I would like to stay away from the ego and money driven rat race and just design small scale, high quality buildings and neighborhoods (so also no standardized stuff). Think Jan Gehl and Leon Krier, although not necessarily neotraditional.
Any ideas for master programs and companies that focus on this type of design, particularly in Southern Europe?
Unicorns don’t exist for a reason. Best to marry rich and just start your own fantasy office. If getting into this high design-high reward non-big business arch was as easy as applying to a school, everyone would do it.
I don't need to marry rich, I have my own money and can easily live while earning a lot less than I do now. I'm also used to putting in the hours and delivering quality work. But starting my own office is probably the best thing to do, yes.
My question remains the same though, there must be offices that focus on small scale, high quality projects?
There are offices' that focus on high quality, small scale projects.
They're commonly called boutique firms.
I doubt these types of firms will be producing community based work like Jan Gehl and Leon Krier though. The majority of these boutique firms will be doing 'trendy' retrofits for wealthy clients. This type of 'white glove' design (aka hands on, a lot of after hours phone calls from clients) is normally very volatile with little job security.
Good luck with your research! Let us know what you find.
Michael Maltzan got his break designing luxury homes for the Hollywood elite before evolving to the institutional favorite he is now. Peter Rose is less famous but he does some handsome houses.
You might want to look into interior designers on IG rather than architects - I remember coming across some interior designers who are rather wealthy themselves and got their break helping out their friends and families before starting their own studio. Mostly Pinterest mood board stuff initially, before moving on to become the "style" guru who then hire other professionals to help them with the actual execution. They tend to be wealthy housewives with time on their hands and a reputation for being stylish in their circles.
there was a good article on sustainable recycling of buildings in NED in the NYT the other day...not quite what you are asking for, but def community/global-minded thinkers trying to move the needle on doing the right thing in the built world
Architects will only work on projects in which the fee can cover the expense of delivering the service plus a little bit of profit. This means one works either on a few high-budget projects that take a long time to work on (luxury homes, commercial, institutional buildings) or many quickly executed low-budget projects that emphasize routine (house extensions/renovations, commercial tenant interiors or light industrial stuctures). With a tremendous amount of luck (like winning design competitions) and good PR, the former path can result into starchitecture since that what gets attention from the design community; the latter will never become starchitecture but can scale up into a profitable business. Having established deep financial resources, they can then take risks in becoming a more design-driven practice further into the future.
I'm not too knowledgable about economic conditions in southern Europe, but I get the impression that firms tend to be very small and rely on winning projects commissioned by the government. There doesn't seem to be a robust entrepreneurial sector with lots of discretionary income that employs designers to work on pragmatic additions or renovations at high enough volume. It seems like the business model is "starchitecture" or bust.
For good educational videos on how to run an architectural practice where you create good design that is modest but enough to provide a comfortable lifestyle,check this youtube channel out: (1) 30X40 Design Workshop - YouTube It features an American solo practicioner talking about all aspects of being an architect in a rural but scenic location.
I've followed 30x40 Workshop for some time now. The owner Eric Reinholdt did an interview with Life of an Architect a few years ago and the following where revealed:
Eric admitted that he works 12 hours a day 6-7 days a weeks
Out of those 10-12 hours a day Eric spends about 4 of those designing buildings. The rest is spent on marketing and social media.
he makes around $300k a year (probably more now)
80% of his income from 'passive' endeavors like selling templates for various program, resource materials, marketing materials, ect. It's a very innovative practice model!
I can't let an opportunity pass to mention the approach I just co-wrote a book about: https://www.prettygoodhouse.or.... There is huge demand for this kind of design--residential, high performance but not to an extreme, both renovations and new construction. One of our co-authors does small-scale developments and we are considering doing a multi-family together. It's not an easy way to make money, catering to a clientele without enough money to do what they really want to do, but I've never had a day without work and currently have a one-year backlog. Coincidentally, the 30x40 Design Workshop the poster above mentioned is just a 2-hr drive from my house. He teaches how to be a solo designer of high-quality homes, and does a great job of it, but he doesn't include the health or environmental aspects that a growing segment of the population care about.
I would like to stay away from the ego and money driven rat race and just design small scale, high quality buildings and neighborhoods (so also no standardized stuff). Think Jan Gehl and Leon Krier, although not necessarily neotraditional.
It's hard to stay away from the "ego and money-driven rat race" early in your career, since you need to gain the experience anywhere you can get it, and your employer will determine how much work-life balance they will tolerate from you. Virtually no one starts a solo practice right after getting their degree unless they come from a wealthy family or have unusually great social connections. For everyon else, they endure a few years of the "rat race", building skills and growing their network of potential clients before setting out and starting the kind of small practice you are imagining.
In general yes. I'd argue that your employer will NOT determine how much work life balance you'll get. You decide that. If you're employer doesn't agree with you on this then you leave.
On a side note; if you're doing commercial work though you'll need a license and that takes on average eight years from graduation.
Looking for the opposite of starchitecture
I would like to stay away from the ego and money driven rat race and just design small scale, high quality buildings and neighborhoods (so also no standardized stuff). Think Jan Gehl and Leon Krier, although not necessarily neotraditional.
Any ideas for master programs and companies that focus on this type of design, particularly in Southern Europe?
Unicorns don’t exist for a reason. Best to marry rich and just start your own fantasy office. If getting into this high design-high reward non-big business arch was as easy as applying to a school, everyone would do it.
I don't need to marry rich, I have my own money and can easily live while earning a lot less than I do now. I'm also used to putting in the hours and delivering quality work. But starting my own office is probably the best thing to do, yes.
My question remains the same though, there must be offices that focus on small scale, high quality projects?
There must be ways to research other than making broad generic questions in online forums.
There are offices' that focus on high quality, small scale projects.
They're commonly called boutique firms.
I doubt these types of firms will be producing community based work like Jan Gehl and Leon Krier though. The majority of these boutique firms will be doing 'trendy' retrofits for wealthy clients. This type of 'white glove' design (aka hands on, a lot of after hours phone calls from clients) is normally very volatile with little job security.
Good luck with your research! Let us know what you find.
In Southern Europe you should find many of these types of firms.
Is that your opinion or personal experience sameold?
Based on experiences from friends in that region, Chad
Cool, thanks!
Michael Maltzan got his break designing luxury homes for the Hollywood elite before evolving to the institutional favorite he is now. Peter Rose is less famous but he does some handsome houses.
You might want to look into interior designers on IG rather than architects - I remember coming across some interior designers who are rather wealthy themselves and got their break helping out their friends and families before starting their own studio. Mostly Pinterest mood board stuff initially, before moving on to become the "style" guru who then hire other professionals to help them with the actual execution. They tend to be wealthy housewives with time on their hands and a reputation for being stylish in their circles.
Thank you, not necessarily looking for luxury homes but I will look into those :)
there was a good article on sustainable recycling of buildings in NED in the NYT the other day...not quite what you are asking for, but def community/global-minded thinkers trying to move the needle on doing the right thing in the built world
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/1...
Architects will only work on projects in which the fee can cover the expense of delivering the service plus a little bit of profit. This means one works either on a few high-budget projects that take a long time to work on (luxury homes, commercial, institutional buildings) or many quickly executed low-budget projects that emphasize routine (house extensions/renovations, commercial tenant interiors or light industrial stuctures). With a tremendous amount of luck (like winning design competitions) and good PR, the former path can result into starchitecture since that what gets attention from the design community; the latter will never become starchitecture but can scale up into a profitable business. Having established deep financial resources, they can then take risks in becoming a more design-driven practice further into the future.
I'm not too knowledgable about economic conditions in southern Europe, but I get the impression that firms tend to be very small and rely on winning projects commissioned by the government. There doesn't seem to be a robust entrepreneurial sector with lots of discretionary income that employs designers to work on pragmatic additions or renovations at high enough volume. It seems like the business model is "starchitecture" or bust.
For good educational videos on how to run an architectural practice where you create good design that is modest but enough to provide a comfortable lifestyle,check this youtube channel out: (1) 30X40 Design Workshop - YouTube It features an American solo practicioner talking about all aspects of being an architect in a rural but scenic location.
Very insightful comment, thank you!
Wow - this is a fantastic resource, thank you for sharing
I've followed 30x40 Workshop for some time now. The owner Eric Reinholdt did an interview with Life of an Architect a few years ago and the following where revealed:
I can't let an opportunity pass to mention the approach I just co-wrote a book about: https://www.prettygoodhouse.or.... There is huge demand for this kind of design--residential, high performance but not to an extreme, both renovations and new construction. One of our co-authors does small-scale developments and we are considering doing a multi-family together. It's not an easy way to make money, catering to a clientele without enough money to do what they really want to do, but I've never had a day without work and currently have a one-year backlog. Coincidentally, the 30x40 Design Workshop the poster above mentioned is just a 2-hr drive from my house. He teaches how to be a solo designer of high-quality homes, and does a great job of it, but he doesn't include the health or environmental aspects that a growing segment of the population care about.
is he even working as an architect at this point?
Eric Reinholdt? Yes I believe he does a few projects a year but that his other projects now provide a majority of his income.
That was my understanding as well WG. His projects are very nice though.
the opposite of starchitecture is Olive Garden
No its Chipotle
I would like to stay away from the ego and money driven rat race and just design small scale, high quality buildings and neighborhoods (so also no standardized stuff). Think Jan Gehl and Leon Krier, although not necessarily neotraditional.
It's hard to stay away from the "ego and money-driven rat race" early in your career, since you need to gain the experience anywhere you can get it, and your employer will determine how much work-life balance they will tolerate from you. Virtually no one starts a solo practice right after getting their degree unless they come from a wealthy family or have unusually great social connections. For everyon else, they endure a few years of the "rat race", building skills and growing their network of potential clients before setting out and starting the kind of small practice you are imagining.
In general yes. I'd argue that your employer will NOT determine how much work life balance you'll get. You decide that. If you're employer doesn't agree with you on this then you leave.
On a side note; if you're doing commercial work though you'll need a license and that takes on average eight years from graduation.
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