cwh1

email me

eberhard49@yahoo.com

mdler

wait, are you guys hiring mdler?

feck!

there are a number of smaller d.b firms doing various work around town. if i wasn't such a pansy, i'd rather be doing it.

dibs holz....haha j/k. I've found a few d.b firms that look pretty interesting. My initial question perhaps may be how would working at one of them be different than the current situation...

It sort of sounds like you might just want to move on to a smaller firm and see how that fits you. Getting into all aspects of the project from design to details will happen at smaller firm.
That being said a design build firm could offer this on a more intimate level. However there are a lot of good reasons to look at design build firms that you didn't mention so i'm wondering if you could just use a change of scenery.
I've been looking to move to Seattle or Portland within the year (partly depending on when my house sells). After working 4 years a small firm i've been looking at design build firms to move towards what im really interested in. That being said my experience here is totally from the outside of a design build firm but i would mention the "design-build" firms we as architects find intriguing like Pb Elemental or Build LLC (in Seattle) are a very small percentage of the design build firms out there. A lot of them seem to be contractors who have eliminated the architect or architects teamed up with a contractor doing renovations so really look at all the work of firms work. Don't expect them to all be Pb Elemental.

Pb Elemental...

....looks awesome. wow

am i the only architect that thinks their work looks cheap?

expand por favor

i'm just not into their finishes and details. but as a business model, they've seem to got something right.

I can see where you are coming from, their portfolio is not quite extensive enough perhaps...but it does intrigue me and right now anything feels like a step up in the arch world.

their story is pretty amazing..,two guys who built a project for thier thesis at UW...sold it, built another, etc.

Started as a 2 person company 4 yrs ago; now are 50+. They are their own clients, are doing good, modern design which they are selling themselves. All of their open houses are basically big parties. They are one of the top 50 places in Seattle to work (the best working envioroment for an architecture office, Im sure)

And the projects are actually pretty nice and well constructed

I probably wouldn't say "cheap" holz, but rather that their exteriors are rather simplistic. Everything does indeed look well detailed and of high quality, there's just a level of depth missing from those exterior views.

A little off topic but I've often wondered how Jonathan Segal's work looks like.

His photos really glamorize the architecture, but once you start really looking at the photos. It seems like some of the details are sloppy.

Anyone been to his "architect as developer" seminar?

I went to the seminar in LA last year and was for the most part, disappointed. I do like his work, but I think you're correct - it photographs well, but probably loses some impact in real life. I'm sure he either self-performs a lot of the work or uses B- subs to capture the spirit of architecture - the execution of details becomes a secondary priority.

kairo, a lot of segal's work in SD isn't holding up well... and it doesn't rain constantly.

re: pb elemental - i think the only good part about their work is the exteriors/massing. it's like they blow their wad on the exterior, but the interior finishes and detailing suffers from that. i dunno, i've been to 3 of their open houses and each time, it's the same.

does anyone happen to know where their open house is this sunday?

the mt baker is @ 3844 37th ave south

whoops,

and the 14th ave townhomes are @1761 14th Ave. So, in Beacon Hill

thanks holz, i think i just may go check it out. From your experience what is the atmosphere like at the open house/what should I expect?

the last two i attended were a mass of hipsters. and moustaches.

ill have to bring my moustache-iod roomy then.

i was at a party friday night with their office manager and was giving her shit about the mustaches...

as to their stuff being cheap, not everything is Kundig...

blasphemy!

hey, i didn't say it was cheap i said i thought it looked cheap!

the moustaches are killer, though.

homemade organic breakast before 9:30 and unlimited vacation aint bad either...

you're a good salesman mdler, i'll take one.

i must say the hours are more conducive for me as well.

damn.

do you know if they're hiring now holz? you mentioned going to a few open houses so it may have come up... I think they look like somethign I'd really enjoy.

i think that they have a great business model...make your office someplace people want to work and treat your employees well. Also, do cool stuff and be your own developer so that you end up making the $$$

It amazes me that more people havent adopted this model. When I went to interview there, the guy interviewing me had this same discussion with me...basically that architects are stupid and that they (PbE) have been running their company by using common sense and it has worked

I guess i like Pb Elemental for their overall approach. They are more than design build. They develop, design, build, and sell. I'm sure i am not the only one who sees the problems that arise from having a different group doing each of those things. Watching a developer try to figure out a dollar value for a cool design has shown me where some of that breaks down.
I firmly believe that those intangibles create a better product that is profitable even if typical developer numbers say otherwise. Building a modern sustainable building can be profitable and they've proven that, at least to some degree.
As for the detailing, i've never been to any of the buildings in person, so i can't comment, but the overall designs tend to be pretty interesting. You'd think with the architect builder working together like that the details would be reasonably good.

the detailing is actually quite good...nailing patterns on their siding is very thought out and tight

So were they not hiring when you went to interview with them mdler?

They had an add out like two month ago on craigslist. I think it was for someone with more experience, like close to or recently licensed. It seems like a design build outfit would have less use for interns, maybe i'm completely wrong, thats just my impression. Someone who works at one could answer that. But since they were hiring just recently i would assume they filled that spot pretty quick and wouldn't be hiring now. Never hurts to send a resume but i wouldn't hold out a lot of hope. If you really want to work for a design/build outfit, you have limited options, you are probably going to have to send out resumes to all the ones you can find and hope you get lucky with timing.

Kinda feel like Tobias from Arrested Development right now...

"Well, yes, but I'm afraid I prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run, if you will, so now I'm afraid I have something of a mess on my hands."

I will agree that there seems to be a more refined look to the exterior ... but I in general find exterior detailing more interesting - and these houses are mostly spec, right? so I think in a large part new homeowners like to renovate and personalize their homes shortly after purchase anyway, so seems like cost savings here is the way to go... from the photos, though, the staging needs some work, a lot of it is distracting and maybe add to the "cheapness" holtz is talking about. but overall, impressive and GOD there are tons of projects.

knock

I think that PbE would agree on your comment about the 'staging' of their work. Lots of times there isnt any money left for the furniture and stuff to stage the porjects