How many of you would rather be out in the field surveying or doing construction administration?
I came back today from doing some CA work on a ridiculously beautiful Philly day (rare & precious). I realize that there is no way I would want to be the type of architect that would be working in the office all the time. To me, a good balance would be 2 days in the field out of one week or at the minimum 1 day. I noticed that I'm usually much more productive when I'm in the office too when I get projects where I can afford that balance.
I learned from my time in construction/masonry that outdoor work gave me a healthier lifestyle - sunlight/fresh air, exercise & much better sleeping pattern.
Technically speaking, shouldn't all architects get field work and have a more balanced career? I've noticed that its usually not the case. I'm not sure if there is a way I can do more field work without necessarily being labeled the "field guy."
Remember that "field work" often means doing as-builts... holding one end of a tape measure in a dank, dark basement with sticky floors, after which you'll have to throw your shoes away. Or crawling through crawl spaces. Or summer rooftop surveying where the surface temperature equals that of the sun minus 5 degrees.
"holding one end of a tape measure in a dank, dark basement with sticky floors, after which you'll have to throw your shoes away"
hehehehe that reminds me of the execs that used to come out for site visits when I worked in manufacturing. Here were these idiots walking around a weld shop where the air was thick with soot and the sparks were flying everywhere. Meanwhile these geniuses were in their best suits and dress shoes cowering under their hard hats (which no one other than them wore) and safety glasses, I even remember one of them looking straight at a welding arc flash without any welding glasses, and then the guy wondered why his eyes hurt.
Also why the heck would you go onto site without full calf height safety boots? You're just asking for trouble (and dirty shoes).
I've held the dumb end of the tape measure in half-flooded dank basements with no electricity and a colony of HUGE spiders. The stories I can tell were worth the momentary fear.
hehehe that reminds me of the time I went paintballing and decided to hide out in a copse of trees that just happened to be home to a HUGE colony of small spiders.
field work always sounds great when you are sitting at a desk...but most of my experiences in the field have been less than ideal. for some reason it always seemed to take places on either the coldest or hottest days of the year. and of course some of the buildings to be surveyed were empty, lacked plumbing, heat, electricity, etc.
and as an added bonus it seemed that i was always working twice as hard in the field because i was hustling to get all the necessary dimensions, photos and just observe as much as possible in order to avoid additional trips to the site. it could be rather exhausting at times...thankfully i don't have to do much of that these days
yes, but i'm feeling too old for the rest of that.
summer rooftop surveying where the surface temperature equals that of the sun minus 5 degrees
if you refer to typical residential, pitched, shingle, blahblah, it's hotter under that roof. you get in and get out (dripping) fast. or you wait until a more survivable time to go in.
half-flooded dank basements with no electricity
yet somehow a bit happy that there was no electricity. ☺ (flooded is kind of hyper-dank, i guess.)
Apr 19, 08 11:28 am ·
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Field Work - A more balanced career?
How many of you would rather be out in the field surveying or doing construction administration?
I came back today from doing some CA work on a ridiculously beautiful Philly day (rare & precious). I realize that there is no way I would want to be the type of architect that would be working in the office all the time. To me, a good balance would be 2 days in the field out of one week or at the minimum 1 day. I noticed that I'm usually much more productive when I'm in the office too when I get projects where I can afford that balance.
I learned from my time in construction/masonry that outdoor work gave me a healthier lifestyle - sunlight/fresh air, exercise & much better sleeping pattern.
Technically speaking, shouldn't all architects get field work and have a more balanced career? I've noticed that its usually not the case. I'm not sure if there is a way I can do more field work without necessarily being labeled the "field guy."
What is your balance/ratio?
green design build at a small firm is great in my experience you design it you build it all with non toxic products
Remember that "field work" often means doing as-builts... holding one end of a tape measure in a dank, dark basement with sticky floors, after which you'll have to throw your shoes away. Or crawling through crawl spaces. Or summer rooftop surveying where the surface temperature equals that of the sun minus 5 degrees.
Good times!
"holding one end of a tape measure in a dank, dark basement with sticky floors, after which you'll have to throw your shoes away"
hehehehe that reminds me of the execs that used to come out for site visits when I worked in manufacturing. Here were these idiots walking around a weld shop where the air was thick with soot and the sparks were flying everywhere. Meanwhile these geniuses were in their best suits and dress shoes cowering under their hard hats (which no one other than them wore) and safety glasses, I even remember one of them looking straight at a welding arc flash without any welding glasses, and then the guy wondered why his eyes hurt.
Also why the heck would you go onto site without full calf height safety boots? You're just asking for trouble (and dirty shoes).
I've held the dumb end of the tape measure in half-flooded dank basements with no electricity and a colony of HUGE spiders. The stories I can tell were worth the momentary fear.
hehehe that reminds me of the time I went paintballing and decided to hide out in a copse of trees that just happened to be home to a HUGE colony of small spiders.
field work always sounds great when you are sitting at a desk...but most of my experiences in the field have been less than ideal. for some reason it always seemed to take places on either the coldest or hottest days of the year. and of course some of the buildings to be surveyed were empty, lacked plumbing, heat, electricity, etc.
and as an added bonus it seemed that i was always working twice as hard in the field because i was hustling to get all the necessary dimensions, photos and just observe as much as possible in order to avoid additional trips to the site. it could be rather exhausting at times...thankfully i don't have to do much of that these days
yes, but i'm feeling too old for the rest of that.
summer rooftop surveying where the surface temperature equals that of the sun minus 5 degrees
if you refer to typical residential, pitched, shingle, blahblah, it's hotter under that roof. you get in and get out (dripping) fast. or you wait until a more survivable time to go in.
half-flooded dank basements with no electricity
yet somehow a bit happy that there was no electricity. ☺ (flooded is kind of hyper-dank, i guess.)
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