What do you guys do when you feel like you have lost your excitement for the profession and you just feel like a caddmonkey? Do you move, quit, read a book, drink lots of wine....
Do an archi-tourist day trip to something near to you that you've always meant to see but haven't made the time to go see. Around Philly, for example, the Wharton Esherick house is incredible. Whereabouts are you, I'm sure archinecters can give some suggestions?
I grew up 10 miles from Taliesin West and never went to it until several years after I'd graduated and moved away from Arizona!! Seeing some good but underrated architecture might do it for you. Good luck.
i will usually take a trip, as lb said, go shopping for a book or cd, go to a lecture or a gallery showing, something like that.
can work sometimes, can backfire: it's sometimes made me more disappointed in what i'm doing and/or what i can see myself doing in the near future.
actually, the purchase of a cd usually works. a guilty pleasure, indulging my inner consumer of media, but with none of the association with architecture and what i'm not accomplishing. (because i've never had inclinations to follow a musical path, this works.)
every lunchtime when i go to the extremely busy bagel shop, and looking at the stressed ppl working behind the counter trying to serve a hoard of pushy demanding banker types - that always perks me up a bit.
but then again - one of my oft used remarks is "well, it could be worse - we could be working in a coal mine".
that's what strikes me about what steven says above about taking time out for the non-architecture pleasure...something to remind you that your life has more breadth to it than you usually take into account. I'm not one to make the "there's more to life than ___" argument, but for most people, there is. a brief respite gives you a chance to realize this. or, you could just go spend a few months working in a coal mine...
If you in the South East I would go to a Friends of Kebyar Gathering.
They are a gas! Lots of nice people and nice Architecture. It is kind of a show and tell weekend with alot of side trips to local projects. It is held once and a while no real schedule and the location varies. The last one was held in Auburn,Georgia if I'm not mistaken.
When I'm in a rut, I try to to set up some new experience for myself - this can be exploring something I haven't tried (lately it's the accordian), travelling somewhere new, talking with someone new, reading something influential, etc. Stretch, strive... go west young man!
Another good exercise is to generate a design problem for yourself. Consider something you'd like to address - can be something small like a part of your house, or your neighborhood - or something large like the plan for your watershed, or reinventing the architectural process. Then define the parameters, like you're creating a competition brief for you yourself to solve.
And then there's always entering a design competition that intrigues you.
postal...it's cool...... i'm like teflon....nothing sticks....we all get ryled up and need to talk smack....thats why the internet is here......non-violent violence....wooohaaaa
can always trun up some nwa or spice 1 or if you want to mellow out and bob you head some tribe called quest or de la soul....if you want to practice your robot then any detroit electro will do.......
i have tools but limited space ........... and a student loan.....
"Do you move, quit, read a book, drink lots of wine...."
Still trying to figure that one out...
>In the mean time, start your own design practice, get a few jobs, and get in over your head with some shady clients with goofy aliases. You will be so busy dealing with them, you won't have time to hate what you do (I use "hate" because I truly dislike my 'real' job and the industry you and I are in).
I wanted to post something today along the lines of...
>Have you ever met a happy architect? I've yet to meet an architect who was satisfied while working in the revolutionary trend-setting midwest.
Perhaps that is just the nature of the field or my geographical location?!
If you're one of these people who *needs* to express themselves in order to be happy, architecture is one of the most difficult, slow, cumbersome and expensive ways to go about it.
Which is presumably why it's so satisfying if you get the chance and why so few of us do.
I don’t think it is necessarily about the ‘need to express oneself’ but more of a need to work on something that is gratifying and has substance. I’m fine with working on technical drawings for a project ‘designed’ by someone else as long as it has some thought and serious investigation behind it.
I’m not looking for instant gratification. I just think (sometimes) that there is something better out there or perhaps there needs to be some major changes to the industry.
The headaches I find in my profession are no less severe as if I were any other professional. so I must say that there are days I am a happy architect.
There are days I am not.
Overall life is good and I am happy!.
Oct 11, 06 12:54 pm ·
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When you lose your mojo
What do you guys do when you feel like you have lost your excitement for the profession and you just feel like a caddmonkey? Do you move, quit, read a book, drink lots of wine....
hand draft and build physical models
Sightsee
JUMP OFF A BRIDGE
ACTUALLY I USUALLY FIND MYSELF HERE ENTERTAINING MYSELF WITH SOME FRESH DISCUSSIONS
BUILDING STUFF IS FUN - MAYBE YOU COULD BUILD A BRIDGE AND THEN JUMP OFF OF IT
You are right the US does need a new groundbreaking bridge. What was the last great bridge we built?
THEY ARE MAKING A NEW SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE WHICH WILL REPLACE THE OLD ONE
I DONT KNOW ABOUT GREAT BUT ITS LONG
detroit will be having a new bridge to canada for all the import/export going on......
aside from that, i try to create other things that are more human scale...furniture/models/etc...... architecture can get overwhelming due to size
?
WHAT WILL THEY BE IMPORTING/EXPORTING??? 4:20 ANYONE???
Do an archi-tourist day trip to something near to you that you've always meant to see but haven't made the time to go see. Around Philly, for example, the Wharton Esherick house is incredible. Whereabouts are you, I'm sure archinecters can give some suggestions?
I grew up 10 miles from Taliesin West and never went to it until several years after I'd graduated and moved away from Arizona!! Seeing some good but underrated architecture might do it for you. Good luck.
i will usually take a trip, as lb said, go shopping for a book or cd, go to a lecture or a gallery showing, something like that.
can work sometimes, can backfire: it's sometimes made me more disappointed in what i'm doing and/or what i can see myself doing in the near future.
actually, the purchase of a cd usually works. a guilty pleasure, indulging my inner consumer of media, but with none of the association with architecture and what i'm not accomplishing. (because i've never had inclinations to follow a musical path, this works.)
when i lose my mojo i usually post on archinect. that is why i have three million posts. ive leakin mojo bad.
It's gotta be 4:20 somewhere...
After practicing for over 25 years, and losing my mojo big time, finding and reading archinect has rejuvenated my interest in being an architect.
Well, that and playing 60's rock, ...really loud.
420 friendly
Playing 80s rock, really loud...in my miata with the top down.
insult people on archinect... sorry 237amwhatever your name is
"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me."
Hunter S. Thompson
every lunchtime when i go to the extremely busy bagel shop, and looking at the stressed ppl working behind the counter trying to serve a hoard of pushy demanding banker types - that always perks me up a bit.
but then again - one of my oft used remarks is "well, it could be worse - we could be working in a coal mine".
read a school blog
perspective does help, doesn't it....
that's what strikes me about what steven says above about taking time out for the non-architecture pleasure...something to remind you that your life has more breadth to it than you usually take into account. I'm not one to make the "there's more to life than ___" argument, but for most people, there is. a brief respite gives you a chance to realize this. or, you could just go spend a few months working in a coal mine...
mojo? i'm not sure i've ever had any to lose.
If you in the South East I would go to a Friends of Kebyar Gathering.
They are a gas! Lots of nice people and nice Architecture. It is kind of a show and tell weekend with alot of side trips to local projects. It is held once and a while no real schedule and the location varies. The last one was held in Auburn,Georgia if I'm not mistaken.
Strike out into new frontiers!
When I'm in a rut, I try to to set up some new experience for myself - this can be exploring something I haven't tried (lately it's the accordian), travelling somewhere new, talking with someone new, reading something influential, etc. Stretch, strive... go west young man!
Another good exercise is to generate a design problem for yourself. Consider something you'd like to address - can be something small like a part of your house, or your neighborhood - or something large like the plan for your watershed, or reinventing the architectural process. Then define the parameters, like you're creating a competition brief for you yourself to solve.
And then there's always entering a design competition that intrigues you.
postal...it's cool...... i'm like teflon....nothing sticks....we all get ryled up and need to talk smack....thats why the internet is here......non-violent violence....wooohaaaa
can always trun up some nwa or spice 1 or if you want to mellow out and bob you head some tribe called quest or de la soul....if you want to practice your robot then any detroit electro will do.......
i have tools but limited space ........... and a student loan.....
try a backspin once in a while
"Do you move, quit, read a book, drink lots of wine...."
Still trying to figure that one out...
>In the mean time, start your own design practice, get a few jobs, and get in over your head with some shady clients with goofy aliases. You will be so busy dealing with them, you won't have time to hate what you do (I use "hate" because I truly dislike my 'real' job and the industry you and I are in).
I wanted to post something today along the lines of...
>Have you ever met a happy architect? I've yet to meet an architect who was satisfied while working in the revolutionary trend-setting midwest.
Perhaps that is just the nature of the field or my geographical location?!
I hang out with my children all day. They ware me out and then I am wanting to get back to the office. LOL
dsc_arch - are you a happy architect? I see you are from Illinois.
Being creative in some other medium works for me:
If you're one of these people who *needs* to express themselves in order to be happy, architecture is one of the most difficult, slow, cumbersome and expensive ways to go about it.
Which is presumably why it's so satisfying if you get the chance and why so few of us do.
solidred –
I don’t think it is necessarily about the ‘need to express oneself’ but more of a need to work on something that is gratifying and has substance. I’m fine with working on technical drawings for a project ‘designed’ by someone else as long as it has some thought and serious investigation behind it.
I’m not looking for instant gratification. I just think (sometimes) that there is something better out there or perhaps there needs to be some major changes to the industry.
The headaches I find in my profession are no less severe as if I were any other professional. so I must say that there are days I am a happy architect.
There are days I am not.
Overall life is good and I am happy!.
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