I've received messages like that before and I'll typically reply that the arrangement they are proposing is not permitted as per our architect's act and professional association. They never reply, but then I don't hear from that particular recruiter anymore, so... win win?

Not enough snark from you. Next time reply it sounds like they are applying to work for you in the given scenario and you'd be happy to review their portfolio?

Bench, I try to keep the snark to a minimum on Linkedin but once I could not contain myself when a local contractor contacted me for a license arch/sketch up modeler. I do not believe they appreciated my comments regarding their visible neck tatts on their profiles.

Neck tats are so 5 years ago. Down here its all about face tats now! (Really)

What's wrong with neck tats (or face tats)? Asking for a friend...

Rando, I personally don't care what others consciously decide to do with their bodies. My neck tatt comment was in the context of a snarky LinkedIn response to a wanker contractor.

I don’t care either, was only kidding. Will tell my friend the full face tat will look badass and will get him all the ass (f/m/x) he’d ever want...

Jeez, you can't even rent a place as an architect based on two incomes...that's fucked up!

Wife is full time student atm, so just my wage. Mind you I’m not qualified yet, but I’m on a good salary thankfully.

Ah okay, I misinterpreted the "we", still sucks though. We wouldn't be able to rent our current apartment (edge of centre of Amsterdam) according to those rules either on just one salary and can't buy anything in the city either even with both our salaries.

Roofer will be here this afternoon. Better half has started to strip away some more paper to see what the walls are like under - It's awful, and that's just the orange and green paint! Water streak marks all the way down the wall from ceiling. 

Prices are ridiculous, I hear everywhere is seeing large price jumps to rent. I pity gen z, they're never going to own a home.

Jae, where is this? I am assuming in the UK if my memory is half-decent. 3x net income is rough... my mortgage costs + utilities + taxes don't even add up to 3x my household net.

Think you may have miss-read NS, net income needs to be 3x rent to pass affordability checks, although the avg rent is apparently 1100pcm and avg wage is 1600pcm gross according to ONS.

Oh I hear you on that!

I think it's more likely that spammers necro, and regulars respond, then the spammers get their posts deleted.

I'm a fan of his, and sorry to hear of his passing. But seriously, without that damned James Bond, what are the chances any of us would've ever heard of him?  (This is part of my beef with people who enjoy tremendous fame then claim to hate the reason they're famous.)

shaken not stirred, but he's

his greatest role.... https://youtu.be/BBSePg2HBQk

I really enjoyed him in the third Indiana Jones movie.

The Last Word

https://youtu.be/mzXkbJwrN38

I share that lament. Thinking critically, challenging long-held assumptions, rejecting popular opinions... it's hard work. Many people aren't up for it, I believe.

This is true, and sad. Here is something that scares me: my husband spent some time working in an autobody shop many years ago, learning car body techniques. Granted, this wasn't mechanical repair, it was body work, but nevertheless: he said pretty much every person in the shop was high (on various things) *the entire workday* as they worked on cars. So you've got people taking cars apart, reassembling them, and sending you off to drive into traffic with a vehicle that had been pieced together (including things like door locks and fender mounts) by people who are so hopeless in their lives that they just get wasted all day long. It's both lack of education AND lack of hope, and it sucks. But it's the majority of people: if you have a masters degree you're in an 8% minority of USians.

I'd submit that education is no indicator of tendency toward critical thinking, much as we wish it were. Some of the most rigid, lazy minds I know hold lots of degrees. I think levels of curiosity and humility are better markers.

I disagree, citizen, for the simple reason that higher education leads to encountering different viewpoints, as well as having actual classes about this and similar subjects. I'm not suggesting that the uneducated are any more or less intelligent than anybody else, but the likelihood of being exposed to new / different ideas is absolutely higher for those with advanced schooling.

Sorry, I'm only speaking to your first sentence. I agree with the rest.

No problem! Plenty of room for disagreement on this. And I'd agree that the capacity (skillset) is probably higher for educated folks, but that the tendency is probably more related to personality.

I think the word lazy is much maligned. An intelligent laziness is efficient as fuck.

Citizen, I tend to find those who have pursued more education also often correlate to having both a broader curiosity and humility about the world ... much like what BB said.

Below-average amount of critical thinking is the only reliable universal constant I can rely on. More so than gravity, esp these days.

There's plenty of canuckistanis here, so I guess it isn't a USA-centric problem, but I can never decide whether to be frustrated with people who lack critical thinking skills, or the politicians, voters, and society that saw fit to systematically defund education to pre-emptively kneecap the populace's critical thinking skills so they are more susceptible to paranoia, propaganda, and agitation.

^Arch, you've described the entirety of human civilization.

...and this is why I want to go live in a van down by the river where no one can find me.

Idiocracy was set in the year 2505. How optimistic was THAT?!?

We should have warning labels on people like we do on food. Contains high levels of fooldum. And we should have basic vocabulary test to have to pass in order to have money and vote. And laminated pocket reference guides to logical fallacies.

It does make me glad I'm educated and capable of following a train of thought, able to foresee the outcome of events, analyze language, and make accurate observations and comparisons and speak about them. 

Tintt, like scout merit badges + sash? Like, once you're crossed too deep into one dumb-ass area, you get dinged and have to add another critical thinking fail badge for all to see.

Agree with the warning labels. Disagree with the vocabulary test. Agree with the fallacy pocket guide. 

All in favor of funding education to have an educated populace.

Education is important, clearly. My resistance is to the notion that the more of it you have, the better thinker you are, automatically.

sad face, because he died earlier this week.

I'm sure there is a point of diminishing returns ... so let's focus on bringing up the lowest levels where the return is likely to be greater.

where's that carlin clip?

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

Less cynically, but no less devastating: NPR had a sociologist on about a week ago that stated that humans despite being able to process logically were social creatures and inevitably are influenced by their social groups, often overwhelming their educational or intellectual training in support of emotionally satisfying decisions. We are all kind of dumb that way...

TACO MACHINE! Man, you must have gotten a sweet deal or saved up.

Dibs on riding back in the bed!  With a dog!

Already got the dog I'm sure he'd love company.

Pete: My wife is getting into the family real estate business and we had a good sale.

(& also got a pretty sweet deal)

2006? Lifted? Looks like it's in great shape. That model of Tundra was an excellent vehicle, as long as the frame held up or was replaced.

I sold my F150 a few months ago; it was a money pit, and I can use my MIL's Tacoma TRD when I need to do trucky things.

those run like 1l gas per 7km though, don't let Greta know...

It's not a daily commuter, obv. Backcountry only. We're looking into getting a fully electric sedan for the city.

I'm enjoying my new place in the very very small center of the venn diagram of truck owners and anti-car activists. 

All I want is a truck for dirt roads and also to make it illegal to drive that truck in 90% of the city. Also no trucks should be bigger than this one. Nobody needs a truck that big unless its for industry, & then they can get a special license.

If you care about mileage with a pickup you picked the wrong one. Toyotas are great but their regular engines guzzle gas. A newer full-size F150 or Ram gets well over 20 mpg, while you'll do well to get 15. In this case, size does not matter.

Getting over the big rocks and through the big puddles is important, though.

I care more about size than MPG. Most F150s younger than I am are butt-ugly & oversized, and I just cringe at Dodge's recent tilt into what I see as fragile masculinity avatars. Not to mention the uptick in pedestrian deaths as truck hoods get stupidly aggressive...

One can dream.. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/high-tech-wastewater-treatment-plant

Sounds like the one over here!

http://www.ennead.com/work/new...

I'm jelly! Would love to work on a cool infrastructure project like that...

^agreed, I'd love to work on a waste treatment plant.

Not actually a treatment *plant*, but close, and gorgeous: https://skylabarchitecture.com/work/columbia/

Agreed - that Skylab project is quite good. 

In a similar vein, there was that Dattner salt shed in NY a few years back... love when these humble, necessary buildings are turned into exciting urban moments by good architects.

I've worked on some infrastructure projects and it's always funny that things that would be immediately dismissed as too expensive (like stainless steel, type 316 especially) are such a small blip on the budget compared to the other equipment/construction that no one even thinks twice about them. *In a lot of cases the 316 stainless is actually needed though because of corrosive environment, etc.

I remember one project in particular where I had a bit of a disagreement with the lead designer that type 316 was "needed" ... it's not in the particular project location and there are lots of buildings without it ... but he got it anyway because it increased the cost by fractions of a fraction of a percentage point that it didn't really matter and nobody but me actually questioned it.

Yep, EA, ours is in a marine environment (in addition to the potential releases from the plant process itself), so it was between 316 and PVDF. The 50-year LCCA showed close to a wash between the 2, so we got the stainless. We were actually pushing for copper, but the City didn't like the idea of green patina over time - they thought people would mistake the patina for leaking sewage.

Copper is a material on my bucket list. I've done one project with some very minimal roof repairs that needed copper flashing, and one or two with some interior elements that were made from copper (portion of a countertop, IIRC) ... but not one with a significant amount of copper yet.

It's saved you from the frustrating hell that is galvanic corrosion.

I fondly recall a lunch and learn where the Revere rep told us how copper these days wasn't patinating as quickly as it had in the old coal and steel mill days.

I did a remodel to one once... Yep, lab quality materials/finishes and some interesting high tech spaces and consultants just for the monitoring of the city sewers. Even weird stuff like injectors to encapsulate the gas in the sewage throughout the infrastructure. No idea how complex the system was and the monitoring before this project. That's also when I met the guy with the worst job ever; He was a diver and 'cleared stoppages' in the tanks as well as emergency response if someone fell in. Probably not what he had in mind getting his diving certificate...

EA - I've done one building with a copper roof, a senior living for retired Catholic clergy. If anyone hasn't yet had the privilege, the Catholic Church has very deep pockets (or at least did before the sex abuse settlements).

mightyaa - We're just doing cladding and insulation replacement (original is all ACM) on the first egg-shaped digesters ever built in North America. We're doing another existing digester project where we're adding new piping - on that one, my only role as architect is to help the engineers route the new piping through the already crowded tunnels.

Sneaky - Even if we'd gotten the copper cladding, the armature would've all been 316 stainless.

they still have deep pockets... hopefully deep enough to pay all the remaining millions of settlements.

I feel like this has been my unofficial job for the last week.

there are not enough canadians available for the demand. I'll sell my services to the highest bidder.

As Americans, we just take what we want, it's not up to you ;-)

NS is already my ESC so you all can back the F off!

I give "good" back rubs.

But what about a foot massage?

Im too far north to offer support to anyone, in fact I should get my own emotional americain support and it should be someone from Hawaii. I think they need me to do a site visit there. Its going to be -18C tonight here and I dont have the plastic on my windows yet!

It's going to be -13C here, let's do that site visit in hawaii soon.

Pfft. Don't complain about the weather until you hit -40c / -40f you big wimp. :P

Chad... no worries it will be -40C here in about a month if you want to come visit

Stop it now. Stop. I don't need -40f, ever again.

It went from +19c yesterday to -7c today. I'm okay with all of it, even down to -50 as long as I'm dressed properly. In fact, since moving to Hoth, I probably spend more time outdoors in the winter than summer.

Love being outdoors in winter so much more than in summer, you can easily dress for the cold but dressing/undressing for the heat just doesn’t seem to work for me...

I winter backpack quite a bit. I've been out backpacking in -40F several times. A nice snow shelter and everything was great!

You can always put on more layers to warm up. You can only take off so many layers to cool down. 

I love the cold. We sleep with the windows open every night. 

Well, I had 40mm of snow last tuesday... got the winter tires on and everything (app was previously scheduled, so just coincidence)... and now we've been in a 5 day stretch of +20c temp. Come on winter!

@Chad I hope you were on a SAR training/mission to be out backpacking in -40F (really?!?)

My sister sent us a photo of my nephews and niece in what appears to be around 2.5 feet of snow as they were helping to dig out their grandparents' home. 

**Correction: What appears to be around 750 mm of snow. It's Canadian snow in Alberta.

As for me, it warmed up from the high 30F range into the low to mid 40F range overnight as some cloud cover rolled in and it started raining.

Everyday Architect - I live about 9-10 hours northwest of your sister and grandparents.

proto - no I was out for fun. When you know what you're doing and have enough snow cover you can manage quite well. For winter backpacking the hard thing is moisture management. The idea that you can just put on more clothing to keep warm isn't true.

...sure, after a point. I was just making a comparison to too cold v. too hot.

Jesus! There's north, 9-10 hours, of Alberta!?

9-10 hours north of southern Alberta would be northern Alberta

^ ^ Or what was colloquially referred to as "down south" when I did my co-op in the territories ... it's all shades of perspective!

you're in one of those "forts'?

Wrong side of the province for me

I'm (fortunately for weather and unfortunately for visiting) further than 9-10 hours from her and her husband's family, obviously on the southern side of the border. Where I grew up and my parents still live is closer. Ironically, even though she lives in a different country, she is one of the closest of my siblings to where we all grew up. 

I knew a guy in my arch program at school from Edmonton, but that's not quite as far north as where you're at Almosthip, right?

My takeaway from this thread is that Canada is too big.

About 4.5 hours farther north west

Canada 9,984,670 sq.km vs USA 9,833,517 sq.km. Pretty S imilar

tduds, big enough for a Libertarian Commune?

Hip, those USA area figures from wiki include coastal/territorial waters while the Canadian ones does not. This note from the wiki is very interesting regarding the Brisitsh estimate of 9,525,067km2 and USA estimate of 9,833,517km2 :

3:The following two primary sources (non-mirrored) represent the range (min./max.) of estimates of China's and the United States' total areas. Both sources (1) exclude Taiwan from the area of China; (2) exclude China's coastal and territorial waters. However, the CIA World Factbook includes the United States coastal and territorial waters, while Encyclopædia Britannica excludes the United States coastal and territorial waters.

1. The Encyclopædia Britannica lists China as world's third-largest country (after Russiaand Canada) with a total area of 9,572,900 km2,[6] and the United States as fourth-largest at 9,525,067 km2.[7]
2. The CIA World Factbook lists China as fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada and the United States) with a total area of 9,596,960 km2,[8] and the United States as the third-largest at 9,833,517 km2.[9]

Notably, Encyclopædia Britannica specifies the United States' area (excluding coastal and territorial waters) as 9,525,067 km2, which is less than either source's figure given for China's area.[7] Therefore, while it can be determined that China has a larger area excluding coastal and territorial waters, it is unclear which country has a larger area including coastal and territorial waters.

So yes, Canada is much bigger... and with much more empty space.  Let's keep that space empty tho, it's nicer here without hoards of M'ericans messing it up.

You forgot to count the area of Greenland with the United States, or did Trump's check to Denmark bounce?

Does it help to begin every conversation and email with, "As it shows in the drawings..."?

I'm doing exterior retail shell and interior MOB projects so my work 'aint important.

Even the ancient garbage dumps have historical meaning Chad. Future archeologists will look at your retail shell projects and understand a lot about us and what we place value on.

^ They will wonder with curiosity and solemnity: "Why all the medium-dash stucco and bronze anodized aluminum? Were they still animals back then?"

More brick veneer, weathered metal panels, and clear anodized aluminum.  No stucco. 

To be clear: important was intended sarcastically up there.

We used to have fun going through Sweet's catalog and mocking the worst ads, similar to that great Filehenge item Donna posted. That is a keeper.

i swear to god i saw a thing on tv that said gold finish bronze was the "in" thing now. like we're going back to that for real. i'm sure it was some sort of one-off life in the midwest thing that isn't a thing, but a little bit of me died inside.

Counterpoint: gold finish bronze is already over. It’s aluminum everything next.

I could get behind that, Donna! But in the Art Deco manner where the aluminum was cast and unadorned or finished just like "holy shit, look at this amazing new metal we just invented, let's use it everywhere."

I used a bronze rail here in 1992. It wasn't popular when stainless steel and rusted metals were the kings. It was the client's choice but I really liked it at the time and today. It's still installed and wearing its age very well. thttps://www.flickr.com/photos/87051047@N00/26086608695/in/album-72157606676345332/

https://flic.kr/p/FKbFVr

In Flanders Fields

Today is the first time in 12years that I did not go downtown to the National War Memorial (Ottawa).

Been avoiding that place for a while now. Food Central/What's Cooking looks like the delicious antidote.

I think my hippo story is one of the highlights of that thread.

I'll take your word for it, NS. Otherwise, it's like heading into a burning building just to toast a marshmallow.

Better late than never!

Hurry, winter is coming.

That's the best bit!

Don't lie NS - it's winter 10.36 months out of the year in Canada. I should know, I lived right below your frosty country for 13 years. :)

Winter is coming

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/...

.36? is that some sort of bullshit imperial hard conversion?

No. It's accounting for the April, May and October snow that sticks around for 3 days.

Stupid metric months.

Why can't we all just get on the Chinese calendar?

13 4-week months would be good!

If you ever want to fall into a rabbit hole of early web strangeness just google "Metric Time"

I like the french decimal time

Brilliant, looks like a pre-schooler did the work!

VE item. Preschooler vs. Experienced tradesman. Happening more and more.

Could you imagine trying to coordinate something like this, nowadays? I honestly wouldn't even know we where to start.

It’s a dying art. It’s a shame, but this type of stone carving will one day be machined.

My husband did a cool re-creation - not restoration - of a similar sculpture: https://www.ignitionarts.com/turnverein

You can see my handsome man talking at two points in the video, too.

What a cool project Donna!

To BB: I can imagine it! 

I have done a couple projects where an integral part of the design was having a great tradesperson to execute it with craft and judgement - there wouldn't be drawings to show the random variation or the progressive twist - but they would be responsible for carrying it out and making it look beautiful. Goes against everything you learn in pro prac courses and most firms' legal departments, but damn if it isn't some of the most beautiful work I've done. 

Humbling also to realize that's how most buildings were made throughout history and why the labor and craft paradigm old buildings were constructed under led to such beautiful and refined ornamentation. 

If only they taxed the use of materials much more than labour...

I think there should be a carbon tax on everything, which would essentially be taxing materials much more than labor.

Exactly! If labour is relatively more affordable than the material used, one can do elaborate things, make things that are meant to be fixed instead of discarded etc. So much material is wasted and ends up in landfills because it is cheaper to chug it than have a pro do their magic. Just the other day went to the bike shop and it is cheaper to get a new inner tube for my bike installed than to get it fixed, even if it has just a little hole...

You don't patch your own tubes?

I went in for something else for a kids bike and we got talking, saw him not even trying to patch one. Here he is:

It's super distressing when you realize how hard it is to do anything with Rubber.

These days my wife and I still go back and forth over whether or not we should buy something, but instead of "do we really need to spend the money on this?" it is "Do we really need to buy this thing that took a bunch of resources to manufacture and we will probably only use a couple of times?"

From a bike shop perspective, I get why they wouldn't patch a tube. It's time/labor they don't have or don't want to spend. It's much quicker to just put a new tube in. From a personal perspective, I try to patch mine as often as I can. Patches aren't expensive and if a tube is otherwise in good shape, it's nice to fix it when possible.

why would you need to work 300k a year in a remote cabin?

Chad, I have found a reasonable level of success -- not $300K, but potentially $200K if I tried harder -- living in the wilds of New England designing houses and renovations. What is preventing you from doing the same?

Truthfully - fear. I don't have a business mind. Finding new clients and marketing is sorcery to me. I get new clients by simply knowing people and by happenstance they need an architect.

Also I don't want to work 50-60 hours a week running a firm.  

JLC 1 - Honestly it was a nice round number that seems like it would be a very comfortable life. In reality I could make do with less however I need to provide for retirement, healthcare, and my type 1 diabetes - those last two are $$$$$$$.

Also I want to have sever dogs and they need toys and treats! 

I would do that for 60k a year.

That would mean a pay cut for me. I don't make a lot (around $75k) with 15 years experience.

I was pointing more to the isolation - in an off-grid cabin in the woods wouldn't need all that stuff you mention.

Could work part time if expenses are low. I would do it.

$130/hr x 1500 hrs = $195K. $150/hr x 1300 hrs = $195K. No employees needed. I'm not saying it's easy to get 1500 billable hours without employees, but in theory it's possible without working 60 hrs/wk.

Wood Guy - sorry, I meant salary, not net revenue.

JLC-1 - if you're living off grid as a hermit then you wouldn't need to make $300K a year. If you wanted to work remotely as an architect in an isolated off grid place you probably need to make more than $300k a year.

Chad, my annual expenses are under $20K so there's not much difference between revenue and net income. I'll stop pushing it on you, I was just surprised to learn that I can run a successful design business from my home in the middle of nowhere. It's taken some time and effort, and the pandemic is a boon in my area, but I've never had a lack of work. (Knock on wood.)

Side note, I am thinking about moving my office to my MIL's place nearby, which is off grid. 

Your MIL must be much cooler than mine.

Thanks for the info WD! On a side note I never felt you where 'pushing' anything on me. I welcome all the advice and experience you have on the subject!

Arch, she is pretty cool. My FIL died about a year ago so having someone on site would be good. And being able to have a space to meet clients and vendors, AND to say that I have an off-grid office would both be benefits for my niche.

Chad, good to know. I'll still stop pushing it ;-)

I'm scarred to google those two things . . .

All that squash flavor, none of that squash hard work! We grew some amazing delicatas in the backyard this year. I think maybe one is left?

Delicata squash is the queen of squash. That's as far as I can go.

Butternut is king.

Man, my partner roasts the stuff, turmeric, and it's such a damned delight! Oh, and while I'm at it, why put butter on popcorn, when nutritional yeast rocks!?

My family is shocked that I don't drown my lobster in butter. (I'm a Mainer, and drawn butter is standard with lobster.) But no butter on popcorn? Are you mad, man?!

Wait, is this the cooking thread?

My secret trick for popcorn is to toss it in Sriracha & Grated Parmesan. You'll never think about butter again.

Hmmm, that sounds good.

May or may not have discovered that combo shortly after the legalization of recreational cannabis in Oregon.

Popcorn with butter and worcestershire sauce is good too.

And I thought NS was weird with his Canadian food. :P

I grow popcorn. I love that we are talking about food.

You grow popcorn? Cool, cool. Did you by chance discover recreational cannabis recently? :P

lol, no. Why?

Some of the first projects I job captained were bars. So, in a sense, I very much understand this feeling.

yeah but my last project was a state legislature building so to be expected.

One of the projects of which I am most proud was specifically designed to provide a beautiful backdrop against which to get drunk.

i once sat in a bar and explained to a lawyer friend (because he asked) what was running along the ceiling. like, low voltage and line voltage and ducted return sort of stuff. so i guess that happens while drinking?

Did you locate where they hid the the low voltage transformers?

nope. where such a thing would be required i assume would not be exposed overhead. didn't look that close either. i was mostly just there to drink.

It's the paradox of our profession - bad architecture always gets noticed, while good architecture is mostly taken for granted.

@atelier or the people going "but old buildings were so much better than what we build now, just look around." 

Listen dumbass, all the ugly old shit got knocked down before you were even born.

Also a lot of the old stuff people cherish now because of its age was hated at the time it was built. Look at commentary from the 20s & 30s when everybody's favorite Bungalows were going up everywhere. Identical language to the disdain for 5-over-1 apartments you hear now.

i think the conventional mindset is based on not wanting to notice things; anything that catches attention is therefore undesirable. it takes a generation to acclimate and stop noticing strong work so that it becomes acceptable. once everyone forgets the original context they can project a fantasy history of better times and love that which they would have hated if they were there at its inception.

tduds, we can do 4 over 2 now :)

cool, now we can replace the bad storefronts with a curtain wall that's twice as tall and have a spandrel panel! Shadow box or back painted?!

That's where you're wrong SP. Budget won't handle curtainwall and the contractors will insist that storefront will work just fine.

Expose that slab edge! Draw that bad detail! Cantilever that storefront! Codes dictate design! ROI dictates design! *sad panda*

Wait, SP, you can also use shitty aluminum. Can't forget that.

Anyone use Mapes Panels for spandrels? I've never specified them, but they keep sticking in my head for discussions like these.

https://mapespanels.com/

that's a long time to go without pants...

. . . . A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away , without pants . . .

I'll give myself until May 4th to lose the weight!

Congratulations!! Can you share which building or will it provide too much personal info?

I should clarify it was a local AIA honor award, not national. I posted some window frame shots several pages back in T.C. Wolcott Arts and Athletics Center: https://archinect.com/news/bustler/8004/here-are-aia-chicago-s-2020-design-excellence-winners

probably the worst looking building of those honored, but with the best program (special needs high school sports and arts facility)

Looks are not everything, and you deserve the recognition. For what it's worth it looks handsome.

Sorry for your loss, congrats on the win

Congrats. I had a project I was involved with at my last firm recently win local AIA awards too (though it wasn't cool enough to be pictured in an Archinect news writeup). 

Sorry about your cat.

Sorry to hear about your cat. Congratulations on the award, I like the design.

Ah thanks everyone. I'm still real sad about my cat but honestly pretty relieved too, he was old and really struggling lately.

Condolences on your dear old cat. We lost our beloved golden lab over a year ago, and it still hurts. 

Your project looks great.  We should have a lot more competent, creative projects like this. (Though I am disturbed by the lack of any meaningless swoops or arbitrary angles. Budget cuts?) And I love the program combining arts and athletics.

^ (FYI, I googled your firm and see your website URL directs to an online pharmacy selling Viagra. I thought: side work for extra $ during the pandemic? Genius!)

Haha, I no longer work there (and technically not "my project", was just the principal design and project architect on it - semantics I guess) but I already emailed them being like, uh, I think you guys got hacked.

There was never any swoops to cut, so I guess that helped! It was really unique, almost like a school project, just textbook basically, and the principal in charge was super laissez faire about it. 

Got the site survey and geotech, got the program, did some studies, settled on the bar parti, what's cheap? precast and storefront, let's use that! Ok, let's emphasize the linearity by setting the façade back, use expanded metal boxes around mech, nail the precast joints and mullion placement, cool window frames, cheerful colorful interior, cheap lights installed in an interesting way, and that's pretty much it. 

As a profession we often overthink things, I've always appreciated how simple this one was.

yup...its a butt

with some minor editing, it might make for a new Dick Bush Architects logo.

It is a very nice butt, though. (Getting myself ready for the HR meeting....)

100% butt

From the business desk comes startling merger news. Renowned design firm Dick Busch Architects is penetrating the sports market with its surprising acquisition of the Indiana Pacers. A quite... creative new corporate logo has been announced:

Definitely a butt.

Looks like the rear bumper of a Renault

sorry. I'll try to restrain myself.

What we need is a slew of students asking about what grad school to apply to. Or for portfolio reviews.

I'm nuking the shit out of that thread.

Thanks.

^good idea, but the more troother responses disappear, the more it looks like I'm yelling at myself in an empty room. 8-)

i miss convincing prospective students to run like hell from student loan debt. feels quaint.

Wow, those 'truthers' are some stupid people.

I'm not saying it was aliens, but.... it was aliens.

but who controls the aliens?

Pfft, the aliens are controlled by Canadians. Prove me wrong.

I can’t Chad. Damn. Caught me. I’m sending people over to your location shortly. Good thing you did not get that AR after all. Right?

i don't know man. cuffed his jeans? (going to cuff my jeans tomorrow)

Actually while I like the cuffs I hate the shoes. And the cigarette. But still. Holy forking shirt.

Looks like Brad is moving, sitting in the moving van wearing the mover’s blanket...

I totally rocked a similar shirt in high school in early 90s. Very different pants tho.

found your pants:

^ yes.

Dear gowd, you Canadians are weird.

Also important to note that along with the pants and flannel, the gel (more like glue) in my spiky hair would take out an eye, or three. Man, those were the days. I still don't know why most of my highschool profs did not expect much of me.

Look at you now though, a snarky architect!

I thought we weren’t supposed to be horny on main, Donna?

JNCO 4 LIFE

Thanks a lot Josh. I now know what it feels like to have diet soda shoot out my nose.

Shouldn’t drink and read Archinect

I specified Vitrocsa once. It was nice to have until the middle of DD...

Oh dear...turns out Vitrocsa won't work for my application anyway, but it looks like a lovely system, and the rep I just spoke with was super helpful. I tell ya, a knowledgeable rep is worth their weight in gold.

You changed your hair. I like it.

I'm getting the impression that Dona has a lady crush on Brad Pitt. I could be mistaken though.

Chad, it's just a fling. It'll pass soon enough.

(p.s. working harder than mr. Pitt to receive my first down thumb from Donna)

Sneaky I'm blonde now. And my passion for Mr. Pitt will only diminish if he 1. stops looking similar to my husband and 2. becomes a devotee of Patrimetric. Speaking of whom, has the Archinect news covered his fight about Zaha's estate yet today? Off to the news section...

Wait, whut?

Nice humblebrag there with "1..."

What can I say, tduds, my husband is the best man on the planet.

We should all be so lucky.

Is it weird that a search for "donna sink husband" brings an image right up? I can see the resemblance. Kudos for going blond. If I had enough hair left I'd think about coloring it something other than the silver it is now.

That actually is kind of weird...

I love you, Donna, and am sure I'd love the mister as well. And Brad seems like a good guy-- I'm not criticizing him.

But did you read that Page Six item? I'd much rather read about your time volunteering, or any of the thousands or millions who volunteer every damned day, without a media outlet slobbering and equating it with cancer curing.  For Pete's sake. This kind of celebrity cult/worship is precisely why starchitect firms can exploit interns.

[Rant concluded. We now return to our regular programming.]

I totally agree citizen! I hate celebrity worship, I really do. Celebrities are just people, we all are, and we should all respect the humanity in one another no matter what, even jerks deserve acknowledgment that they are human and make mistakes. I just follow pitt because he’s so pretty AND seems nice AND likes architecture.

he still smokes?

Totally fair, Donna, I get fandom. I'm just glad that whole restraining order mix-up got sorted out. 

[ducks, runs, hides]   =O)

My stock celebrity worship story I have to share when the opportunity arises (I might have shared here before): my favorite rock star in the 1990s was Kim Deal, a grunge artist from the Pixies in the 80s and with her band The Breeders in the 90s. Total rock star, beautiful, cool, badass, the whole nine yards. In the late 90s I was working on Nantucket as a carpenter, and my housemate/friend met a woman at a bar... she came over for dinner, we went out and played Foosball, got pulled over by the cops and let go because they knew her... she actually wasn't that great in person, and made me realize just how silly celebrity worship is. I still love her music, though. Time to go put on some Pixies...

I think you have the start of a great thread there, WG....

Oh, good idea, citizen.

I just told my Pitt story over there. Fun thread, Wood Guy!

great news would be that the entire clan was wiped out. Damn you for getting my hopes up like that.

Take it to the politics thread.

Don Jr is a civilian, plus he's too stupid to be a Pol.

The vid that was featured in a ‘The Good Fight’ episode?

Have you seen the wild moose(mooses, moosie?) up here? They don't mess around and silly tourists think it's cute.

The plural is meese, is it not?

Moosen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWzYaZDK6Is&feature=emb_logo

^That was brilliant. How many times would you need to run your car through the carwash if a flock of mosens passed over you?

Regan is awesome.

Flock of Mosens. Sounds like Canadian EDM from the 80's.

Not to be mistaken for the Canadian trash metal band Flock of Goddamn Geese

Or the American black metal group Flock of Drones.

I believe a group of drones is called a murder.

You're thinking of crows . . .

It’s almost 2021, murders are not just limited to crows. Anyone can self identify their group how ever they want. Bro.

How about a 'lather of architects'?

A "hatch pattern of drafters"

Sorry to hear this. Good luck with finding a new firm. If you want to move to western Colorado we're looking for an experienced PA / PM.

That sounds awesome but I just entered the real estate market as of this month. I'm very jealous if your location Chad. What an incredibly cool place to live and have a solid job. I did one job on a resort out there and it's an amazing location in the US.

*so I'm staying local.

I totally understand needing to stay local with buying property. 

 The Western Slope is fun for sure if you're into the outdoors. The culture and access to 'fun' projects can be a challenge but I shouldn't complain too much.

Good Luck!  

Hey, you never know where that next special someone may show up, Josh...

or that next job offer...

i think we found the dude

Oh Kristian, no wonder you don’t get along with your group members. No nipples for you.

Oh, story time. I was in Yosemite a while back and was riding the free public shuttle bus from the main shop to our camp site. Suddenly, a bunch of people start scrambling to one side of the bus and we notice, out a few hundred metres in front near the fancy cabins, armed park rangers. Turns out there was not only a cougar loose but also a bear. Hot diggity dog, we tell ourselves and get off the shuttle. We immediately head towards the park rangers hoping to catch a glimpse of the action. I did get to see the 2 animals briefly. I think the successfully shooed away the 2 predators. Something something silly tourists wanting to see the dumpster fire something.

We went on many family vacations to Yellowstone where it was the same type of thing every time there was even a chipmunk within viewing distance of a road. It's fine to take in the sites and all ... that's part of why you're out there ... but don't poke the bear. 

In the meantime, here is a link to Donna's twitter where she made an excellent observation about a cougar seen near Vancouver.

I'd heard that the two were natural enemies, Non, but you wouldn't expect to see them outside their natural habitats.

That’s a party.

I poke. I poke. I feel shame. I poke.

Wait, they're missing the 'd' right?

Not what I was thinking, but I like yours better. It would fix the mistake AND set a nice tone. But then they'd need a comma.

Request a quote

Wow. That Paul guy is....somethin'!

Wow! That exchange reminds me of a 30 Rock quip, in which Jack refers to competing columns in Irish Arguments Weekly, 'America's only all-caps magazine.'

I'd love to continue... but I'm swamped so I can't commit more than the typical snark. I caught his first 2 accounts that spammed his extra thick bible link-architecture-pos amazon book. It's a special book, to say the least.

I can't decide if Paul or Kristian are my favorite new posters.

WG, neither offer much sport in their "debate" tho.

Sometimes you just want an easy target.

Looks like Kristian is in the process of being deleted.

Well, once you shoot yourself in the foot... you don't keep shooting to see if more bullets will make the pain go away. Some people just can't get the hint.

That guy doesn't even register in my book. SL is the man, and he's got the credentials to back up his work. I'm just concerned that he's passed away.

There needs to be an 'auto eject' button for new accounts that are created for nothing more than spam posts and general demeaning comments.

Who's SL if I may ask...

So that Prize-winning author got either a new account or on of his few followers to do a drive-by thumbs down, then I assume, cause a bunch of things to get nuked? Ah, there goes my morning commute plans.

SL = S. Lauf I hated him, couldn't understand him, grew to respect him, bought his books, but his website, is probably the greatest architectural achievement in the last 75 years.

www.quondam.com

B3ta, is that name not equivalent to Voldermort? It's been ages since I've seen a reference to him here.

It's weird, I'm not the only one, others have had issues, I was being a real ass, because he was in my mind inpenetrable, he offended me. It's one of those things where if he were a professor, I would've taken his class, but online he was less professorial, and I was more inclined to be less interested in being educated by someone behind a screen.

I've always found most of his digital collages fascinating. Never really got into any discussions about them tho.

He was sensitive, and generally seemed to be disinterested in any discussion that didn't have someone's tongue on him somewhere moist and sweaty. I was initially interested in his ideas, but the opacity combined with the hostility caused me to dislike him. 

Just my opinion, and maybe this is overly critical, but he (in his posts and his diagrams and his website) always struck me as trying way too hard at needless complexity. Creating a layer of intellectual superiority around what was largely just incomprehensible aesthetic dreck. Fun, sometimes, and beautiful, even. But nothing behind the curtain. Once or twice I pressed him enough to show a couple of built designs and they were... underwhelming.

To be fair, MUCH of the architecture in Philadelphia over the last few decades has been underwhelming.

I mostly ignored his posts. I tried at first to figure out what was going on, but it always struck me as having no there there. As others have mentioned, it seemed more like complexity and obfuscation just for the same of making it incomprehensible. That, or it was all genius level and my brain just couldn't make any sense of it. Is there a description somewhere of his intent or philosophy ... because that's what I feel like I'm missing every time I look at his work.

Ah yes thanks for the clarification, I remember quondam, always posting his own work all over the forum and getting into arguments about it, Miles is his biggest fan if I recall correctly. Visually like his work as drawings, although quite flat/plan oriented without much hierarchy because of the method of drawing/cad. Hope he is okay and still making drawings.

You look great, and kristian96 is a shitty human.

Of course, and his insult didn’t get anywhere with me except making me realize I never posted a progress pic here!

You should shame the plant in your bedroom into making as much of an effort as you are.

Haha. Actually it was pretty small when I got it a few months back. It’s grown quite a bit.

You look great, Josh! 90 lbs is a small adult human. That's a lot of weight to shed.

I can spot the difference: you changed shorts.

with that level of skill in observation, I bet you're an EXCELLENT architect, "kristian."

Well done, Josh!  And inspiring, too.

I guess I missed the wrist-watch. Damn. I'm turning in my architect badge and cape.

The Lego Star Destroyer is a constant.

Maybe after 3 months it is time to change...your sheets!

Look at the duvet, genius.

One of the side effects of losing your insulation is being cold all the time. Had to go with a super thick down alternative comforter for winter, and kick on the heat higher than I typically ever have it.

For (Sneaky)Pete’s sake, it was just a joke...

hilarious

Great work! Where are you based to need a warmer duvet?

What’s the big deal on the duvet? We use one year-round in our igloo.

Josh, how are you feeling? Like, do you have more energy? Less pain (I swear all I feel as a 53yo woman who sits mousing all day is pain in my back...)? Higher levels of calm?

More energy, but surprisingly enough a bit more pain in my knees. It’s like they don’t know what to do without the extra weight. Been doing more elliptical and cycling vs treadmill for cardio lately due to it. Overall higher levels of calm, which shouldn’t be the case given, well everything. It’s done wonders for self-esteem and confidence in non-work related settings.

Wait, somebody called Josh fat as a response to an online argument? What is this junior high?

Back to the actual discussion now . . .

Josh, have you tried taking CBD oil for the knee pain?  I've been on the stuff for about a year and it helps me with joint inflammation and pain.  

Josh, when I lost most of my weight, my hips started hurting. I attributed to my body coming back into alignment.

Josh you could just be getting old.

That’s also a very likely possibility

Problem solved:

Plus you'll totally look rad doing it.  Not sure the convertible is a good idea in Siberia tho.

It'll be summer, me wife and dog!

I'm sure you can find a barge or something to take you across in the summertime.

If you haven't already, check out Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.

It doesn't solve your problem unless you want to change to motorbikes, but it's a cool series anyway.

Dog in sidecar, I like it!

I just learned a new word! Sounds fun.

Just for fun, or an actual project? I have legit always wanted to design one.

Actual project. We are still trying to determine the level of demountability of it.

so you're working on a semidemountablespiegeltent.

Kudos, bb! 

(Is this a good time to ask you for a raise?)

cheers!

Congrats!

Congratulations!

Congrats BB!

Congrats! I love that you’re commemorating it here, it’s a big deal and worthy of recognition!

Cool! What's it like to be partner? Do you now know how to do everything? That happens when you're a partner right?

you start to grow hair in strange places

That would mean I'm on my way to being a partner!

Chad - yup, the older partners hooked me up to the architecture-knowing-machine and I downloaded everything. Watch out! (Mostly I'm grateful for not having a hangover today)

Congratulations on your successful download. Way to go becoming a partner as well. ;)

Do you get your own helipad or do you have the share one?

You only get that in French speaking parts of Canada.

Correct Chad... but don't forget, our helicopters have custom poutine trays.

Guys, I just realized that I don't own a suit, and clothing stores are all closed due to COVID. Good timing!

These are in style ATM:

Buy a button down, pleated slacks, and a sweater vest. That should get you through.