Arthur J. Gensler Jr., the firm has grown to employ over 4,500 people in 16 different countries. It’s the kind of sprawling, vast enterprise that draws more analogies to historic tea companies than design firms. How can an architecture firm of this size maintain a unified studio culture? Or should it?

What's the hottest new job in architecture?

2015-06-25T13:27:00-04:00

Architecture: it’s not just glue gun burns and x-refs anymore. In an industry known for playing canary in the employment coalmine, architecture is once again experiencing a hiring boom. Additionally, thanks to changes in technology, both in design software and in the more general way people communicate online, several fields have either newly appeared or considerably expanded in architecturally-related work. In this series, we’ll be spotlighting specific new careers within architecture, including a basic description, the ideal background you should have for this position, any particular software/tools you should master, and the most likely regions where you can find this type of work based on Archinect's job board.

Don't Be a Tool: Role of Software vs. Vision in Architectural Employment

2015-06-18T10:39:00-04:00

One must be smarter than the tools one is working with, but what exactly does that mean in a profession that increasingly relies on software initially developed for the aerospace industry? How important is it for a student to master Rhino or REVIT versus the intrinsic philosophy of great design itself? Most importantly, how does a student balance the need to become a high-end CAD monkey while developing creative thought?

Is Twitter the architectural intern's unofficial labor union? Exposing the reality behind unpaid internships across borders and industries

2015-06-11T12:15:00-04:00

Social media has been accused of being many things: a time-waster, an intelligence-leveler, a privacy-invader. However, in the field of architectural employment, social media has oddly become a kind of virtual worker’s union, helping to expose unethical hiring practices. A recent leaked email from Japanese firm SANAA advertised an unpaid internship for three months consisting of 12-hour days, 6-7 days a week, with the intern providing his or her own computer and software. Juan Herrera tweeted the email on March 23rd and it quickly garnered extensive press coverage.

10 Ways Architectural Employers Can Maximize the Effectiveness of Their Employees

2015-06-04T10:57:00-04:00

Management is not a science; it is an art. Maximizing the effectiveness of a studio is not about implementing broad strokes out of a Step-by-Step guide, but rather requires understanding the nuances of performance, environment, and long-term goals. These ten suggestions serve as a starting point for creating a more holistic management strategy.

What should be in your portfolio? Firms tell you what they're looking for and how to get hired

2015-05-28T12:15:00-04:00

Putting together a portfolio for a job application is practically a design commission in of itself. What projects should be included? How should they be presented? Most importantly, what does the compendium of work say about you, the applicant? After speaking with employers, we discovered that the work itself isn’t necessarily as important as the thought and agility the portfolio demonstrates.

Looking Hot in a Tight Market: How Firms Successfully Attract Job Applicants

2015-05-21T11:55:00-04:00

Employers, we’re not trying to hurt your feelings, but be honest: Does your company seem like an attractive place in which to work? Thanks to a robust post-recession job market that favors employees, job seekers now have a variety of choices when it comes to finding an employer. This means that, much like going on a date, an employer who wants to attract top talent needs to put more effort into the appearance of their job ads. Although looks aren’t everything, first impressions do count.

There are tons of architecture job openings these days. Why aren't you hired yet?

2015-05-14T17:42:00-04:00

Seven years ago, in the grips of recession, finding employment in architecture was akin to a treasure hunt: there were cryptic clues scattered across a wide geographical area, but for many actually finding the job was simply too time-consuming and difficult. Recent graduates threw up their hands and sought work in other fields; experienced architects, freshly chucked out of their jobs by large firms rapidly downsizing to accommodate the 2008 economic crash, found themselves taking up teaching or other gap-filling work.