Thanks.... I used to live in Eugene and was just in Portland last month, so I know the city reasonably well. If I end up in PDX I'd prefer to live downtown, or at least someplace where I'd have a short commute on the streetcar or light rail. Regardless of where I end up, I don't want my daily commute to involve any driving.
I prefer Portland's downtown over Seattle's (downtown Seattle feels much more corporate and sterile compared to PDX), but I think I'd be perfectly happy living in either city, and Seattle seems to have a more active architecture scene. The fact that salaries are typically higher in Seattle and that Washington has no state income tax is enough to make up for the difference in cost of living.
Oct 14, 15 9:29 am ·
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David Cole,
Washington state may not have income tax but it does have sales tax.
Just so you know. I understand. Downtown areas will have higher rent than living outside the downtown. For now in this stage of your life, I'm sure even downtown living is less expensive in those places than much of NYC and you have more livable space for your rent.
Given the topic at hand, this caught my attention on my FB feed this morning; Did Amazon Really Kill Seattle (Seattle Times). Also the article to which it was written in response, How Amazon Swallowed Seattle (Gawker). Interesting reads and opinions, both of them.
I saw the Gawker article but hadn't seen the Seattle Times rebuttal. The rebuttal nicely articulates many of my own responses to the Gawker piece. The New York Times also ran a recent article about Seattle.
I didn't grow up there and I never saw Seattle during the Gawker author's mythical "good old days", but I'm willing to bet that during the period the author remembers so fondly (which probably involved lots of flannel and Pearl Jam), there were also people complaining about what Seattle had become. It all seems a bit overwrought.
Healthy cities are always changing and reinventing themselves; the worst thing a city can do is become some kind of fossilized museum piece. Boston, San Francisco, and (to a lesser extent) NYC have tried that approach, where the NIMBY element is so powerful that barely anything new ever gets built. The result is skyrocketing rents for shitty housing; it’s a simple matter of supply and demand. All the new residential construction in Seattle is the relief valve for high housing prices, not the cause of it. Here in Cincinnati, a large portion of the populace is convinced that the city should remain exactly how they remember it from when their lives peaked in high school.
Amazon itself doesn’t worry me too much; they employ less than 1% of the Seattle metro area’s population, and they’ve barely posted a profit in the history of the company. The venture capital money won’t keep flowing forever, and I’d be shocked if they survive the next tech bubble crash in their present form. Even the author acknowledges the parallels with the old Gold Rush days, and it's only a matter of time before the bust arrives.
As for South Lake Union and the area north of downtown, it’s not as if it was a historic neighborhood loaded with landmark buildings; as recently as a decade ago it was mostly surface parking lots and some dumpy low-rise industrial buildings. The best thing that could be done for the area is exactly what’s happening now: pack it with high-rise residential towers. This takes pressure off housing prices throughout the region, and means fewer large-scale developments in other neighborhoods where such development may not be as appropriate.
The only area where I really agree with the Gawker piece is when it comes to public transit. Seattle is seriously behind the curve compared to its peer cities like Portland and San Francisco, but they seem to finally realize the urgency of the situation, and several major transit initiatives are already in the pipeline.
I would include a 'references upon requests' statement not an evaluation itself. The reference would tend to be more positive than an evaluation, I think, especially if your supervisor was being forced to invent things with your evaluation in order to justify a cutback.
ok, i was thinking that because it was very positive it might be nice to include. I suppose that I can bring it to interviews in case the subject comes up.
CenturyLink Field is in Seattle but CenturyLink is headquartered in Monroe, Louisianistan. Delta airlines was started here as well as the first CocaCola bottling plant. Parker Posey was born here but all you hear about is duck calls and Jesus.
I found Seattle- 5 years ago- to be expensive. $70k isn't enough there. Great place to live. VERy different than NYC. Yes, possible to live on bainbridge and work downtown. Watch the commute on the island though. Maybe better to live in the city itself. Check bus stops vs commute time when selecting a place to live. Ignore anyone who bitches about the crazy town home/condo development-the old housing stock is a joke anyway-cracker box quality in rough shape. It's always been a boomtown.
Most of the apartment complexes on Bainbridge Island are within a few minutes' walk of the ferry terminal, so I'm not too worried about the bus service. I still plan on having a car, but I'd like to use it only for errands, weekend travel, etc. My only real concern about the ferry is having my life revolve around the ferry schedule, but it might force me to be more punctual than I am now.
I worry about the cost of living in Seattle, especially just after having been priced out of NYC, but it seems like anyplace worth living is getting expensive these days. Cincinnati boosters like to brag about how affordable the city is, but they leave out the fact that job opportunities and urban amenities are incredibly limited compared to other cities. If affordability was the only factor, why isn't everybody flocking to Youngstown, Ohio or Wichita, Kansas?
David, the secret is to live in Youngstown and commute to Pittsburg (example)…..knew a guy who lived in Canada and commuted to Detroit, with the exchange rate and free medical he made out well....I did similar, I didn't live where I worked. Richard isn’t far off suggesting a small satellite town around Portland or Seattle…you’re already talking about a 45+ minute commute…would recommend a satellite tour on your trip.
I've been through Youngstown, and I wouldn't live there even if they were giving away houses for free. Assuming my salary allows it, I'd be perfectly willing to shell out some extra money each month to have a short commute and live in a decent neighborhood. The type of commute is also a big factor: I'd much rather spend 45 minutes on a ferry or a train than 45 minutes sitting in traffic or riding a bus.
Of course, this is all hypothetical until I have an offer to consider. Once I have an actual salary to work with and know where my office will be, then I'll start looking seriously at specific neighborhoods and commute times.
Oct 18, 15 11:49 pm ·
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I get that David Cole is currently looking at lining up a job which makes perfect sense when moving to a 'new' place (eg. moving across country like he is) to find a place that makes getting to and from work fairly easy until he has time to settle at a more permanent place... such as whenever (if of course) he decides to go independent and then he would even have more flexibility to decide where to live.
Crossing duration is ~35-40 minutes. Getting on the ferry that departs before 7:15AM. Preferably the 6:20AM so one has time to get the morning coffee in Seattle before starting work and being able to reliably reach an employers office on time. Then leave Seattle at 6:20PM or 7:20PM or 8:10PM or 9:00PM (ideally no later than that to get home even on one of those days where it is a little lengthier day. They got a few more Seattle to Bainbridge ferries departures after that.
This is what I probably would be doing if I was in David Cole's shoes and was working in Seattle if living in Bainbridge. It's just a time management discipline. My advice is to arrive 30 minutes in advance. When I used the Port Townsend to Whidbey Island ferry, I was mainly going on by foot for simple reason that I wasn't needing a car to go to Whidbey Island for the conference event I was attending. There was no need for that. In David Cole's situation, he would be bringing his mode of transportation in Seattle with him on the Ferry. That means the car or some other mode of transportation would probably be needed for errands at work... maybe.
Oct 19, 15 12:01 am ·
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Forgive me, I was simply stating my opinion if I chose Bainbridge and was working in Seattle. There is reason and rationale for my timing choices. They do make sense. If I were using the ferry service: I may use a bicycle or Motorcycle (or some powered electric bike).
The biggest thing is there is a cost factor. For walk-on passengers, that's what????
The good thing is it is possible to get to Bainbridge without a ferry as there is a bridge connecting Bainbridge island to the main land of Washington state.
It's all good and fun. It is something doable in a budgetary planning. I guess it really comes down to the fee structure and whether it pencils out well in the long run. I would want a decent pay with sufficient budgetary room to handle the daily costs of commuting and still have a decent living. That would be my opinion.
David Cole, prepare for napping in the vehicle while waiting for getting on the ferry. Ferries can only take on so many vehicles at a time, therefore, you aren't the only vehicle.
Consider also, you might have to drive around the sound to get home.
Actually you can get a house for free in Youngstown, in fact I would imagine they would give the whole town away for free... sorry that my "example" distracted you from my point.
David, pardon the intrusion (employer here), you might want to give your resume a tweak before you make another leap... how do you go from being a "job captain" & "project designer" in 2007 to a "co-op" & "intern" in 2015? Isn't the progression co-op, intern, job captain, project designer? Still squinting. No harm intended.
Oct 19, 15 1:21 am ·
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David,
Carrera's 'squinting' does have a valid point that may raise questions from prospective employers.
If I was employing someone, it would cause me a moment of pause. It sounds like a demotion that a promotion. Maybe it isn't really the case but it is something that an employer may have a moment of pause.
No harm intended, though.
I'm just confirming that it initially rings off that. It kind of sounds like you were going from a higher ranking position down to a lower entry level position. Maybe, it is something you would want to take a look at.
I had to move some metal studs around today, because for some reason the framer didn't provide *any* 16" spaces in the soffit in which we could put our downlights. Weird. Anyway, I dislike metal studs soooo much but boy do I enjoy driving self-tapping screws into them.
I love ARO's work... I had the pleasure of getting a tour of their new West Pavilion at Nippert Stadium at UC a few weeks ago with Kim Yao, Adam Yarinsky, and Stephen Cassell. Adam was on my thesis jury last year as well. They're probably one of the few NYC firms who I'd be willing to move back there for.
David c- don't even think about driving on the ferry-why would you pay the higher ferry fee, then parking when you could live north or south of Seattle and take the train or bus? Walk on the ferry is ok.
I'm 3/4 of the way through science-ficton-fantasy-horror-sociopolitical novel Perdido Street Station and I seriously can't wait for work to end so i can get home and start reading some more! It's an incredibly dense book and paints a really gorgeous architectural picture.
why does stantec want transcripts and wtf is a technical writing sample? Have never been asked for either before and really don't feel like devoting hours to a single application
doesn't look like stantec is primarily architecture. would a CD set be the same as technical writing, or a spec book? maybe a proposal or rfp or something like that?
carrera, can you give an example of what sort of document that shuellmi may have experience in writing that would be considered 'technical writing?'
Oct 20, 15 5:05 pm ·
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Construction documents, technical specifications, historic structures report, etc.
Given Stantec is significantly an engineering firm, they will be looking at scientific/engineering oriented documentation.
A document on the science of passive solar design would be technical writing. When I was in the computer field, technical writing is exactly the kind of stuff that a technical writing class is about.
Another example of technical writing.... instruction manual with step by step instructions. In addition, an API documentation would be a technical writing document. Technical writing is instructional, informational, fact based or scientific.
For example, a thesis on platform frame construction, the material/engineering science, etc.
I want to be broad to give a hint of examples.
There is a lot of examples that can fall into technical writing when it comes into architecture. A historic structures report which includes structural conditions would be technical enough. I am pretty certain given the nature of the firm that they would not be too much into architectural aesthetic poetry example. They are scientific/physics/engineering oriented.
They want someone who can give instructions with a strong technical prowess and strong technical communication skills.
I hope that maybe helpful to understanding.
Oct 20, 15 8:18 pm ·
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I'll add, your document can be much more than that. They want to see that when you write about facts that it is clearly substantiated and supported by facts and quantitative methods (scientifically supported).
There is room for qualitative that is also quantitatively supported. Take an urban plan study and how changes in vehicular to pedestrian oriented traffic. How does those changes impact. There maybe acoustic impact changes. For example, acoustic analysis, data collection and analysis, and communication. Another example is with lighting. They are looking for things like that that is clear, coherent, and sound examples. They aren't looking for feel good gooshy pandering. They aren't interested in that because they are looking for people who would be preparing technical drawings, technical documents (writings?), etc.
They will understand that you are an architect for an architectural side of the business but architecture does encompass technical documents. Therefore, I hope this give some sense of examples that you may already have. Don't overthink it, too much.
They aren't looking for a pretty pictures portfolio.
CDs alone but when together with specifications and other technical writings. I'm sure there is something.
Curt, what I meant (tongue-in-cheek) is that someone asking you about your “technical writing” is a good “hint” as to what you’ll be doing when you get there.
On the serious side, Stantec likes that word (it's part of their name) and uses it to explain what they do, so they present things in technical terms…it’s how they sell & present things, so Shu could offer a report of some kind showing his writing skills on a work related subject…doesn’t mean calculus formulas or algorithms, just perhaps a writing of how he arrived at a solution….the ability to explain something in writing is what they are after.
Oct 20, 15 9:35 pm ·
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JeromeS,
I have other things going on right now.
Oct 20, 15 9:45 pm ·
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Carrera,
Yep. It is probably more than just explaining something in writing. It is more about a technical / logical / scientific grounded approach. I agree, they aren't necessarily looking for formulas and algorithms unless it is pertinent. Formulas and algorithms without a reason to be there is stupid as much as making claims without supporting basis.
Subject matter will inherently determine those kinds of things.
Y'all want to hear a Stantec story? We hired them for a while to do our civil/site engineering, and surveying. Had a corporate headquarters we were doing and they bought property that was thick woods…so thick you couldn’t even walk into it. We couldn’t even do a topo.
We designed the footprint, entrance road & utility easement and gave it to Stantec to stake out (roughly) so we could log it out to get into the site to do a topo and finish the design.
We chose them because they had done some work on the site previously, so I met the crew at the site and the lead guy went searching for a previous control point…but there were two stakes not one. He stammered around then said “think this is it”….I said “are you sure?”…”yah I’m positive”…..I gave him a squint, said “okay” and left.
After they informed they were done I went out and looked…I couldn’t really see much so I called the loggers out, they showed up with a crew of parolees and began the butchering process…major operation. Turned out that Stantec worked off the wrong control point and missed the whole thing by about 1/10 of a mile and the loggers cut a racing stripe (utility easement) straight through the neighboring property, that was owned by the county…think that’s when the term “shit hit the fan” was created.
Stantec got hosed for it. They had a growing branch office, but with this mess, the branch manager was summarily executed, they fired everybody except a skeleton survey crew, closed their fancy office and moved to an industrial park….never worked with those guys again. I blame it on these tripod computers they use…if the computer says its right…must be right.
yes, david. i really liked their subtle work and she was quite nice as well. and although her lecture was quite accessible, i think her assumption that 19 year olds from bauconville, louisiana knew who donald judd was or that they knew what the hell she was talking about when she said Marfa, may have been a bit much.
Thanks, i recently cobbled together a spray foam spec, will submit that. Since transcripts take a few days I have some time. Stantec bought the local office fairly recently, am curious to see how much that has affected the culture.
I don't think I'm very interested in working in an engineering firm again.
thanks for the clarification carerra. wouldn't be good working for a company falling apart like the one you mention, but it looks like this place is almost a franchisee type operation? if so, i would guess each storefront basically has it's own priorities and politics and such. i don't know much about them though.
even if it's big E little a, it looks like they've done some alright projects, and it could be a pretty good place to work. hard to tell until you get in there. i definitely looks like they're focused on growth though, so i assume making the company bigger will be a priority at any branch office.
Anybody have any experience shipping a vehicle across the country? Not a work relocation that was handled by your firm but a personal or private arrangement in which you hired an auto mover?
Frustrated and impatient - need to be talked off the ledge.
^ can't help much on that JeromeS but many years ago I worked summers in a international moving company's warehouse custom crating bikes and vehicles for overseas and domestic shipping. Those that were not getting the bills paid by others (military, embassies, etc) would hire a trucker who would build a box around the car in their truck.
Essentially the car was covered in other people's boxes and eventually delivered when they reached their long-haul destination. One of the ways I've seen some people do it is to contact the company and see which or their drivers are heading in that area and to check if they have space in their cargo.
Another way is to look into what amounts to a version of AirB&B but for cars. People sometimes need cars for one-way road trips and there are sites that pair them with those who need their cars to a certain region. I considered it many years ago, but found this rather too sketchy. Something along the lines of autodriveaway.com
Jerome, buy cars from all over and there is a whole industry built around it…super simple, not that expensive, just paid $800 to get a car brought up from Palm Beach Fl. (1,200 miles)…who to contact sometimes matters where you are…you can get enclosed or open trailer depending on how fussy you are, just Google it, easy.
Curt, didn’t want to imply that they were “falling apart” quite the contrary, but they are BIG and that comes with advantages & disadvantages…a pro might be that with 15,000 employees it might be a good place to hide….a con is that when something that big hiccups 1,000 guys could be on the street by noon.
Thread Central
Thanks.... I used to live in Eugene and was just in Portland last month, so I know the city reasonably well. If I end up in PDX I'd prefer to live downtown, or at least someplace where I'd have a short commute on the streetcar or light rail. Regardless of where I end up, I don't want my daily commute to involve any driving.
I prefer Portland's downtown over Seattle's (downtown Seattle feels much more corporate and sterile compared to PDX), but I think I'd be perfectly happy living in either city, and Seattle seems to have a more active architecture scene. The fact that salaries are typically higher in Seattle and that Washington has no state income tax is enough to make up for the difference in cost of living.
David Cole,
Washington state may not have income tax but it does have sales tax.
Just so you know. I understand. Downtown areas will have higher rent than living outside the downtown. For now in this stage of your life, I'm sure even downtown living is less expensive in those places than much of NYC and you have more livable space for your rent.
Either way, good luck in everything there.
Given the topic at hand, this caught my attention on my FB feed this morning; Did Amazon Really Kill Seattle (Seattle Times). Also the article to which it was written in response, How Amazon Swallowed Seattle (Gawker). Interesting reads and opinions, both of them.
This is post 55555.
I saw the Gawker article but hadn't seen the Seattle Times rebuttal. The rebuttal nicely articulates many of my own responses to the Gawker piece. The New York Times also ran a recent article about Seattle.
I didn't grow up there and I never saw Seattle during the Gawker author's mythical "good old days", but I'm willing to bet that during the period the author remembers so fondly (which probably involved lots of flannel and Pearl Jam), there were also people complaining about what Seattle had become. It all seems a bit overwrought.
Healthy cities are always changing and reinventing themselves; the worst thing a city can do is become some kind of fossilized museum piece. Boston, San Francisco, and (to a lesser extent) NYC have tried that approach, where the NIMBY element is so powerful that barely anything new ever gets built. The result is skyrocketing rents for shitty housing; it’s a simple matter of supply and demand. All the new residential construction in Seattle is the relief valve for high housing prices, not the cause of it. Here in Cincinnati, a large portion of the populace is convinced that the city should remain exactly how they remember it from when their lives peaked in high school.
Amazon itself doesn’t worry me too much; they employ less than 1% of the Seattle metro area’s population, and they’ve barely posted a profit in the history of the company. The venture capital money won’t keep flowing forever, and I’d be shocked if they survive the next tech bubble crash in their present form. Even the author acknowledges the parallels with the old Gold Rush days, and it's only a matter of time before the bust arrives.
As for South Lake Union and the area north of downtown, it’s not as if it was a historic neighborhood loaded with landmark buildings; as recently as a decade ago it was mostly surface parking lots and some dumpy low-rise industrial buildings. The best thing that could be done for the area is exactly what’s happening now: pack it with high-rise residential towers. This takes pressure off housing prices throughout the region, and means fewer large-scale developments in other neighborhoods where such development may not be as appropriate.
The only area where I really agree with the Gawker piece is when it comes to public transit. Seattle is seriously behind the curve compared to its peer cities like Portland and San Francisco, but they seem to finally realize the urgency of the situation, and several major transit initiatives are already in the pipeline.
quick question - does it make sense to include my most recent employee evaluation in my portfolio?
No. Submit a reference separately.
I would include a 'references upon requests' statement not an evaluation itself. The reference would tend to be more positive than an evaluation, I think, especially if your supervisor was being forced to invent things with your evaluation in order to justify a cutback.
ok, i was thinking that because it was very positive it might be nice to include. I suppose that I can bring it to interviews in case the subject comes up.
CenturyLink Field is in Seattle but CenturyLink is headquartered in Monroe, Louisianistan. Delta airlines was started here as well as the first CocaCola bottling plant. Parker Posey was born here but all you hear about is duck calls and Jesus.
Most of the apartment complexes on Bainbridge Island are within a few minutes' walk of the ferry terminal, so I'm not too worried about the bus service. I still plan on having a car, but I'd like to use it only for errands, weekend travel, etc. My only real concern about the ferry is having my life revolve around the ferry schedule, but it might force me to be more punctual than I am now.
I worry about the cost of living in Seattle, especially just after having been priced out of NYC, but it seems like anyplace worth living is getting expensive these days. Cincinnati boosters like to brag about how affordable the city is, but they leave out the fact that job opportunities and urban amenities are incredibly limited compared to other cities. If affordability was the only factor, why isn't everybody flocking to Youngstown, Ohio or Wichita, Kansas?
David, the secret is to live in Youngstown and commute to Pittsburg (example)…..knew a guy who lived in Canada and commuted to Detroit, with the exchange rate and free medical he made out well....I did similar, I didn't live where I worked. Richard isn’t far off suggesting a small satellite town around Portland or Seattle…you’re already talking about a 45+ minute commute…would recommend a satellite tour on your trip.
I've been through Youngstown, and I wouldn't live there even if they were giving away houses for free. Assuming my salary allows it, I'd be perfectly willing to shell out some extra money each month to have a short commute and live in a decent neighborhood. The type of commute is also a big factor: I'd much rather spend 45 minutes on a ferry or a train than 45 minutes sitting in traffic or riding a bus.
Of course, this is all hypothetical until I have an offer to consider. Once I have an actual salary to work with and know where my office will be, then I'll start looking seriously at specific neighborhoods and commute times.
I get that David Cole is currently looking at lining up a job which makes perfect sense when moving to a 'new' place (eg. moving across country like he is) to find a place that makes getting to and from work fairly easy until he has time to settle at a more permanent place... such as whenever (if of course) he decides to go independent and then he would even have more flexibility to decide where to live.
If the Ferry schedule is:
http://www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/ScheduleDetailByRoute.aspx?route=sea-bi
https://www.bainbridgeisland.com/ferry
Schedule gets tweaked around from time to time.
Crossing duration is ~35-40 minutes. Getting on the ferry that departs before 7:15AM. Preferably the 6:20AM so one has time to get the morning coffee in Seattle before starting work and being able to reliably reach an employers office on time. Then leave Seattle at 6:20PM or 7:20PM or 8:10PM or 9:00PM (ideally no later than that to get home even on one of those days where it is a little lengthier day. They got a few more Seattle to Bainbridge ferries departures after that.
This is what I probably would be doing if I was in David Cole's shoes and was working in Seattle if living in Bainbridge. It's just a time management discipline. My advice is to arrive 30 minutes in advance. When I used the Port Townsend to Whidbey Island ferry, I was mainly going on by foot for simple reason that I wasn't needing a car to go to Whidbey Island for the conference event I was attending. There was no need for that. In David Cole's situation, he would be bringing his mode of transportation in Seattle with him on the Ferry. That means the car or some other mode of transportation would probably be needed for errands at work... maybe.
Forgive me, I was simply stating my opinion if I chose Bainbridge and was working in Seattle. There is reason and rationale for my timing choices. They do make sense. If I were using the ferry service: I may use a bicycle or Motorcycle (or some powered electric bike).
https://wave2go.wsdot.com/WebStore/shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=21&C=20
The biggest thing is there is a cost factor. For walk-on passengers, that's what????
The good thing is it is possible to get to Bainbridge without a ferry as there is a bridge connecting Bainbridge island to the main land of Washington state.
It's all good and fun. It is something doable in a budgetary planning. I guess it really comes down to the fee structure and whether it pencils out well in the long run. I would want a decent pay with sufficient budgetary room to handle the daily costs of commuting and still have a decent living. That would be my opinion.
David Cole, prepare for napping in the vehicle while waiting for getting on the ferry. Ferries can only take on so many vehicles at a time, therefore, you aren't the only vehicle.
Consider also, you might have to drive around the sound to get home.
Actually you can get a house for free in Youngstown, in fact I would imagine they would give the whole town away for free... sorry that my "example" distracted you from my point.
David, pardon the intrusion (employer here), you might want to give your resume a tweak before you make another leap... how do you go from being a "job captain" & "project designer" in 2007 to a "co-op" & "intern" in 2015? Isn't the progression co-op, intern, job captain, project designer? Still squinting. No harm intended.
David,
Carrera's 'squinting' does have a valid point that may raise questions from prospective employers.
If I was employing someone, it would cause me a moment of pause. It sounds like a demotion that a promotion. Maybe it isn't really the case but it is something that an employer may have a moment of pause.
No harm intended, though.
I'm just confirming that it initially rings off that. It kind of sounds like you were going from a higher ranking position down to a lower entry level position. Maybe, it is something you would want to take a look at.
Did anyone notice the missing partner on the SHoP Architects website? is he really missing?
What do you mean, null?
Vishaan is no longer listed as a partner...... that's the second ousting in less than two years.
I had to move some metal studs around today, because for some reason the framer didn't provide *any* 16" spaces in the soffit in which we could put our downlights. Weird. Anyway, I dislike metal studs soooo much but boy do I enjoy driving self-tapping screws into them.
I always assumed that beneath that proper professional architectural persona you were just a normal person who enjoys screwing.
Attended a pretty decent lecture by Kim Yao of architecture research office this evening.
I love ARO's work... I had the pleasure of getting a tour of their new West Pavilion at Nippert Stadium at UC a few weeks ago with Kim Yao, Adam Yarinsky, and Stephen Cassell. Adam was on my thesis jury last year as well. They're probably one of the few NYC firms who I'd be willing to move back there for.
Congrats to my fellow Canucks on our new Prime Minister. It's long overdue.
I'm 3/4 of the way through science-ficton-fantasy-horror-sociopolitical novel Perdido Street Station and I seriously can't wait for work to end so i can get home and start reading some more! It's an incredibly dense book and paints a really gorgeous architectural picture.
why does stantec want transcripts and wtf is a technical writing sample? Have never been asked for either before and really don't feel like devoting hours to a single application
doesn't look like stantec is primarily architecture. would a CD set be the same as technical writing, or a spec book? maybe a proposal or rfp or something like that?
^ "technical writing sample" - Now there’s hint.
carrera, can you give an example of what sort of document that shuellmi may have experience in writing that would be considered 'technical writing?'
Construction documents, technical specifications, historic structures report, etc.
Given Stantec is significantly an engineering firm, they will be looking at scientific/engineering oriented documentation.
A document on the science of passive solar design would be technical writing. When I was in the computer field, technical writing is exactly the kind of stuff that a technical writing class is about.
Another example of technical writing.... instruction manual with step by step instructions. In addition, an API documentation would be a technical writing document. Technical writing is instructional, informational, fact based or scientific.
For example, a thesis on platform frame construction, the material/engineering science, etc.
I want to be broad to give a hint of examples.
There is a lot of examples that can fall into technical writing when it comes into architecture. A historic structures report which includes structural conditions would be technical enough. I am pretty certain given the nature of the firm that they would not be too much into architectural aesthetic poetry example. They are scientific/physics/engineering oriented.
They want someone who can give instructions with a strong technical prowess and strong technical communication skills.
I hope that maybe helpful to understanding.
I'll add, your document can be much more than that. They want to see that when you write about facts that it is clearly substantiated and supported by facts and quantitative methods (scientifically supported).
There is room for qualitative that is also quantitatively supported. Take an urban plan study and how changes in vehicular to pedestrian oriented traffic. How does those changes impact. There maybe acoustic impact changes. For example, acoustic analysis, data collection and analysis, and communication. Another example is with lighting. They are looking for things like that that is clear, coherent, and sound examples. They aren't looking for feel good gooshy pandering. They aren't interested in that because they are looking for people who would be preparing technical drawings, technical documents (writings?), etc.
They will understand that you are an architect for an architectural side of the business but architecture does encompass technical documents. Therefore, I hope this give some sense of examples that you may already have. Don't overthink it, too much.
They aren't looking for a pretty pictures portfolio.
CDs alone but when together with specifications and other technical writings. I'm sure there is something.
^^Classic.
How's YOUR resume/portfolio coming along? Did you get one to kjdt? How many did you send out?
Curt, what I meant (tongue-in-cheek) is that someone asking you about your “technical writing” is a good “hint” as to what you’ll be doing when you get there.
On the serious side, Stantec likes that word (it's part of their name) and uses it to explain what they do, so they present things in technical terms…it’s how they sell & present things, so Shu could offer a report of some kind showing his writing skills on a work related subject…doesn’t mean calculus formulas or algorithms, just perhaps a writing of how he arrived at a solution….the ability to explain something in writing is what they are after.
JeromeS,
I have other things going on right now.
Carrera,
Yep. It is probably more than just explaining something in writing. It is more about a technical / logical / scientific grounded approach. I agree, they aren't necessarily looking for formulas and algorithms unless it is pertinent. Formulas and algorithms without a reason to be there is stupid as much as making claims without supporting basis.
Subject matter will inherently determine those kinds of things.
Y'all want to hear a Stantec story? We hired them for a while to do our civil/site engineering, and surveying. Had a corporate headquarters we were doing and they bought property that was thick woods…so thick you couldn’t even walk into it. We couldn’t even do a topo.
We designed the footprint, entrance road & utility easement and gave it to Stantec to stake out (roughly) so we could log it out to get into the site to do a topo and finish the design.
We chose them because they had done some work on the site previously, so I met the crew at the site and the lead guy went searching for a previous control point…but there were two stakes not one. He stammered around then said “think this is it”….I said “are you sure?”…”yah I’m positive”…..I gave him a squint, said “okay” and left.
After they informed they were done I went out and looked…I couldn’t really see much so I called the loggers out, they showed up with a crew of parolees and began the butchering process…major operation. Turned out that Stantec worked off the wrong control point and missed the whole thing by about 1/10 of a mile and the loggers cut a racing stripe (utility easement) straight through the neighboring property, that was owned by the county…think that’s when the term “shit hit the fan” was created.
Stantec got hosed for it. They had a growing branch office, but with this mess, the branch manager was summarily executed, they fired everybody except a skeleton survey crew, closed their fancy office and moved to an industrial park….never worked with those guys again. I blame it on these tripod computers they use…if the computer says its right…must be right.
yes, david. i really liked their subtle work and she was quite nice as well. and although her lecture was quite accessible, i think her assumption that 19 year olds from bauconville, louisiana knew who donald judd was or that they knew what the hell she was talking about when she said Marfa, may have been a bit much.
Thanks, i recently cobbled together a spray foam spec, will submit that. Since transcripts take a few days I have some time. Stantec bought the local office fairly recently, am curious to see how much that has affected the culture. I don't think I'm very interested in working in an engineering firm again.
thanks for the clarification carerra. wouldn't be good working for a company falling apart like the one you mention, but it looks like this place is almost a franchisee type operation? if so, i would guess each storefront basically has it's own priorities and politics and such. i don't know much about them though.
even if it's big E little a, it looks like they've done some alright projects, and it could be a pretty good place to work. hard to tell until you get in there. i definitely looks like they're focused on growth though, so i assume making the company bigger will be a priority at any branch office.
For some reason, this hasn't made it here yet
http://www.archdaily.com/775720/design-liberland-competition-seeks-to-masterplan-new-european-micronation
Anybody have any experience shipping a vehicle across the country? Not a work relocation that was handled by your firm but a personal or private arrangement in which you hired an auto mover?
Frustrated and impatient - need to be talked off the ledge.
^ can't help much on that JeromeS but many years ago I worked summers in a international moving company's warehouse custom crating bikes and vehicles for overseas and domestic shipping. Those that were not getting the bills paid by others (military, embassies, etc) would hire a trucker who would build a box around the car in their truck.
Essentially the car was covered in other people's boxes and eventually delivered when they reached their long-haul destination. One of the ways I've seen some people do it is to contact the company and see which or their drivers are heading in that area and to check if they have space in their cargo.
Another way is to look into what amounts to a version of AirB&B but for cars. People sometimes need cars for one-way road trips and there are sites that pair them with those who need their cars to a certain region. I considered it many years ago, but found this rather too sketchy. Something along the lines of autodriveaway.com
Jerome, buy cars from all over and there is a whole industry built around it…super simple, not that expensive, just paid $800 to get a car brought up from Palm Beach Fl. (1,200 miles)…who to contact sometimes matters where you are…you can get enclosed or open trailer depending on how fussy you are, just Google it, easy.
Curt, didn’t want to imply that they were “falling apart” quite the contrary, but they are BIG and that comes with advantages & disadvantages…a pro might be that with 15,000 employees it might be a good place to hide….a con is that when something that big hiccups 1,000 guys could be on the street by noon.
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