Professional Practice Manual by Will V. Serge

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE WILL SERGE

Pro-Practice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRACTITIONER INTERVIEWS

ASLA CODE OF ETHICS & RESPONSE

PROJECT SCHEDULE DIAGRAM

PRACTITIONER LECTURES

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Natasha Krol Mauskapf Interview Thinker McKenzie Consulting

Natasha: Do you all think you want to become practicing architects? Nick: I do. I really want to have my own firm and work on the smaller scale projects. Being in Chicago has taught me I don’t want to work for a big corporate firm. Being at VWA definitely showed me the kind of office I want. Will: I have a couple options. I want to work for a firm for a couple years, get licensed, “pay my dues,” and then maybe do my own thing. I’ve been with a firm back home for seven years now, so I have a place there. Justin: I’ve always loved Architecture, but I’ve learned that I’m interested in every aspect of design. I really want to try working for a place like BluDot, then maybe open my own small practice. I also want to live in the country, so I’d have to commute to a city to work. I was wondering, I heard that entry level architects, and even higher positions in a firm, don’t get paid a lot. Natasha: Well, it all depends on the firm and city you live in. Generally, Architects don’t get paid much at all. You don’t go into it for the money though. You can’t. Will: So what made you switch into being a Consultant? Did you ever practice? Natasha: I did summer internships, and then was a free-lancer for 6 months, but it was more graphic design than architecture. I did some research through design with professors, but I didn’t like it too much. When I interned, it was more Urban Planning, and I didn’t like the environment. I really enjoy working in teams, but often in the early stages, you just have your task and design it. That just wasn’t me. When I graduated arch school, I was a bit burnt out. I still considered design, but more of an academic version of it, some combination of teaching and joining a small firm. I worked in Chicago for Mayor Daley with a three month fellowship, and I really enjoyed working with public policy, just thinking about problems that impacted cities, and I liked design, but Design Thinking was enough for me. I was applying to a lot of different places then, and I happened to meet someone at my Consulting firm who told me about the field. He gave me a case study, and I realized I really enjoyed it; it was like solving a real-time design problem, which serge 5

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and I chose to travel around Africa a bit and got to see 9 countries in 14 weeks, it was awesome. Will: I guess you might not have this issue since you’re from Chicago, but with all the traveling and somewhat sporadic scheduling, do you ever find it hard to really feel grounded, to feel like someplace is “home?” Natasha: So I totally have that issue, and it’s probably why I’m going to leave. I haven’t done the week to week travel in a while, so it hasn’t been that bad. It’s very difficult trying to live equal lives in Chicago and DC, often times disorienting. Very hard to make a lot of things work. McKenzie is good though, I usually get 4 weeks off a year. They also have a lot of local projects, but that limits what you can do? Justin: So why do you travel so much? Natasha: I work on social and public sector work, and so Midwestern projects are healthcare, operations, industry kind of stuff. If I’m working for the federal gov, I’m probably in DC. If I’m working for international development organizations, I’m probably working in DC. Will: Could you see yourself living in DC? Natasha: I thought that for a while. When I leave McKenzie, I don’t think I’ll work in government, so I will probably stay in Chicago. But ultimately I have no clue. My family is pretty small and dispersed; I have friends all over the country and world, so there’s nothing really pulling me to any specific city. But how are you guys thinking about what you want to do? Do you want to start your own firms right away? Alex: I spoke with some architects about how you actually start your own firm. They said it takes about 40,000 to start a firm, and will take about 4-6 years to get that. It’s a general plan. Nick: After Tech, I want to work somewhere else in the world away from the US, then do grad school. I want to get to the point where I’m teaching and practicing as well. There’s so much energy in teaching and helping people with projects. Afterwards I might want to work in an actual firm, so I could really learn those technical Architectural skills. Natasha: In grad school, always try to do as much TAing, lecturing, and volunteering as possible. It will pay off so much. Why do you all want to start your own firms, is it the design freedom? Alex: I enjoy it because I already started my own furniture business, and it’s been fun. I like the entrepreneurial spirit, and being able to run a business.

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Nick: it’s definitely the design freedom for me; there are little things here and there, but mostly that. Natasha: I would talk to a lot of people at small firms, because part of what happens when you start your own thing is the business side, so you lose a lot of that design time. Maybe partner with someone who enjoys the business side of it. Justin: I’m pretty similar to Nick. I want to go to grad school, I don’t know if I ultimately want to have a partnership. Natasha: I have a lot of friends who did their own start up thing. Since no one could get jobs when we graduated, it just made sense. It still gives design freedom, but is something that you can take complete ownership of. Justin: That’s like the lecture we heard on Mas-Studio. It’s a one man studio run by Iker Gil, and he m without a backing client or project. Eventually he might show the work to an interested party that starts the conversation, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t. Its super refreshing to see because I definitely think this profession takes itself way too seriously. Natasha: Totally agree. Especially with design, of all things. Justin: How many hours of sleep do you get, or do you even sleep? Natasha: I don’t sleep enough. But I try to get at least 6 hours a night. I don’t always. The hardest thing is that I’ll lose sleep during the week because of work, and then want to have fun on the weekends, so I always drain myself. I run on coffee; there’s too much stuff to do. Nick: What ways have your undergraduate degrees help you with your career? Natasha: A lot actually. I studied a lot of different things in undergrad. My eventual majors were nuero science, and I minored in music and psychology. I started in Computer and cognitive science, like artificial intelligence. Most of what I cared about in Architecture school was the psychological aspect of it. Why people do what they do has always been what I like and care about. With nuero science, I can understand what’s actually happening in the brain, psychology I get the social aspects of it, and architecture is how space and the world around us affects us. It’s really just different ways of looking at the same thing. Nick: What’s your favorite thing about your job now? Natasha: Most of my clients and colleagues are my friends, so I basically go to work and get to solve problems with my friends.

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Will: Does it even feel like work? Natasha: Not really, it only ever really feels like work when it’s too many hours. It just gets draining. You all are in a privileged position that it is a shame to just get a job. Work and a job are totally different. Humans want to work, we want to be useful, change the world, you know, that sort of work. The line between work and no work isn’t the same line between job and not job. It starts feeling like a job when I’m not happy. Most of the time I’m excited, happy, learning, solving problems with people I love. Alex: How do you find time to pursue interests, or what do you do? Natasha: I read a lot; I’m usually reading 12 books at any one time, and not finishing any of them. I have enough of a social life. I want to do more designy things. I’m in the orchestra. I cycle often, go to shows with friends…so yes I still do things, but it’s always at the sacrifice of downtime. One thing I don’t do that definitely helps with time…I don’t watch TV. I realized I got nothing out of it, and it just sucks up time. Justin: Have you ever thought about going back to school? Natasha: All the time. I think I will get a PhD at some point, probably in 5-6 years. I don’t know what I’d get it in, but I know what I want to study. I’m obsessed with markets, the decisions that go into them and the notion of them across different countries in different scales of development. There’s a lot of science behind it that isn’t apparent, and I’m curious how you can optimize them in different settings. It’d also just be a lot of fun to be a professor. Nick: I could totally see you as a professor. Natasha: And I will take that as a compliment.

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von Weise Associates Office Interview Will: One thing I was curious about, which it doesn’t seem like you have this sort of an issue as an office, but have there ever been any situations where office politics and infighting has interfered with a project? And as a project manager, have you ever had to separate people from a project? Chip: No, but I’ve had requests from people not to work together again on a project. It’s rare; I think it’s only happened two times in my sixteen years of practice. Sometimes people are just overly difficult. Alex: Can you all talk about your group dynamic working in a smaller firm as opposed to a larger firm? Kris: I worked at Cannon before it was Cannon (OWPP) and at that time it was a 200 person firm, and I was pretty fresh without a lot of experience. It seemed that they groomed certain people to become higher ups, and if you weren’t ‘in,’ it felt as if you were expendable at any time. And I was part of that group, so it took a lot of effort to maintain a certain level of involvement with the firm, on a professional or personal level. And it shows, since leaving I haven’t stayed in touch with anyone in the firm. Chip: Sounds like high school; we’re at LEAST Freshmen in college here. Marcy: Politics can eat you alive. It’s something I’ve grown sensitive to, and immediately appreciated since being here. No matter what happens, there will be politics, and with a hierarchy…there you have it. The firm I was with before had very tricky politics, and it often interfered with the work. It’s something that needs to be managed somewhere someplace in the hierarchy, and when you find the right balance, it’s worth its weight in gold. Kris: For me, there’s definitely a sweet spot, and it’s the 5-20 person firms. It varies; some people really thrive in larger firms, since they have the ability to really attract some serious talent.

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Tiffany: In my experience, I’ve mostly stuck to smaller firms. One as low as me and one other person, almost a partnership. My last job was a Landscape Architecture firm, and I was initially the Consulting Architect for the firm, and then quickly became a Project Manager like most of the firm. I found that the stratification of tasks made me feel much less attached to the projects because I was only one piece of it. That’s one of the things that’s awesome about this firm, you work with Chip and get guidance, but also own your project and vision from beginning to end. Its super gratifying being engaged throughout the process instead of just working a portion of the project. It seems like you end up specializing in one aspect of the profession in larger firms, and typically end up getting stuck in that rut. And to touch on office politics, they’re everywhere you go. It’s never fun working with a difficult person, and you have to remind yourself not to be difficult back, it’ll get you nowhere. You get what you give, and it usually irons itself out. Kris: Remember, we’re all from a smaller firm, so our perspective is definitely biased. It’d be very interesting to compare your notes with the SOM and Cannon groups because it’ll be a very different take on the situation, we’re going to give you one side, make sure you get the other side. Tiffany: It comes down to the type of personality, and “Do-er” you are at a firm. Small firms tend to attract those who follow through and have attention to detail. There were some brilliant designers at my last firm, and I would be amazed at the quickness and creative spirit some of the big thinkers had, but they would always change the project, and never really get around to completing tasks. And if you know how you are, then pursue a firm that responds to that. Will: What was one of the main things you all struggled with shifting from university/academia into professional life, in terms of skill set, management, or general things? Aya: I think both for me. Just adjusting to the environment is strange; the mentality switch is difficult but critical. But it’s good to be in that position, because it’s refreshing to be in both mindsets. Tiffany: Initially, mine was realizing that the design profession isn’t always what it seems. I worked for my professor at first, and the focus was not on design, it was how to build. It was a lot of code-manifested design. I did learn a lot, and found value in it, but it took a while to feel confidence as an Architect to do basic things in an office setting for me to then say “ok, bring on the High Design.” I mean, you can only make something so pretty using concrete, vinyl tile, and paint. Kris: Yeah, the real world hits pretty quickly after college, specifically because you spend so much time in Architecture school, and I’ve gone back and forth on whether this is a good or bad thing, but you spend a lot of time focusing on Design with a Capital D, but there’s no real execution. I had a design development class, and that was as far as we got into the process of creating drawing. My first real serge 12

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project was a data center…there’s no design there. It’s all about accommodating the engineers, and going from thesis to that was a smack in the face. So, some skills transfer. My time management skills were critical. Knowing when to ask if you have a question. You don’t always get to design these wonderful poetic buildings for the perfect client with no budget…I don’t mean to be entirely cynical. Tiffany: You mean ‘No Budget’ in terms of limit. “No Budget” projects turns into those vinyl tile and paint projects. Aya: It seems like in school, you’re creating those problems, and that’s part of your design. While in practice, you’re attempting to solve those problems. Kris: Well, solving them in a real way. Aya: Yeah, it’s no longer hypothetical. Chip: The thing that I see majorly over the years is that the transition has all these issues everyone is talking about, and then the client. It isn’t just the budget constraints and limitations of the client, but understanding that you’re designing for a person, and the project isn’t yours. They have goals and expectations that are idiosyncratic to them, there’s an emotional component to it. I find that I spend a lot of my time helping people understand what the client actually needs and wants, and helping them realize why the client might be freaking out about one thing or another. It’s self-evident on one hand, but more nuance than people think coming out of school. People on their first couple of clients are often baffled…And I’m occasionally baffled as well. We spend a lot of time talking about it and managing it. We try to design things that have Design Content, and the components of that are as close as you’re going to get to an academic environment, at least in this office. Karla: Yeah, with suddenly dealing with the human element…this is the only place I’ve ever directly dealt with clients. It mostly depends on the type of office. Working at a big office, there’s 15 people between you and your client, so you may never hear from them directly. Chip: Yeah, there are good and bad parts to that. *laughter* Marcy: The clients can bring you the most difficulty ever imagined, but they are also the ones that give you that intense feeling of reward at the end. I’ve worked 90% on house, so you’re dealing with the most intimate environment anyone is going to experience…it’s a piece of themselves…so you get to know these people more than you care to. When you see the family living in the house or people using the classroom, you get this understanding of “OH, what I just did is real” and you never get that feeling in school. Until you see people using space you drew on paper, and all the things you talked to your boss and engineers about, and see all that effort affect someone’s life. I’ve had clients that were ready to kill serge 13

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each other at the end… Chip: ...or get divorced…during the process... Marcy: Yeah and when they move in, and he has his own den, and she has her own den, everything is harmonious again. Kris: We’re really just marriage counselors. Karla: You do get the rewarding feeling. John: Yeah, there’s a weird bond. You get really close to people, some of which you’ve worked with for several years…it’s a cool process. Tiffany: All the relationships that you forge in your role, with clients and consultants, are pretty crucial. It’s important to try to get as much face time with those people as possible. Overtime, they can really inform you as a designer. John: And good consultants will, for lack of a better word, teach you. You know, we only know a certain amount, and need to learn the rest. Karla: Yeah, school won’t teach you how to have the conversation with the contractor or electrician. And it usually sounds like a foreign language the first couple of times. There’s a level of accountability that doesn’t exist in school that’s overarching…just having to answer to everything…confidently. John: We have to wear every hat; you have to know everything even if you don’t know it. Laura: When looking at big firms, they seem to have a specialist for everything. In smaller firms, what do you do when you can’t figure something out, or when do you reach that point? Karla: Yeah, I’m at that point all day. We usually go around the office, asking, and if no one knows, then ask Chip, and if Chip doesn’t know, then we call the consultant. Tiffany: Also, Product Reps are great. They’re experts in their own product…and won’t bill your project. Consultants can bill hours to the project and still not have an answer. But if you can go to a supplier, it can be a great resource, because ultimately they want to sell you the product and have it in your project. The biggest thing is questions, questions, questions, ask them. Don’t worry about looking stupid, because as long as you communicate clearly most people in the business will be open to your inquiry. Even in drawings, we draw to understand and discover, and in turn communicate. Sometimes there will be errors, and part of the discovery is finding those discrepancies and realizing how the design can be betserge 14

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ter through resolution. A clean, quality drawing can go a long way. Nick: So in the process, what role do you take vs. what role does Chip take. How is that interaction back and forth, and what different ways do you explore the idea, either through drawings or something new… Karla: Our relationship with Chip is pretty dependent on the client. Some clients just want more Chip time. We’ll work through design problems with Chip, we’ll always go through an idea and work it out, and he looks for that in us. It’s a nice breath of fresh air, because most offices don’t do that. John: It’s client dependent. I’ve worked with clients who can’t visualize anything, so we had to make cardboard scale models just to show them what we were thinking. Tiffany: So far anything I’ve mentioned to Chip, even if it isn’t the same thing he thinks, he’s been very receptive. He wants to hear your opinion, and if he doesn’t agree, he can tell you why it won’t work. Chip is where he’s at because he’s been there and done that, while being extremely charismatic. Karla: I have classmates from grad school that were not good designers, workers, or executors, and because they were extremely charismatic, own extremely successful firms. Tiffany: Understanding personality in this profession is a big thing, between clients and bosses and contractors. John: And back to the relationships conversation, you’ll develop close relationships with contractors because you ultimately want the same goal. There’s a level of trust you develop, as long as you keep both levels of interest in mind. Alex: Why did you all decide to practice and not take your careers in a different path? Karla: Well, I didn’t want to get a PhD, so that rules out academia. I like building stuff, its super fun. It’s the best part. Tiffany: Yeah, I’ve recently come out of a big questioning period where I was trying to find something else to do aside from Architecture, but I found that I just kept doing little projects and sketches. So coming back, it is about the building part. That’s the reward. The whole Design-Build thing is really interesting, because it’s all about Build. It’s a totally different experience, and used to be frowned upon, but you can get special certifications and stuff. Karla: I don’t know many people who didn’t practice, and those who didn’t usually ended up in totally different career paths. A lot end up as Product Reps. serge 15

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Alex: I always thought it was interesting that people still do what they’re passionate about and find ways to incorporate it into Architecture. Karla: You have to be passionate, we don’t get paid enough not to be. There’s no other reason to do it this besides liking it…unless you want to die at least once a week. Tiffany: I’m excited, because the older you get, the more valuable and skilled you become as an architect. We age like fine wine…or cheese. You get better at what you do. In this profession you won’t get pushed out because you’re old. The older members are usually more integral and active on projects. Functional Obsolescence won’t happen. Karla: That is true, our skills don’t become obsolete. Kris: No one heard about Frank Ghery until he was about 65 years old. Tiffany: And even what we do, were building upon ancient technology. Romans used bricks, and were still building on that. What we know doesn’t go away and always learning new things. We don’t tend to get phased out of use. Kris: I don’t know, my lead paint and asbestos house didn’t pan out too well. *laughter* Nick: How do you balance the work/life balance? Karla: I had to sit down and tell Chip “my schedule does’nt allow me to stay past 5:15 three days out of the week,” because it doesn’t. I have to go home and take care of kids. But I usually log on later in the night. You have to find what you’re comfortable with, your family, your friends Kris: You need to set your schedule because you can’t rely on work to set it. There’s always something to do. John: Studio culture in academia dictates you should be working all the time, but people burn out way too quickly. The difference is that projects, and the semester, end in school. You need to find that balance in the workplace, because it doesn’t end. Tiffany: It all lies within you. I missed my own surprise party because I had to get a project out for midnight deadline. I was the only one in the office, and needed to do it. Afterwards, I decided I was going to reevaluate. If a project is overbearing, ask for help, and if you don’t get it, set your limit. If it doesn’t get done, there’s only so much you can do without help.

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Karla: I don’t think you’ll ever find an employer who is adverse to you saying “This is my life.” Kris: Well and if you do, you leave, because you don’t need to do that. Karla: If you set the expectation early on, it won’t be a problem, because then it’s known, and it can’t really be argued with. Tiffany: Just be mindful. If you want to set your boundaries, and then be sure you’re pulling your weight at work during office hours. The work is work, whether it happens in an 8 hour day or 12 hour day. Karla: And I’ve had this discussion with Chip, and he’s always been open and said whatever is going on outside of work with family and life takes precedence to the office. John: And that’s because he has that same philosophy. If it’s more important, make it more important. My last boss had the opposite, where Work was it, except he didn’t want to put in the time, so his job became my job. The person running the firm has to set the example, and allow his employees to follow. Tiffany: In this industry, there is this component that’s almost Hazing. It’s expected that you pay your dues, and put your time in…staring at sections… to earn the right to call yourself an architect…and I think that’s BS and you don’t have to fall into that. Establish your boundaries early or you’ll find yourself being taken advantage of. Marcy: And sometimes you’ll be asked to do the menial tasks like organizing the product library, but there is value in it, and there are lessons you can derive. You want to show that you’re willing and a team player, and keeping the bigger picture in mind helps the first couple of years. Tiffany: It’s kind of a rite of passage. Natalie: I guess it depends on who’s in charge, they’re paying, and so do what’s asked. There are a lot of people to hire for entry level jobs, and people feel like they should do certain things because they’re asked. It might not be in the job description, but you don’t want to seem unappreciative for having a job either. It’s all how you set your precedent up. Karla: What kinds of places do you think you want to be in? Alex: At this point, I really don’t know. While I’m in school, I want to experience all I can. Since being in Chicago, I’m more OK with saying I don’t know. Right now, it’s trying everything, and seeing what works, then deciding from there. serge 17

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John: It’s good that you’re thinking about that now, because it doesn’t get easier. Tiffany: Definitely. I would encourage you to keep your commitments loose enough to get those personal experiences and travel. I’ve never been to Europe and it sucks. You can learn so much just by actually seeing things. Once you get a job and settle down, it’s hard to take vacation time, especially with how our industry is so demanding and fast paced. Karla: Some clients are only available on days you should have off. Especially in residential work. Tiffany: There are plenty of industries that don’t follow that sort of loose schedule, so if that isn’t your thing, be mindful. Kris: I know a lot of people in my class that ended up being non-traditional architects as well. You can do a lot of different things with this degree. Marcy: There’s quite a few papers written that argue Architecture actually is the best education you can receive. It doesn’t teach you at all what it takes to function in an office. It teaches you how to think, problem solve, ask the right questions, and communicate with people. You can almost do anything with a Design mindset. Nick: This semester has really helped me see where I want to go, and realize what I do and don’t want to do. John: There’s almost more value in finding what you don’t want to do as opposed to finding the right place. Alex: Well, today was very helpful, thank you.

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Paul Blanding Interview Designer - Landscape Architect Hoerr Schaudt

Nick: Does landscape have a seasonality that affects the design process? I know that projects are always being designed, but since the major deals with planting to a large degree, does it have an effect? Paul: Any one project lasts longer than a given season. You are always working on it. There are certain tasks you don’t do in the winter, however. I wouldn’t go out and pick trees, for example. There’s not much construction during the winter, but that’s true for architects as well. There’s often a push to get stuff out for bid at the end of the year because contractors are less busy and they are more likely to give you a good bid. This is the time of the year that they are seeking to fill up their calendars for the coming year. Will: How did you ultimately find landscape architecture? Paul: I went to a small liberal arts school in Ohio called Oberlin. It is most known for its music conservatory. It’s like a weird, hippie, liberal school. It’s a really great place. Very political. Since it’s a liberal arts school, you are thinking very broadly and tackling projects in that way. When I graduated, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I knew I was interested in the arts because I had been involved with them all along the way, with activities like theater, film, photography, painting drawing, and music. I really did a little bit of everything. I moved to Chicago because I had friends here and then I started working at a flower shop. It’s called A New Leaf. It’s a really great place that you should check out. Harry Weiss’s daughter designed the space and it’s gorgeous. The guy who was working there had a small residential landscape design company that he was doing on the side. During the summer, he asked for people who wanted to go out on the weekend and help with installing landscapes. I needed the cash and thought it was very interesting. Then I started pulling up the theory behind landscape and really discovered landscape architecture as a profession, which I found really fascinating. I always had an interest in architecture. I really liked spaces. I liked going to cities and walking around and experiencing spaces. I read a book that I would recommend serge 19

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to anyone called Design With Nature by Ian Mcharg. This was basically an early GIS analysis before GIS. He loved collecting data and literally overlaying layers. That’s when I realized how complex and interesting the field was. Around that time, IIT was starting a new program. I found out from the guy I was installing landscapes with about the program. He told me he was interested in becoming a landscape architect. Before that, he was just a guy with a truck. It was brand new and I liked being a guinea pig. They were so hungry for students so I immediately got accepted. That was it. After my first year, I got an internship with Ted Wolf and continued working there after graduation. I worked for him until last March when I left to come to Hoerr Schaudt. Ted’s office was a great place to get my foot in the door. It was small and they were doing quality work. Most importantly, he had confidence in me from the very beginning. You always start out as a minion to some extent, but in smaller offices you really can move up quickly if you work hard. It was a quick launch to having a fair amount of power. I got to see a wide variety of work, except for residential work. He never did residential. It was seen as designing rich people’s gardens. At Hoerr Schaudt, I am part of the residential studio. What is nice is that I am getting to design and explore details that I would have never touched in the commercial world. You just don’t have the time or the resources to get into that level of detail. I think it is making me a better designer. However, I ultimately see myself doing commercial work. What I love about commercial work is that it is really satisfying to see your work in the public realm. You get to see other people enjoying it. It’s an amazing feeling. That’s part of what I love about this profession. That and the diversity of what you deal with on a dayto-day basis. If you are an artist, to become really good you probably spend most of your time honing a craft. I think it became clear to me that would never be my thing. I’m too scatterbrained. You are always challenging yourself to do new and different things. Constantly. Femi: Do you find enough time between family and work to explore your other interests, like art or music? Paul: No, not really. If I really tried, then maybe. Having a one year old at home and a wife staying at home working with her all day then working when I get home, there’s not really time for anything else. Ironically, I think couples with two working parents and a daycare situation have it better off. I get home from work and my wife tells me that she has done nothing all day but take care of our daughter. Bethel: How do you find the work life balance?

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Paul: Give up on the idea of a nine to five job. That’s just not how it is. The tradeoff is that you love what you do. Most people who have a nine to five job are waiting until five because they hate what they do. Most people in this profession love what they do. I still think of work when I go home. I think that’s a better problem to have than hating your job and watching the clock until you can go home. Most weeks I work around 45 hours. There are definitely 60-hour weeks, but it’s not the norm. Alex: Do you get to experiment with the mediums you explore in your work? Paul: I wish I could say there was more experimentation. It’s not like school. I am picking up new skills, however. There is a big emphasis on hand sketching here. I never used SketchUp before this office. More than experimentation, it’s been refinement of the tools. There is a limited amount of tools available. It’s finding ways to use them in new ways. I encourage you to experiment as much as you can now. It makes your brain think in new and exciting ways. The practicalities and the deadlines make it tough to do this experimentation in practice. Nick: What role do you get to play on the design and what role to the partners take? Paul: It varies from office to office and from project to project. When I first started working at Ted’s office, I wasn’t doing significant designing. I would be at the table when design was happening, but I wasn’t leading the conversation. In larger offices that’s probably more typical for longer. You are watching the person who is watching the person with the sharpie. You are a monkey for a while. You are taking something sketchy and turning it into something real and within that there is design. Inevitably you see that this doesn’t line up the way they thought it did. So how do I make that work? Really, there’s design in everything. If you lay out the details page, you design the page. You learn to love those small design decisions. You probably do more graphic design in your career than project design. Femi: The term landscape is so misused in the world. What are your thoughts? Paul: Landscape architects don’t like using the word landscape as a verb. The term landscaper is an extension of that. I’m not landscaping this; I’m designing the landscape. The landscape is a thing. I just try to be specific when talking about what I do. There are subtleties to understanding the differences between installation, maintenance, and design, and that’s what it comes down to. Will: Do you see any overarching trends in landscape architecture? Where do you see the profession going in the near future and the projected future? Paul: On the surface level, sustainability is on everyone’s mind. That’s for architecture too. I would say that’s both good and bad, except its pretty much just good. It just gets misused. There is a green washing term where everyone just tries serge 21

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to label it as sustainable. What do you really mean? Is it sustainable in that it is ecologically sustainable? Is it sustainable from an economic perspective? I think life cycle analysis is a better way to approach the topic of sustainability. There’s also the study of landscape urbanism. There is a little disconnect between theory and practice, but there are some good writings on it. James Corner has a good approach to it and he is the only one to ever build something. The High Line was what made him famous. In academia, there are trends. I think landscape urbanism seems to be at the forefront. For people who aren’t familiar with it, it is a lot of open-ended stuff. It’s hard to determine what that means in the built world. The profession is always behind academia in theory. That’s how it should be. In practice, you have budgets and are satisfying clients. It’s a business. It’s hard to change anything in that set up. That’s why it’s great that we have academia. They almost have the opposite problem. A professor’s salary depends on exciting, written ideas. In a way the students are almost the minions to professors on this cutting edge leading work. Students are the tools the professor has to do that. So in terms of what has found its way into practice, sustainability is huge. Dealing with fluctuation with water has been huge. For example, the New York waterfronts have displayed the new ideas. We have learned to accept ecological disturbance and reconnect people with ecology. It’s great how we get people back down to the water. It’s not just better as an experience, but it’s better for the shoreline. After Hurricane Sandy, Brooklyn Bridge Park fared way better than the hard-edged projects. The soft fluid edge really helped. Bethel: So you touched on stuff that you love about your job, but what are the things you would change? Paul: I miss the theoretical stuff. It would be nice to do more competitions. That’s one area where professionals get more ambitious with testing ideas. We do them sometimes, but not too often. That stuff doesn’t pay, so only the bigger offices really can afford it. On a personal level, I wish I had more control over my project. You want to be the one calling the shots. You won’t ever get over this unless you have your own project. I have almost taken a reset in my career to a certain extent by switching offices. At Ted’s office at the very end, there were a couple of projects it was my idea, my sketch, everything. One in particular was my design. Have you seen the amoeba planters in the Mies plaza next to Cannon Design? I’m sure that is going to have a lot of haters. I’m curious. Miesians are die-hard. Is it sacrilegious to put those curves into a Mies van der Rohe plaza? Maybe, but I love Mies. Don’t get me wrong, Federal Plaza, Seagram building, they are amazing. There is a place for the open and vast horizontal plane. It is beautiful, but not in this plaza. It was underused and dead. It needed something. serge 22

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When working on this project, I prepared some sketches before my first meeting with Ted. He didn’t like them. He drew up some sketches and had me work on them. In my own time, I developed my idea. One important thing to learn is to always do your boss’s drawings first. Then, put in the extra hour and do your own. The next day, he appreciated I put in the extra time, but didn’t like it. Then the meeting was cancelled because the funding fell through. A few months later, they called us up the day before the meeting as asked if we could bring some drawings. He wanted a third drawing so he said to bring it along. That’s the one the clients loved. It was one of the only cases where the client picked a design early on and didn’t mess with it too much. He really made the design better. But that’s rare. That’s the only project that it really was my idea throughout the whole experience. It was the combination of having a boss that trusted me and a client that loved what I was doing. Alex: What is your favorite part about your job? Paul: I guess the satisfaction that knowing something you did is out in the world. On the day-to-day basis, I like solving problems. I like figuring out an elegant way to solve a difficult issue. I also like communicating about it. I love to write. That is one area where my liberal arts education really came in handy. I learned to write and how to articulate ideas. Will: What are the other ways your art and philosophy background has helped you? Paul: The ability to find the connections between things and to break things out logically. That’s where philosophy comes in. It’s almost mathematical, but I’ve never been good at math. I always made too many number errors. However, I always excelled in the logic. Logic is really math without the numbers. I can understand the structure of what is going on and see how ideas come together and really break it down. When I have A condition, I have X results. Also, just a breath of historical understanding; being able to understand ideas within a historical context and speak with a client intelligently about painters and dancers and film. I think more than that, understanding the basic aesthetic principles. That’s where my interests have been all along. There is a great quote by Greil Marcus. “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” Some people say that like you shouldn’t do it. I don’t take it that way. It is both a way of interpreting the thing you are talking about but also a thing itself. When I was into theater, I was really into site-specific improvisation and setting up shows where a group of actors would go into a space and start improvising based upon that space. I think that sort of thing really excites me.

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Nick: In terms of design education, what do you see as the strengths and what do you think is lacking? Paul: I wish I had learned more about construction. I’ve had to play catch up a bit in my career. At the same time, you can only squeeze in so much. A lot of people like to rag on academia for being too theoretical but I’m not really that way. That’s the time to be theoretical. You are going to need those skills but you aren’t going to have much time to flex them as a professional. You need to have that thinking engrained in you. Otherwise, it’s too easy to lose it. I think the programs that are solely devoted to preparing students for the profession are missing the boat. They are doing the students a disservice because you will learn those things when you are in the profession. But once you are in the profession, you will never have people pushing you to question things at the fundamental level. History is also very important and is often not given enough time. Again, writing is critical. You want to write a lot. When I was teaching a studio at IIT, I encouraged my students to write out in prose their ideas behind the projects. Putting together a narrative really strengthens the idea. It’s too easy to put together bullet points, but easy to miss the connection between elements. When you have to write it out with modifiers and prepositions, you establish and further understand the connections within your design. You have to understand the if this, then that.

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Billy Almond Interview Principal, Landscape Architect W.P.L Site Design

Billy: Alright, Pro Practice. What do you wanna know? Don’t get sued. Ha. Will: How did you discover Landscape Architecture? Billy: I grew up with my father as a general contractor, so I started construction at a very early age. I had grown up with a great deal of contact with the great outdoors. In North Beach, I had a state park in my backyard and the ocean in my front, so I was outside all the time. I was forced to mow the grass at an early age, so I was also thrust into the Landscape Maintenance part of it too. I went to prep school and had a professor who was an avid outdoorsman; he had a wrangler with his canoe on it at all times. Because of him, a lot of our courses and class trips were focused on hiking, fishing, you know. Put all that together, I was very interested in the environment, very into ‘Green.’ I came through prep school when it was the Ecology Revolution…the first Earth Day, and I was there cleaning out a lake. I was always interested in Architecture and Construction. I learned very quickly the difference between the Architect and Contractor. My experience was working in a ditch, its 100 degrees outside, and I see a guy come flying up in a sporty car, full suit, puts on a hard hat, and starts telling the contractors what to do. I figured I wanted to be that guy, not one of the contractors running around taking care of him. So fast forward…I kinda fell into it backwards. I used to look at planting plans and construction documents while working, trying to figure out what they actually were without really knowing. So I wanted to find the profession that combined Architecture, Landscape, and Construction. When I went to Tech, I went with a complete background in Landscape Maintenance, I knew quite a bit about Horticulture. I knew more about plants than most of the professors…Ben Johnson sat me down after a year and said “You know more about plants today than I’ll ever know…this isn’t about plants, this is Landscape Architecture.” I thought it was just about planting design, and soon realized it was more.

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That’s the difference in the profession: it’s a career, it’s a lifestyle, it’s not a job. It’s your passion, you find that first, then a job that relates to it. Ya know, where else can you find a profession where you can change the environment where you work? We’ve been in this office building since 2000, and I’m sitting here today watching three inch caliper trees being installed. We as Landscape Architects…through osmosis…have affected the landlord and owner because he loves our entrance garden, so he asked us to redesign the parking lot planting scheme and really make it something. Will: Yeah, I was super surprised to see all the new stuff in the lot…never thought it would happen. So you went to school, got your degree, got licensed, and worked at a couple of firms before coming to WPL, right? Billy: Well, what I did during school…this was really critical…my family was not able to financially support me through my education. I set up a production company with another landscape architect and an architect, and we had our group. We did all kinds of site construction for professors…decks, sidewalks, grading, drainage, landscaping…worked my rear end off the same time I was in school, and made enough money to stay in school. Construction was followed on as an educational supplement, I was learning and practicing at the same time. Anyway, I graduated top of my class, and got out of school. I stayed in Blacksburg for a year and got a job with a small Landscape design / build company in the area. I worked full time in that office, and was a T.A. for the foundation studios at the same time. Eventually, I moved on, put out some resumes, and got hired very quickly. I was lucky to have a pretty good network of Architects, Engineers, and Contractors from my upbringing, one of which was Ayler Holland of Shriver and Holland Associates in Norfolk, who I had met a couple times. So I went to work there, stayed for 21 years, as a Landscape Architect in an office of Architects. In 2000, some partners were retiring and there was no real good plan for where the firm was going. A lot of us who had been there for a while decided to move on, and that’s how I ended up at WPL. My role at Shriver and Holland was the liaison between Architect and Civil Engineers. In the Architecture world, you are lead dog, you are prime consultant, everyone works for you…it’s an awesome place to be. Here, we’re usually subconsultant, you know, someone else is telling us what to do. So, I worked on a couple school projects with W.P.Large, and got to know everyone a little. Lance Large approached me one day and asked “Listen, We’re thinking about bringing a Landscape Architect into the practice, do you know anyone you could recommend with a couple years experience?” We got to talking, and I said I was looking to move on from Shriver Holland, and I’ve been here since. serge 26

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Landscape at WPL started with just me, a desk, and a computer. Jarrod, who you know, came here as a CAD kid right out of ITT Tech, and was interested in what I was doing, so he became my helper. Great story, now he’s a licensed Landscape Architect with no formal college training. We kept growing, and that’s more or less the long version of where Landscape at WPL came from. Will: So how has your role shifted from designer to principal throughout the years, or has it? Billy: Well, I came in to WPL as an owner; that was a part of the package, so I was a principal. We were looking to hire fairly quickly, so I immediately stepped in as manager to help organize the business. It was not as organized as the firm I had left, and I had brought some of the things I had learned about general office management from the firm. Things like, crazy as it sounds, Monday morning staff meetings…bimonthly director meetings, that sort of thing. Nobody met when I first got here, so we did some early on strategic planning, off site and facilitated. We really wanted to set the firm apart from some of the other local practices. We were going to stay small, unique, high design level. We’ve managed to stay that way throughout the years…so my role changed from just coming in to work, to being a real leader. I really tried to organize this place. My role then morphed into Business Development; I’m the guy who’s ‘locally grown’ and I volunteer and get on every board and commission that I can. It puts you out there with other people because work comes from relationships, meeting people, all that. It really went from coming in as a Landscape Architecture Principal, going through an organizational period, and now Business Development. We’re still in the organizational period; it’s a struggle sometimes just getting people to get together for weekly meetings. Some people in the office don’t think it’s worth anything, and if we didn’t drag them in, they wouldn’t show up. Will: That brings up another topic I’ve been curious about. How do you address, manage, and overcome office politics issues? Billy: There are a lot of concepts that I live by. One is rigorous honesty. I’m also a firm believer of working on a daily basis. I don’t carry myself as some president figure in the office; I’m just one of the gang. So when you all operate on the same level, everyone’s in it together, so it makes functioning easier. I firmly believe in transparency, responsibility, and ownership of what you do. That’s why everybody here, to some degree, plays a role in the preparation of a proposal and contract. When it comes time to put something together, you put the proposal together for your job. You put your hours in. If it works, great; if it didn’t and comes up short, you’ll need to recognize and fix it for next time. The fundamental policy when I’m here is performance based empowerment. I honestly don’t care if everyone is here for standard office hours, as long as the work gets done on time. serge 27

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And I think it’s that reason that we haven’t had a lot of turnover at this firm. Everyone has their own space, can work on their time. It makes a culture that breeds productivity. It’s studio from school that you get paid for, you know? Will: Definitely. So where do you see this profession, or even WPL, in the next 10 years? Billy: Well, we’re transitioning now. Different from the firm that I left, we have transition in place. Mostly because all of the owners now ‘Get It.’ Buddy’s been here since 1960, and his last day is tomorrow…retiring and then he’ll come back about one day a week. We want that institutional memory in house, even if he just looks over drawings and such. So Eric is stepping up and taking over the survey department while Buddy phases out. That transition mechanism is in place and working. So 10 years from now, I’ll probably still be here working. I’m passionate about it. I’ll be in here doing the same dagone thing; it’ll probably be less and less in the day-to-day-crazy, but I’ll be out there getting work, selling Landscape Architecture, showing up to presentations, and supporting everybody here. The great story from this office is that in ten short years of really having the Landscape division, we’ve had five design professionals get licensed. So if things keep going how they’ve been going, everybody will say “you’re just putting yourself in a position to be bought.” Well, yes and no. The company is ripe to be bought. But here’s the deal: because we are who we are, we are marketable to everybody. We never go exclusive with other companies, so we’re available to anyone who wants to work with us: all the engineers, architects, you name it. If an engineering firm buys us, immediately the rest fall away because we’re competing. The only real buyable alternative for this company is a land surveying practice that wants in house Landscape Architects, or a Landscape Architecture practice…like if E.D.S.A wanted to open a Virginia Beach branch, and buy WPL… that sort of a thing would make sense. So there’s a market type for us that we’re very very cautious of. We have to be diverse…we’re too small. Will: Well, I hope things don’t change too much. I enjoy it quite a bit here.

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ASLA Code of Professional Ethics Preamble The profession of landscape architecture, so named in 1867, was built on the foundation of several principles – dedication to the public health, safety, and welfare and recognition and protection of the land and its resources. These principles form the foundation of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Code of Professional Ethics (the Code) as well. The Code applies to the professional activities of all ASLA professional members, i.e., Full Members, Associate Members, and International Members (herein, referred to simply as Members), and contains important principles relating to the duties of Members to clients, employers, and employees and to other Members of the Society. The Code is arranged so that each Canon contains Ethical Standards – essentially goals that Members should strive to meet. Some of the Ethical Standards contain objective Rules. Violation of Rules might subject an ASLA Member to a complaint, while violation of Ethical Standards will not. Therefore, the word “should” is used in the Ethical Standards and “shall” is used in the Rules. The policies established by the Board of Trustees relative to environmental stewardship, quality of life, and professional affairs are summarized in the ASLA Code of Environmental Ethics. Members should make every effort to enhance, respect, and restore the life-sustaining integrity of the landscape and seek environmentally positive, financially sound, and sustainable solutions to land use, development, and management opportunities.

Canon 1. Professional Responsibility ES1.1 Members should understand and honestly obey laws governing their professional practice and business affairs and conduct their professional duties within the art and science of landscape architecture and their professional Society with honesty, dignity, and integrity. R1.101 Members shall deal with other Members, clients, employers, employees, the public, and others involved in the business of the profession and the Society with honesty, dignity, and integrity in all actions and communications of any kind. R1.102 Members shall not violate the law in the conduct of their professional practice, including any federal, state, or local laws and particularly laws and regulations in the areas of antitrust, employment, environmental and land-use planning, and those governing professional practice. R1.103 Members shall not give, lend, or promise anything of value to any public official or representative of a prospective client in order to influence the judgment or actions in the letting of a contract of that official or representative of a prospective client.

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Commentary: However, the provision of pro bono services will not violate this Rule. R1.104 Members on full-time government employment shall not accept private practice work with anyone doing business with their agency or with whom the Member has any government contact on matters involving applications for grants, contracts, or planning and zoning actions. In the case of private practitioners elected or appointed to government positions or others doing business or having alliances with those doing business with their board, council, or agency, they must disqualify and absent themselves during any discussion of these matters. R1.105 Members shall recognize the contributions of others engaged in the planning, design, and construction of the physical environment and shall give them appropriate recognition and due credit for professional work and shall not maliciously injure or attempt to injure the reputation, prospects, practice, or employment position of those persons so engaged. Credit shall be given to the design firm of record for the use of all project documents, plans, photographs, sketches, reports, or other work products developed while under the management of the design firm of record. Use of others’ work for any purpose shall accurately specify the role of the individual in the execution of the design firm of record’s work. Commentary: Members representing views opposed to another Member’s views shall keep the discussion on an issue-oriented, professional level. R1.106 Members shall not mislead through advertising or other means existing or prospective clients about the result that can be achieved through use of the Member’s services or state that they can achieve results by means that violate the Code or the law. Commentary: So long as they are not misleading, advertisements in any medium are permitted by the Code. R1.107 Members shall not accept compensation for their services on a project from more than one party unless all parties agree to the circumstances in writing. R1.108 Members shall not misrepresent or knowingly permit the misrepresentation of their professional qualifications, capabilities, and experience to clients, employers, or the public or be a party to any exaggerated, misleading, deceptive, or false statements or claims by the firms, agencies, or organizations that employ them. Commentary: Members shall not take credit for work performed under the direction of a former employer beyond the limits of their personal involvement and shall give credit to the performing firm. Employers should give departing employees access to work that they performed, reproduced at cost, and a description of the employee’s involvement in the work should be noted on each product and acknowledged by the employer. R1.109 Members shall not reveal information obtained in the course of their professional activities that they have been asked to maintain in confidence or that could affect the interests of another adversely. Unique exceptions: to stop an act that creates harm; a significant risk to the public health, safety, and welfare that cannot otherwise be prevented; to establish claims or American Society of Landscape Architects Code of Professional Ethics Page 2 of 7

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defense on behalf of Members; or in order to comply with applicable law, regulations, or with the Code. R1.110 Members shall not copy or reproduce the copyrighted works of others without prior written approval by the author of the copyrighted work. R1.111 Members shall not seek to void awarded contracts for a specific scope of service held by another Member. Commentary: This shall not prohibit competition for the original or subsequent contracts or prohibit a client from employing several Members to provide the same scope of service. R1.112 Members shall not seek to obtain contracts, awards, or other financial gain relating to projects or programs for which they may be serving in an advisory or critical capacity. Commentary: This does not prevent a Member from seeking an award or contract for a project over which the Member has no influence or role in its selection, approval, or supervision or any other role that could constitute a conflict of interest. ES1.2 Members should seek to make full disclosure of relevant information to the clients, public, and other interested parties who rely on their advice and professional work product. R1.201 Members making public statements on landscape architectural issues shall disclose compensation other than fee and their role and any economic interest in a project. R1.202 Members shall make full disclosure during the solicitation and conduct of a project of the roles and professional status of all project team members and consultants, including professional degrees, state licenses, professional liability insurance coverage, and any other potential material limits to qualifications. R1.203 Members shall make full disclosure to the client or employer of any financial or other interest that bears on the service or project. R1.204 Members shall convey to their clients their capacity to produce the work, their availability during normal working hours, and their ability to provide other construction or supervisory services. ES1.3 Members should endeavor to protect the interests of their clients and the public through competent performance of their work and participate in continuing education, educational research, and development and dissemination of technical information relating to planning, design, construction, and management of the physical environment. R1.301 Members shall undertake to perform professional services only when education, training, or experience in the specific technical areas involved qualifies them, together with those persons whom they may engage as consultants.

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R1.302 Members shall not sign or seal drawings, specifications, reports, or other professional work for which they do not have direct professional knowledge or direct supervisory control. R1.303 Members shall continually seek to raise the standards of aesthetic, ecological, and cultural excellence through compliance with applicable state requirements for continuing professional education. R1.304 Public discussion of controversial projects and issues shall be conducted on a professional level and shall be based on issue-oriented, factual analysis.

Canon 2. Member Responsibilities ES2.1 Members should understand and endeavor to uphold the Ethical Standards of the ASLA Code of Environmental Ethics. ES2.2 Members should work to ensure that they, their employees or subordinates, and other Members adhere to the Code of Professional Ethics and the Constitution and Bylaws of the American Society of Landscape Architects. R2.201 Members having information that leads to a reasonable belief that another Member has committed a violation of the Code shall report such information. Commentary: Often a landscape architect can recognize that the behavior of another poses a serious question as to the otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional integrity. It is the duty of the professional to bring the matter to the attention of the ASLA Ethics Committee; which action, if done in good faith, is in some jurisdictions protected from libel or slander action. If in doubt, the Member reporting under this Rule should seek counsel prior to making such a report. R2.202 The seal or logo of the American Society of Landscape Architects shall be used only as specified in the ASLA Bylaws. R2.203 Members shall adhere to the specific, applicable terms of the ASLA Bylaws regarding use of references to ASLA membership. Members are encouraged to use the appropriate ASLA designation after their names. ES2.3 Members are encouraged to serve on elected or appointed boards, committees, or commissions dealing with the arts and environmental and land-use issues. R2.301 Members who are elected or appointed to review boards, committees, and commissions shall seek to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest and shall comply with local rules and policies with regard to conflict of interest. Members serving on such boards, committees, and commissions shall disqualify themselves in accordance with rules of ethics and this Code and shall not be present when discussion is held relative to an action in which they have an interest. A Member shall make full disclosure and request disqualification on any issue that could involve a potential conflict of interest.

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ASLA Code of Ethics Dialogue With Billy Almond Principal, Landscape Architect W.P.L Site Design I’ve been fortunate enough to have known and worked with Billy Almond for seven years now. Not only is he the Principal Landscape Architect at W.P.L. Site Design, but he’s also a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, holds licensure in multiple states, serves on numerous community boards, and has become a personal mentor in recent years. Billy is active with the Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture department and continues to show support and mentorship to current students, so it only made sense to interview him on the ASLA Code of Ethics. Upon first glance, the ASLA Code of Ethics looks pretty straightforward. The preamble outlines the basic goals and objectives and explains the difference between Ethical Standards and Rules. Understanding the difference between these two components is pretty critical: Ethical standards are general guidelines while rules are just that. I’m reminded of the ‘Do The Right Thing’ excerpt we read from the Pro Practice manual. In the chapter, the author discusses the difference between when an action is good vs bad, and when the same action is right vs wrong. It seems that Ethical standards fall into the ‘good vs bad’ category: its encouraged to be ‘good,’ but being ‘bad’ doesn’t really carry any consequence. The Code Rules are not so forgiving: following, or choosing not to follow a rule results in a definitive, even judgmental ‘right vs wrong’ verdict. In the event that an action is deemed ‘wrong,’ a complaint can be filed; if evidence suggests the complaint is valid, licensure and reputation are on the line. So, knowing that Billy is incredibly involved with W.P.L. and several Virginia Beach city / community boards, I was extremely curious to hear his thoughts and experience with potential conflict of interests in regards to this ASLA Ethical Code: ES2.3 Members are encouraged to serve on elected or appointed boards, com mittees, or commissions dealing with the arts and environmental and land-use issues. R2.301 Members who are elected or appointed to review boards, committees, and commissions shall seek to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of serge 35

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conflicts of interest and shall comply with local rules and policies with regard to conflict of interest. Members serving on such boards, committees, and commissions shall disqualify themselves in accordance with rules of ethics and this Code and shall not be present when discussion is held relative to an action in which they have an interest. A Member shall make full disclosure and request disqualification on any issue that could involve a potential conflict of interest. Will: So since you’ve been so involved with Business Development recently… involved with the new Marketing division of WPL, and serving on several city boards and committees…have you ever run into any instances where it’s been a conflict of interests for a particular job or situation? Billy: Yeah, the marketing position did not exist before I started at WPL. We decided we needed someone to market the firm and help us get jobs, and we’ve tried to structure it so that we blend the positions of Business Development manager, Marketing Coordinator, and Marketing Director. Kate acts as the marketing director…she’s in the office and out at the events meeting people. From there, we work together on figuring out the best way to really get our name out there. Will: I’ve always been curious about how this works…so we’re trying to actively get projects, trying to do the work, trying to get paid…have there ever been any situations where people think we’ve gotten a job only because you serve on a board or committee that may be involved in some aspect? Billy: I’m sure there may be people who think that to some degree. I believe that the world is run by the people who show up. If I commit thousands of hours a year to serve on a voluntary, non-paid board or commission…whatever comes out of that, I earned it. For instance, anytime we have a project that’s involved with the Resort Advisory Commission, and we give a presentation, I announce that I’m involved with WPL and we did work on the project. I won’t vote on any of the matters, and it’s always worked out for the best. Now, most of the conflict comes from working with the City. For example, we did work on 30th street down at the ocean front, for the city. Soon thereafter, we started work on Beach Center, which you’ve worked on, and know is right on 30th street too. We were doing both projects. So when the public project comes out to do the civil engineering for the roadways and utilities for Laskin Gateway. Kimley Horn and everyone else is going after it, and we were immediately put on Kimley Horns team as Landscape Architect. The city got all upset, saying ‘you can’t work for the developer and the city at the same time.” And I just asked why? ‘Well, there’s this perception that you would be representing the developer and the private side.’ And I remember having this conversation with the project manager, and I said “well, the whole reason you’re serge 36

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doing the road is to support the developer’s project…aren’t we working together on this?” Anyway, we ended up not on Kimley Horn’s team, but ended up supporting them throughout the whole project anyway. Should have just been on the team. So that was a conflict. Probably the greatest conflict of interests I’ve ever dealt with is The Cavalier. I found out, through a friend, that the developer, a good friend of mine, might be going for it, so I asked him about it. He said yeah, but he needed a Land Planner. So I called a land planner friend, he’s interested. So we’re already assembling this team to work on The Cavalier if/when it becomes a project. And that’s that. A couple weeks later, I’m on vacation, and get a call from the Mayor, also a good friend of mine. He asks me if I want to serve on The Cavalier Task Force. He wanted to put together some community leaders to facilitate the preservation of The Cavalier on the Hill. I say I’ll do it, of course. So I’m over here working for the developer, and on the other side with the city. I served on both. I’ll look anyone in the eye and say that I was able to have a role in the outcome of this project that ended up being positive, and I feel like it was the right thing to do. I was in the trenches, working and knowing about this project, so I was able to better guide and inform the Task Force on how to really preserve this property and show the city how it could be valuable. My belief was that as a Landscape Architect, I brought worth to the committee by getting them to focus on putting together an Incentive Package for the city, which ultimately helped both parties get what they wanted. And you’ll face this in your career…where is the line between Landscape Architect, as someone who can effect change and create something very positive… versus someone that “doesn’t wanna get involved in that, it’ll be a conflict of interests.”

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R1.108 Members shall not misrepresent or knowingly permit the misrepresentation of their professional qualifications, capabilities, and experience to clients, employers, or the public or be a party to any exaggerated, misleading, deceptive, or false statements or claims by the firms, agencies, or organizations that employ them.

Commentary: Members shall not take credit for work performed under the direction of a former employer beyond the limits of their personal involvement and shall give credit to the performing firm. Employers should give departing employees access to work that they performed, reproduced at cost, and a description of the employee’s involvement in the work should be noted on each product and acknowledged by the employer. As I read the commentary addition to this Rule, I suddenly recall an instance where I myself was confronted with an ethical dilemma. So I’ve been working for W.P.L. for several years. When I switched from Civil Engineering to Landscape Architecture, the firm was more than happy to take me on as an intern, and transferred me to the Landscape department. They paired me up with one of the senior designers at the time which I ended up working with. He was my first mentor, and I practically learned all of the technical basics of Landscape Design through him. There was one project in particular that we worked on together. It was a Parks and Recreation project in Virginia Beach: an organization wanted to work with the city to design and build a new Little League baseball complex. It was my first real project, and we worked through every aspect together: the baseball field sizes, layouts, parking and circulation, site amenities, the floodplain mitigation, basic grading, etc. We made the necessary documents and renderings, and I even got to go to the City Planning Commission meetings for this project. As an extremely young designer, it felt awesome being so involved in a real project, and I really took ownership of it. It felt like our project. Well, the following school break, when I was back with W.P.L, the company decided it was time to ask this mentor figure to leave W.P.L, and following ASLA Code standards, W.P.L. provided him with work samples with descriptions of his involvement. Clean and simple, right? A couple of months later, while I’m back at school, I got a message from my mentor figure. The conversation started simple enough, but quickly turned towards the main objective. My mentor figure was asking if I would be able to supply him with additional drawings of work from our Little League project with W.P.L. At first thought I didn’t see any problem with the request; clearly he just wanted records of all the work we had done. Then it hit me: my mentor was trying to manipulate me into sneaking around my coworkers and employers. I responded by saying I was unable to get him the drawings, but even if I could, I felt like the situation was a severe conflict of interests, and didn’t feel comfortable in the situation. I then serge 38

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said that if he still needed the drawings, that he would need to contact Billy Almond. After that, he understood that I wouldn’t willingly sneak around the firm: I did enjoy having a job, after all. When I returned to W.P.L, I informed Billy of the situation and how I had been conflicted. He reassured me that I did the right thing, and said if it happened again, to just let him know. When it comes to ethical performance and figuring out what’s right and what’s wrong, it serves well to know the Code of Ethics. It’s an extremely helpful guideline that’s been serving professionals for years. When confronted with a questionable situation, it’s usually best to follow your intuition: your gut feeling will usually steer you right.

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Natasha Krol Mauskapf - Design Thinking Thinker - Designer McKenzie Consulting

To be as direct as possible, Natasha is a total champ. While she may not be a practicing Architect, nor may she ever enter the Architectural profession, she’s quite possibly the best example of someone who utilizes Design Thinking to its fullest potential. Through McKenzie Consulting, Natasha gets to help others, be it individuals, corporations, or even international governments, define the questions and problems they’re looking to solve. She started her lecture by asking the group to do a simple exercise: go out, pick a block, walk around it three times, and make an observation. There were no further instructions. By leaving the assignment open to interpretation, she clearly and almost immediately illustrated how critical it is to understand and outline the question before throwing a solution at it. There were several topics throughout the lecture, but some of the main points that I distilled from it were: -How You Read and Present Data is More Important than What You’re Presenting This lesson was really driven home throughout CHICAGOSTUDIO. Each week would bring us closer and closer to the design that we wanted for our project. Regardless of the progress we made, how good or bad a design decision was, it all inevitably came down to the Friday Afternoon Reviews. That was our chance to show peers, mentors, and colleagues what we had produced and achieved throughout the weeks. The presentation was limited to a five minute digital showcase, so choosing the correct data and documents was extremely critical to make an intelligent supportive argument. It all comes back to the ability to story-tell and narrate. We, as designers, need to be able to formulate our ideas in a way that satisfies our design intent, is clear and concise, and remains engaging for the audience. It may be a good idea or design, but if it isn’t presented in a provocative, interesting, even catchy way, it could fall on deaf ears. As Natasha put it, “Our experience is a result of how we arrive in it.”

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-Talk: Use People as Resources The ability to thoroughly communicate is one of the most crucial skills humanity has developed: it’s what defines our complex social structures and is the mechanism by which we learn. Thus, communication is entirely engrained in our psyche as humans. That’s why I find it so interesting that so few people really utilize talking as a tool. Why pick up a phone and call a client or collaborator when you could just send a quick email, right? Sure, technology allows us to stream, upload, download, and instantly search for data, but there are certain things that are lost on technology: tone, inflection, attitude...all of the subtleties of the human voice that reinforce the message being said. Another big component to talking is the narrative and story -telling. That’s why site visits are so crucial to the Landscape Architecture profession. Not only do you start to get a physical understanding of the site, but it also affords the opportunity to meet locals, and hear their opinion. And sometimes, these people have the most relevant data needed. The human brain can be thought of as an infinitely complex organic database: communication allows us to tap directly into that database and extract the information that’s relevant to our needs. We’re social creatures that want to talk, so just do it. -Be Aware of What You Want to be Doing Too often, I’ve gone into a studio project with an idea: the goal is in mind, but there’s no decided path to navigate my way to that goal. Because of the lack of planning, time and effort are wasted in menial attempts to meet project goals and objectives. By simply laying out a strategic plan and schedule in the earlier phases of a project, it becomes much easier to accomplish set goals and complete scheduled tasks. This also brings up the importance of having an intellectual foundation in your design work. As designers, we constantly seek creative opportunities to solve realworld problems through professional practice. Essentially, concept becomes project, so it makes sense to really work towards a concept that unifies intent, practicality, and limitations. It also needs to be a concept you, as the designer, believe in. -Draw Your Box Before You Think Outside It This touches on a topic I’ve struggled with a bit throughout my Design education. We, as students, are encouraged to chase these huge design problems with the mindset that any and every creative outburst should be recognized, embraced, and rewarded. I’ve noticed, more often than not, that this mindset typically produces a design that is founded on arbitrary action, and ultimately lacks true depth. What’s lacking most of the time is a set of concrete guidelines and constraints, either inherent to the project or self-imposed, that start to shape the possibilities. serge 46

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often times said that any problem has a multitude of solutions. By crafting the constraints of a project, you work to actively define the problem while also filtering the type of designed solution to one that meets that definition. Problem and solution become intertwined and the relation becomes evident throughout the project.

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Paul Blanding - Hoerr Schaudt Tour Designer - Landscape Architect Hoerr Schaudt

While the Hoerr Schaudt tour wasn’t exactly a Pro-Practice lecture, I decided it deserves a place in my manual. Hoerr Shcaudt is one of Chicago’s premiere Landscape Architecture firms. They practice residential and commercial landscapes, with their work leaning towards the high-end custom design spectrum. One unique aspect to Hoerr Schaudt is their Construction Observation studio, which essentially functions like a design/build group, does a significant amount of field work, and was described as “the glue that binds” by the firm. Paul Blanding, a young designer with Hoerr Schaudt, gave us a presentation on some things Hoerr Schaudt, and Landscape Architecture for that matter, are all about. -Preventing Landscape from becoming secondary. On any project, there’s a firm that’s considered Prime Consultant: they’re the leaders that steer the sub-consultants and really drive the project. Now, more often than not, the Prime Consultant is an Architecture firm, who then subs out to whichever respective parties the project deems necessary. While this can contribute to a collaborative environment, sometimes it acts more like ‘task-doing’ for Landscape Architects: it’s difficult to feel a sincere connection to a project when all the lead parties want the Landscape Architect to do is “Brush It Up.” (i.e: throw plants on it, etc) It doesn’t have to be so secondary, though. If there’s one thing I learned in my time with CHICAGOSTUDIO, it would be the power of collaboration. As a Landscape Architect, I got to work with three extremely talented architecture students, in an architecture office with eight awesome architects. I probably learned more about design this semester than any other, but not because of any particular lesson or study: it’s because I got to ‘see the other side.’ I got to understand the background and philosophical upbringing of my architect team by working WITH them, instead of completing tasks FOR them. For instance: at Virginia Tech, the Architecture, Interior, and Industrial Design programs all share a quad on the academic side of campus. For whatever reason, Landscape Architecture is on its own, basically off campus. Now, while there are advantages to having a singular ‘Landscape’ studio, it also creates a feeling of

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isolationism. We’re so divorced from the rest of our Design College, that we don’t truly understand how each profession thinks. It’s typically worst between Landscape and Architects. All it takes is a conversation and some understanding. The future of design could be so much brighter with true collaboration. Multi-Scale Thinking One of the most advantageous things about studying Landscape Architecture is learning how to see the bigger picture. Often times, we work on large scale projects that cover hundreds of acres, and it’s our job to make sense of it all. We understand the analysis and planning that it takes to arrive at a unified concept. That concept can then be applied throughout the project as a means to show how contextually grounded the over-arching connections of the design are. We keep refining the concept until it becomes completely engrained in the design. The beautiful thing is that these ideas can carry over from large scale applications all the way down to the detail development. -Continuing the Tradition of Hand Drawing I had never picked up a pencil to draw before my first day of design school. Needless to say, it’s become a sort of habit. The critical thing about drawing isn’t creating a beautiful product that ‘wows’ a client. The real reason drawing is so engrained in our profession is that drawing actively reinforces and engages the design process while communicating it. The brain creates a thought or an idea. It needs to express this idea and realize it, so it sends the information and electrical impulses to your hands, which submit to the brains will and draw. Now, while the information is being transferred from brain to hands, and thus hands to paper, the information is also being translated from the paper. The eyes actively see what the hands are producing, and give the brain the opportunity to analyze, refine, and re-evaluate what is being made. Through drawing, a cycle is created that combines conception, analysis, synthesis, development, and production into a singular moment of cerebral enlightenment. Some refer to this moment as being ‘in the zone.’ Another interesting thing happens with drawing. Say there were two identical scenes: one hand drawn, the other computer generated. The designer produces both of these drawings and presents them to the client. Almost without fail, the client will prefer the hand drawn piece. Upon receiving the drawing and observing it, the mind relates to the hand drawn piece more, for it understands the humanity inherent to it. It understands the intentional strokes and textures, changes or mistakes, and appreciates the not-so-straight-lines because these are the things that ultimately bring life to a drawing. It’s for these reasons that we tend to attribute more value to a hand drawn piece; we’ll tend to think it more ‘artful.’

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In a short essay titled Nostalgia For The Real â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Or, Bad Is Good, author David Byrne states: Perfection, one must conclude, is not actually perfect at all. In fact, it is almost the complete opposite. Perfection is bad. But bad is good. But bad perfection is not good, only good bad is good. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all very simple.

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Geoff Walters - Sustainability Senior Designer CannonDesign

Geoff gave CHICAGOSTUDIO a lecture on the Technical aspects of the profession. While he covered a vast number of topics, the one that stuck with me the most was the discussion on sustainable design. Geoff spoke about how understanding the technical details of a building or a design can better inform the designer. This greater understanding can help lead the designer to make smarter decisions regarding how a detail actually functions. As he put it, building function plus performance equals sustainable design. The conversation started with Geoff bringing up Architecture 2030. In short, Architecture 2030 is a manifesto, initiated by Edward Mazria that projects a Net-0 energy built global community by the year 2030. The conversation is centered on reducing the dependence of the Built Sector on non-renewable energy consumption, effectively reducing greenhouse gases and slowing down climate change. Currently, the target for the built sector is a 70% reduction in fossil fuel consumption. From this, we started to understand why Architecture 2030 was so important. Around half of the global community lives in cities. These cities are full of big, bright buildings that need huge amounts of energy to afford the conveniences of modern living to their citizens. So how do we satisfy these needs? How do we ensure that the built sector is actually following this initiative? Geoff explained that most design projects are required to produce an Energy Strategy when substantial design is completed. That way, firms and contractors are aware of what the real-world energy implications are of their projects. He likened the transparency of Building Energy-Use to the ‘Nutrition Facts’ of a building: developers and tenants can see how a building performs, and decide if the selected building meets their standards. It’s actually a pretty brilliant way to really market sustainability and ‘green’ architecture. The entire discussion got me thinking about our semester project on The Gerber Building. We designed these two vertical farming towers that provide an agricultural service to Uptown, Chicago. Integral to the buildings is an intricate aquaponic system that harvests, cleanses, and recycles the water is used on site. Now, it’s a nice idea; our building was designed, and tested, to the point where we serge 51

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know it could exist and is a feasible option. I’m extremely curious to see how efficient our farm towers realistically are though. The main energy use from these towers would be the same as any other building: lighting and heating. Luckily, the entire design of the towers is to capture as much natural sunlight as possible. We proposed high efficiency L.E.D. lights to optimize plant production and growth, and these lights require significantly less energy than most other lights. Also, due to typical plant growth requirements, the towers wouldn’t need to be lit at all hours. There are plenty of opportunities to include solar harvesters throughout the project as well. When it comes to heating, the grow towers were designed with a double glass façade which provides extra insulation to the buildings. This will help to reduce the dependence on additional heating in the cold winter months. Otherwise, to ensure plant growth, the temperature inside the towers needs to be between 55 and 85 degrees. This is where the aquaponic system comes in. Essentially, water is pumped up to the top of the towers, where it is distributed and flows back down, providing the crops with nutrients along the way. Since gravity is the only force affecting the water flow throughout the towers, there may be some opportunity to harvest that force and generate electricity from it. Additionally, we may be able to reduce some of the tower ambient heat needs by heating the water before it’s pumped to the top. If the aquaponic system is designed to include a sort of thermally insulated growing medium, then we may be able to provide the plants with ample heat through the water. The system would act as a miniature ‘geothermal’ heating system. While there’s no real way to test the system and find out how well it would realistically perform, I’d like to think it approaches the 70% reduction benchmark set by Architecture 2030. We learned about the differences between open and closed loop systems, and this system was designed to act as a singular closed loop which, I’d like to believe, helps improve its performance.

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Adam Whipple and Laura Fischer - The Broadened Field of Architecture Design Thinkers

The most beneficial thing about going to a good design school is that we, as students, aren’t taught a specific skillset: we’re taught a way of thinking. By learning how to be adaptable, process-based problem solvers, we can apply Design Thinking to basically any problem. Our education and way of thinking deem us valuable to a growing range of fields, and finding ways to apply that thinking in the professional world is becoming increasingly easy. Adam Whipple and Laura Fischer spoke to CHICAGOSTUDIO about how we can utilize our education in ways other than strictly practicing in a firm. Both speakers studied Architecture in college, practiced for a brief period of time, and then went on to explore other fields. Adam Whipple went on to work in the Urban Design realm, and is currently an independent developer. Laura Fischer was more interested in the business aspect of Architecture, and became what is known as a Corporate Architect. Both shared extremely interesting stories, and some of the main points they covered were: -Strategic Design: Knowing how to market your ideas and designs -Design Thinking: the next competitive action -Solution Based Thinking: finding the problem before its solvable -Embracing what others know when you don’t -Knowing the value of the services you’re providing -Firm Culture: know what’s appropriate for the firm you’re working in But the thing that really got me thinking from this lecture was when Adam Whipple asked the class: “What am I good at? What do I want to do? Who do I want to be?”

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I started wondering what I could use my Landscape Architecture degree for. While chances are I’ll be a practicing Landscape Architect, I’ve always thought about exploring other design related interests. I’m really interested in the Design – Build field, and have always considered starting my own thing with it. I’ve explored some aspects of furniture design, and found it incredibly entertaining. I’m an extremely hands on person, so really anything where I’m active and presently engaged with a project would be personally gratifying. I have experience in the Landscape Maintenance field, so creating and applying a design-build approach to residential Landscape design would seem like a pretty reasonable fit. I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to explore for thesis lately. I’ve been a musician for most of my life, so I’ve always had a real understanding of sound, and have consistently used music as a creative outlet. In recent months, I’ve shifted my thinking from ‘writing songs’ to ‘designing sounds.’ This mentality shift helps one to understand and visualize the different possibilities that can be produced in the ‘sonic landscape.’ So, fine. I do the music thing, and I like sounds, but how can that become Landscape? How can I utilize my passions to create something that satisfies both thirsts? Why is sound typically overlooked in the design process? How can I utilize sound to drive a thesis project? While I’m still unsure, I’ve narrowed it down to a general topic: Sound-scaping and Acoustic Ecology. Wikipedia defines Acoustic Ecology as ‘studying the relationship, mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment.’ So we arrive at the beginning of an idea: everywhere has its own unique, audible footprint. This footprint consists of the sounds that are inherent to that area. These include naturally occurring sounds from the environment and native flora and fauna, sounds from humans and the built sector, etc. For example, Blacksburg will sound like Blacksburg and won’t sound the same as Chicago, and vice versa. Well, how can we harness these ambient sounds that are always happening, and use them in a way that amplifies or accents what is already occurring in these areas? I believe Sound-scaping can be used to improve the public realm and provide a more thorough understanding of the environmental and socio-cultural fabric of an area. This idea would eventually need to be explored through some sort of demonstrative installation piece that draws in public interaction. That is, if this idea progresses…to be determined.

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Peter Ellis - UT Brownsville Campus Masterplan Principle, Architect and Urban Designer CannonDesign

The one project I’m most excited about from my time in CHICAGOSTUDIO is the University of Brownsville, Texas Master Plan, designed by CannonDesign. The campus design may be one of the most fully integrated Landscape, Architecture, and Land Planning Master Plans to date in the United States. Cannon assembled an extremely talented team of designers for UT Brownsville to create the master plan. Of that team, Peter Ellis sat with CHICAGOSTUDIO to talk a bit about what makes UT Brownsville so unique. Ellis’ background is in Urban Design and Architecture; he used to run his own practice specifically on city design. He said that the design team believes that there should be no distinction between architectural and urban design, and aimed to design UT Brownsville in an extremely Urban Mindset: as a way to practice city design through a campus. Not only is the team designing the physical campus, but they’re also designing the virtual campus and defining the core curriculum for the University. By designing a campus and curriculum simultaneously, Cannon can make a more cohesive and integrated project. The Master Plan for UT Brownsville is extremely elegant, simple, and clever. Brownsville is a small town in Texas, located right on the Rio Grande and about twenty miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The thing that struck me the most was how integrated the environmental, social, and cultural factors were in this plan. The plan is laid out in conjunction with the existing city grid and urban fabric, but as it approaches the Rio Grande, the grid warps and conforms to the existing topography. Peter Ellis and the CannonDesign team thought of the “Landscape as Quilt,” and “designed the chessboard” accordingly. The campus aims to re-activate the Rio Grande’s Resaca and Tamaulipan environment. The Resacas are disconnected parts of the Rio that act as floodwater basins. By reactivating the Resacas, the campus hopes to apply water harvesting and filtration practices to the area. Bringing the Resacas back to life will help the xeric shrub-land ‘Tamaulipan Mezquital’ bioregion thrive once more, which is unique to the region. This ecological regeneration will support much of the wild flora and fauna that have dwindled in recent years. UT Brownsville creates a core curriculum based on these features. Several learning laboratories will thrust students into these environments and illustrate the importance of ecology and serge 55

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water management. The campus is entirely walkable, and all of the ped-ways throughout the campus are guided by the Resacas and reinforced with sustainable infrastructures. The ecological education UT Brownsville students receive is further reinforced by the campus they interact with. The physical campus is further rooted in sustainable and passive energy design. It’s based on Traditional Hispanic and Latin urban design practices. The architecture on campus reflects the surrounding Brownsville architecture. Additionally, the campus is laid out into ‘neighborhoods.’ Two things are achieved by designing a campus of neighborhoods: it gives each area its own, unique culture, style, and identity while also strategically dividing campus into smaller phases to make build out more achievable. To promote the walkable layout of campus, all buildings on campus were limited to three stories. By doing this, the campus becomes vertically walkable as well as regionally walkable. All of these design intentions and goals present in the UT Brownsville Master Plan have a singular aim: to create the first truly Net-0 energy consumption campus. Peter Ellis explained that solar and wind energy are the leaders in sustainable energy right now, and UT Brownsville incorporates energy harvesting interventions throughout the campus. While I don’t doubt that UT Brownsville will become an example of sustainable design done right, it makes me wonder how much better the entire town could be if they all adopted some of these practices. Peter Ellis believes that Net-0 design is more achievable at the regional scale than the site scale; I would agree with him. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

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Chip von Weise - Running an Office Owner, Architect von Weise Associates

Chip is archetypical Architect. I’m so thankful to have worked with him for the entire duration of CHICAGOSTUDIO. He’s one of the most philosophically and intellectually grounded people I’ve ever met, and probably will meet. The awesome, and often times daunting, thing about Chip is that everything he does is calculated and based in some level of truth, whether it’s a criticism he’s giving or a concept he’s explaining. The most important lesson he taught the Von Weise interns was his design methodology: go in with some inkling of an intellectual idea to explore, develop a concept that satisfies the client’s needs while still providing ample room to explore the idea, and then architecturalize the concept on every scale in every way. Chip would often tell us to “Be dumb and stupid” when it came to explaining and showing concept; the more straightforward you were, the easier it was to understand. It is probably for these reasons that Chip’s firm is so successful. Von Weise Associates is experiencing seemingly exponential growth: in the short semester, two new Architects were hired and the office was swamped with work. With such an energetic and productive office, it’s extremely critical to understand how an efficient project management system functions. Chip has been successfully practicing for almost two decades and decided to share his thoughts on Project Management and Running an Office. Chip started the discussion talking about how projects and jobs start in the office. Before work can even start on a project, there needs to be a period of planning and preparing for the office to receive the work. This period usually involves setting up a network file for the project, linking the project with a job number, and organizing the necessary files and folders to start work. Organizing and designing the job folder hierarchy, deciding on a consistent, logical file naming system are all crucial to enabling collaboration on a job in the office. From there, a proposal gets written that outlines the client’s goals and objectives along with the firm’s deliverables for the project.

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Once a project gets rolling in the office, it’s up to the project manager to ensure all tasks are being accomplished in a smooth, scheduled manor. Inter-office communication is key to an efficient workflow. If several co-workers are contributing to the same project, there needs to be a system in order to make sure all parties can work without interfering with each other, and even more importantly, without over-writing each other’s work. When questions arise, which they will, it’s important to accept that you might not have the answers. Never assume anything and keep moving. Strive to know the things you don’t know, and then find out; always be one step ahead of the game. At the same time, the designer needs to be the first source of information. If any contributing party has a question or an issue, they should feel confident in contacting the designer for some form of a solution. If the office can function as a singular unit, work output will remain high. One of the most important aspects of working in a firm is the relationship that is forged with the client. They are the party that brings the firm business, and once the project is over, the firm’s reputation lives through their opinions. They should be an active member of the design team; if their thoughts and opinions aren’t considered, then the design can only satisfy their needs so much. The team must listen to the client, and by doing so, the team must help lead the client. While the project progresses, the team must continue to communicate excitement and interest to the client. It’s important to realize that the project is, in a way, a piece of the client, and should be treated as such. The last point Chip really drove home was the need for open communication between project manager and workers. While a designer may only have a couple of projects they’re concentrating on, the project manager is typically juggling many more. The designer needs to actively help the project manager keep tabs on deadlines, budget constraints, and the project schedule. Both parties should be aware of deadlines and review submittals, together, before any material leaves the office.

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