+i, I Didn't get an offer there, just curious. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an opening there when I'm through at grad school. My recent trip to SF made me reconsider living in New York.
WhatToDo, did he talk about Architecture projects, or "Cradle-to-Cradle" projects? I seem to hear/read more about his non-architecture projects than his actual buildings.
both....mostly about theory of cradle-to-cradle, but also how he has practiced his theory through his work. Honestly, I can't even remember which projects he talked about (the lecture was about 2 years ago) but I remember his "what if we ____” examples. The man is incredibly innovative.
it was an amazingly inspiring lecture but, just like Joshua Prince-Ramus, there is an undercurrent (or maybe overcurrent) of arrogance in his sarcasm. Then again, I find that incredibly captivating.
I interviewed at the San Francisco Office. At the time (February 2007), it was still just a startup satellite office with only three employees.
They have really great people heading up the office and attract some of the most interesting architectural projects, but the office does not produce the working drawings (to my knowledge). They consult mostly on big jobs that need sustainable expertise through Design Development. Any production work that might happen would go through the Charlottesville office.
I felt that it was a great opportunity to see some really cool projects, but not much of a chance to sharpen my skills as an architect who can DELIVER really cool projects.
There office is in a small, masonry, top floor room with a handful of c-to-c furnishings and conferencing space. The office is brand new; having only been conceived in September.
They anticipate very rapid growth and I wouldn't be surprised if they outgrew their space very soon. There is enormous potential surrounding McDonough's practice.
BTW, despite how well I might have thought the interview went, I did not get an offer and even if I had.... they literally did not have a place for me to sit.
I have another friend who interviewed and was offered a job... she turned it down for her own reasons that I haven't discussed with her.
I don't know what they are offering for compensation.
Good luck getting a job fresh out of school... it's a lot harder than you might think (well, it's easy to get a job, hard to get a great job).
Oh, and as for the lecture... he's been rehearsing that act for years. He must be tired of giving it. It's pretty much the same lecture everywhere he goes (and he goes everywhere). Yes, he is very convincing and witty... I have never met him.
if i had an architect crush, it would be mcdonough. not because i find him physically attractive, but his theory and ideas are masturbate-worthy. and i mean that in the most architectural sense.
i'll agree that mcdonough has some "worthy" ideas, however i find the majority of his projects rather lacking.
i can think of several other projects that are "green", but touch me on all sorts of levels other than, "gee, t'aint too purdy, but boy we shur didn't kill none too many living theengs to build 'er"
someone recently called him the "al gore of architecture" - can't remember who it was... basically, practice what i preach, just don't do what i do or we're all fuc*ed
holz.box, I agree; and to all the people above fawning over McDonough's (lack of) design, its a sad day indeed in architecture when green ideas are given more weight than how they're materialized and what the projects ultimately look like (rather fugly in most cases)...
ok ok. it's easy to take potshots, but when i saw mcdonough talk here, describing his thinking about a building as if it were a tree, and then see him build something like his bernheim forest visitor's center, i buy it. a beautiful project that works like he said it would:
the building was built largely with recycled lumber, insulation, etc, ventilates naturally without a/c, and cleans the water that lands on it and is used inside, releasing cleaner water than it received. a good start?
better yet, he got it done in a rural community in the middle of red-state kentucky, a place where ecological talk is generally a hard sell.
i had a prof in the 80s who practiced all these sustainable ideas. ie passive solar, gray water purification through an on site pond, rainwater retention etc, so none of this is new to me. his ideas were great, but his architecture was dull and he was mostly discounted as an old hippie as derrida was all the rage.
i have never worked on a project that has incorporated all of the principles of sustainable design. most of it is derived from common sense and so often that is not the modus operandi of the architecture field. unfortunately, my impression of the "movement" of the green revolution is a shallow attempt to feel better about one's self by denigrating the lifestyle of others, or by spinning green as a marketing strategy to sell product. very few are willing to make the commitment including me.
Was there something in SF that deterred you from pursuing a relocation there? I'm moving to NYC myself but am considering a departure to SF in the near future. Would be interested in hearing your thoughts/impressions of SF.
I've lived in New York for just under three years, and will be moving to Detroit for graduate school at the end of the summer. Once I'm done with school, I'm not sure that I want to return to NY for the usual reasons: the exhaustion of living there, the high cost of housing, the generally low pay and difficulty getting promoted, and the weather (summer in New York is intolerable).
San Francisco, on the other hand, is much more low-key, both socially and professionally, which seems to be more appealing as I get older. Housing is still ridiculously expensive in SF, though less so from when I lived there in 1998-2000. Like NY, it's overpopulated with architects, but SF seems (correct me if I'm wrong) like it wouldn't be such a struggle to find and maintain a job that would be satisfying, mostly because you wouldn't be exhausted all of the time. There's high quality food and a great array of cafes and cheaper restaurants. Plus it's got a milder climate that tends toward the cold, which I like. Also, I have lots of family and friends in California, which is important to me.
That said, good luck in New York!
May 22, 07 6:18 pm ·
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William McDonough + Partners, San Francisco Office
What's the skinny?
Has anyone worked/interned there, or even just visited? What's the office environment like? Exciting projects?
did you get an offer there?
He gave his pitch at my school and blew me away.
god, I'd love a chance to work with him....
though, I do think he's quite arrogant.
Interested to hear if you 'nectors know anything about his office.
+i, I Didn't get an offer there, just curious. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an opening there when I'm through at grad school. My recent trip to SF made me reconsider living in New York.
WhatToDo, did he talk about Architecture projects, or "Cradle-to-Cradle" projects? I seem to hear/read more about his non-architecture projects than his actual buildings.
both....mostly about theory of cradle-to-cradle, but also how he has practiced his theory through his work. Honestly, I can't even remember which projects he talked about (the lecture was about 2 years ago) but I remember his "what if we ____” examples. The man is incredibly innovative.
it was an amazingly inspiring lecture but, just like Joshua Prince-Ramus, there is an undercurrent (or maybe overcurrent) of arrogance in his sarcasm. Then again, I find that incredibly captivating.
I interviewed at the San Francisco Office. At the time (February 2007), it was still just a startup satellite office with only three employees.
They have really great people heading up the office and attract some of the most interesting architectural projects, but the office does not produce the working drawings (to my knowledge). They consult mostly on big jobs that need sustainable expertise through Design Development. Any production work that might happen would go through the Charlottesville office.
I felt that it was a great opportunity to see some really cool projects, but not much of a chance to sharpen my skills as an architect who can DELIVER really cool projects.
There office is in a small, masonry, top floor room with a handful of c-to-c furnishings and conferencing space. The office is brand new; having only been conceived in September.
They anticipate very rapid growth and I wouldn't be surprised if they outgrew their space very soon. There is enormous potential surrounding McDonough's practice.
BTW, despite how well I might have thought the interview went, I did not get an offer and even if I had.... they literally did not have a place for me to sit.
I have another friend who interviewed and was offered a job... she turned it down for her own reasons that I haven't discussed with her.
I don't know what they are offering for compensation.
Good luck getting a job fresh out of school... it's a lot harder than you might think (well, it's easy to get a job, hard to get a great job).
Oh, and as for the lecture... he's been rehearsing that act for years. He must be tired of giving it. It's pretty much the same lecture everywhere he goes (and he goes everywhere). Yes, he is very convincing and witty... I have never met him.
Thanks for the details!
if i had an architect crush, it would be mcdonough. not because i find him physically attractive, but his theory and ideas are masturbate-worthy. and i mean that in the most architectural sense.
It's time to start a thread on architect crushes, +i. Mind if I go ahead?
we had archinect crushes, so why not architect crushes!
i'll agree that mcdonough has some "worthy" ideas, however i find the majority of his projects rather lacking.
i can think of several other projects that are "green", but touch me on all sorts of levels other than, "gee, t'aint too purdy, but boy we shur didn't kill none too many living theengs to build 'er"
someone recently called him the "al gore of architecture" - can't remember who it was... basically, practice what i preach, just don't do what i do or we're all fuc*ed
holz.box, I agree; and to all the people above fawning over McDonough's (lack of) design, its a sad day indeed in architecture when green ideas are given more weight than how they're materialized and what the projects ultimately look like (rather fugly in most cases)...
ok ok. it's easy to take potshots, but when i saw mcdonough talk here, describing his thinking about a building as if it were a tree, and then see him build something like his bernheim forest visitor's center, i buy it. a beautiful project that works like he said it would:
the building was built largely with recycled lumber, insulation, etc, ventilates naturally without a/c, and cleans the water that lands on it and is used inside, releasing cleaner water than it received. a good start?
better yet, he got it done in a rural community in the middle of red-state kentucky, a place where ecological talk is generally a hard sell.
not sure where the second pic went:
ah, well.
i had a prof in the 80s who practiced all these sustainable ideas. ie passive solar, gray water purification through an on site pond, rainwater retention etc, so none of this is new to me. his ideas were great, but his architecture was dull and he was mostly discounted as an old hippie as derrida was all the rage.
i have never worked on a project that has incorporated all of the principles of sustainable design. most of it is derived from common sense and so often that is not the modus operandi of the architecture field. unfortunately, my impression of the "movement" of the green revolution is a shallow attempt to feel better about one's self by denigrating the lifestyle of others, or by spinning green as a marketing strategy to sell product. very few are willing to make the commitment including me.
vado - you are so right - we are our own worst enemy. and we wonder why we receive so little respect as a profession.
steven, what's beautiful to you is fugly to me (or at least mediocre) as design goes.
architect crushes. love it!! joshua ramus for me. the steely eyes, salt & pepper hair, and success at a relatively young age do it for me.
squaresquared:
Was there something in SF that deterred you from pursuing a relocation there? I'm moving to NYC myself but am considering a departure to SF in the near future. Would be interested in hearing your thoughts/impressions of SF.
Isobol,
I've lived in New York for just under three years, and will be moving to Detroit for graduate school at the end of the summer. Once I'm done with school, I'm not sure that I want to return to NY for the usual reasons: the exhaustion of living there, the high cost of housing, the generally low pay and difficulty getting promoted, and the weather (summer in New York is intolerable).
San Francisco, on the other hand, is much more low-key, both socially and professionally, which seems to be more appealing as I get older. Housing is still ridiculously expensive in SF, though less so from when I lived there in 1998-2000. Like NY, it's overpopulated with architects, but SF seems (correct me if I'm wrong) like it wouldn't be such a struggle to find and maintain a job that would be satisfying, mostly because you wouldn't be exhausted all of the time. There's high quality food and a great array of cafes and cheaper restaurants. Plus it's got a milder climate that tends toward the cold, which I like. Also, I have lots of family and friends in California, which is important to me.
That said, good luck in New York!
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