Roger K. Lewis [Lewis - Architect?

Architect?

Architect?

A Candid Guide to the Profession

Third Edition

Roger K. Lewis

The MIT Press

Cambridge, Massachusetts

London, England

2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Originally published in 1985, 1998

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lewis, Roger K.

Architect? : a candid guide to the profession / Roger K. Lewis. Third Edition.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-262-51884-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. ArchitectureVocational guidanceUnited States. I. Title.

NA1995.L45 2013

720.2373dc23

2012046588

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For architecture students, who I hope learned from me and from whom I unquestionably learned much, and for my colleagues, friends, and especially my family

Contents

Creative and Intellectual Fulfillment

Contributing to Culture and Civilization

Love of Drawingwithout a Computer

Service to Others

Teaching

A Great Profession for Polymaths

Money and Lifestyle

Social Status

Fame

Immortality

Fulfilling the Dictates of Personality

Freedom to Do Your Own Thing

Odds of Becoming an Architect

Lack of Work

Competition

Inadequate Compensation

Ego VulnerabilityGetting Lost in the Crowd

The Risks of Envy

Lack of Power and Influence

Anxiety, Disappointment, Depression

Personal Encumbrances

Lack of Aptitude

Lack of Passion and Dedication

Legal and Financial Risks

Disillusionment

Degree Pathways

Curricular Content

Design

History

TechnologyStructures, Materials and Methods of Construction, Environmental and Energy Technologies

Working Digitally

Management

Historic Preservation

Electives

Travel and Study Abroad

The First Year and Workload Shock

New Values, New Language

Competition and Grades

Pencilphobia

The Culture and Community of Architecture School

Being Judgeda Rite of Passage

Other Traditions and Experiences

The ProfessorsScholars and Researchers, Designer-Practitioners, Designer-Theoreticians, Student Advocates, Student Adversaries, Young (or Old) Turks, Good Ol Boys and Girls, Logicians, Techies, Obfuscators, Zealous Leaders, Laid-back Leaders, Separatists, Inscrutables, Venerable Heroes

Some -Isms and -OlogiesFormalism, Functionalism, Historicism,>Technology, Deconstructivism, Symbology, Sociology and Psychology, Methodology, Ecology, Sustainability, Regionalism and Vernacularism, Urbanism

Preparing for Architecture School

Choosing SchoolsLocation, Program Type, Reputation, Resources, Cost, Students, Faculty, Program Ethos

The Admission ProcessThe Portfolio, Interviews, Reference Letters, Grades, Essays, Exams for Admission, Timing, Financial Aid, Admission Odds

Internship

Becoming a Licensed Architect

Continuing Education

Further Studies

Traveling

Teaching

Work in Related Fields

Abandoning Architecture

How Projects Get BuiltNeed, Site, Development Costs and Financing,Design and Design Approvals, Engineers and Other Design Consultants, Brokers, Attorneys, Construction Contractors and Managers

Role-Playing

Users and the Community

Manual and Digital Drawing

Physical Models Built Manually or Digitally

Writing

Reading and Researching

Meeting and Talking

Calculating

Client Contact

Government Reviews and Approvals

Consultants and Coordination

Working Digitally

Construction Phase Services

Organization within Architectural Firms

Diversified Services

The Goals of Architectural Firms

Getting the First Job

Economic Conditions

Territory

Types of Markets and Clients

Selecting Architects for Projects

The Direct Approach

The Indirect Approach

The Interview

Joint Ventures

Architects as Contractors, Construction Managers, and Developers

Design Competitions

Free Services

Household Clients

Real Estate Developers

Corporate Clients

Entrepreneurs

Institutional Clients

Government Clients

Citizens and the Community as Clients

Architects as Types

Idols and Adulation

The Faces of an Evolving Profession

On Becoming an Architect

On Being an Architect

Preface

When I wrote the first edition of this book about the profession of architecture, my goal was to explain the true nature of architectural education and practice. I wanted to tell beginning architecture students and prospective architects, lucidly and honestly, what to expect. At the time, such a book seemed to be missing in the literature about architecture.

In 1998, when the second edition was published, my goals for the book had not changed but the culture and practice of architecture had. The profession, as well as architecture schools and degree programs, had become more diverse. The use of computers had increased exponentially. New architectural philosophies, theories, and fields of exploration had appeared. And my own perceptions, interpretations, and judgments of architecture had evolved, along with my writing style. Consequently, in addition to updating and enhancing the text, I added more illustrations to augment the books visually storytelling effectiveness. Once again, for the same reasons, another update is needed. Thus, similar to the previous edition, this new edition discusses changes affecting, and affected by, the profession since 1998.

Yet despite the latest revisions, Architect? remains faithful to its original intent: to offer a candid account of the realities of becoming and being an architect. A subjective work substantially based on my own experiences, observations, and analysis, it discloses the texture and complexity, the agonies and ecstasies, of being an architecture student and then a practicing architect. The book purposefully focuses on architectural practice, for which most architects are educated and what most prospective architects expect to do. Nevertheless, it also discusses other, related career options that graduate architects pursue rather than practice.

Since finishing architecture school in 1967, I have taught, practiced, and written extensively about architecture. I have advised, instructed, or employed hundreds of neophyte architects. But few would-be architects understood what they were getting into, either prior to embarking on an architectural career or, in many cases, after embarkation. Years of answering the question, What is it really like to be an architect? so often posed by students, clients, and others have motivated me to tell and retell the story.

This book is aimed at anyone seriously contemplating becoming an architect: students in high school and college, those out of school thinking about reentering, beginning architecture students, and young architects just finishing school. Career guidance counselors and academic advisers should read or refer to this book before offering suggestions to their questing advisees. Architects clients or potential clients should read it to learn the facts of life about the architects they hire, admire, or abuse. Finally, architects should read this book to see the extent to which it affirms or contradicts their own view of themselves and their personal experiences.

Some readers seek basic information and others look for basics plus elaboration and commentary. I have tried to respond to both levels of interest, although readers may discover additional levels of intent and interpretation beyond these two. I hope especially that the illustrations complementing the text help illuminate and validate the books many contentions, which nevertheless represent solely my point of view.