AIA YAF Connection 20.02 - Career Evolution

This issue: Career evolution

Young architects are grappling with the rapid evolution of the design profession. See how they build personalized careers, spotlight alternate career paths, build mentorship pipelines, discuss firm culture, and more.

The architecture and design journal of the Young Architects Forum Connection 2022 IssueVol.Q22002

Connection2Connectionisthe

2022 - COF Representative Kate Schwennsen, AIA

2022 - Strategic Council Liaison Karen Lu, AIA

AIA Staff Liason Jonathan Tolbert, Assoc. AIA

official quarterly publication of the Young Architects Forum of AIA. This publication is created through the volunteer efforts of dedicated Young Architects Forum members. Copyright 2022 by The American Insititute of Architects. All rights reserved. Views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and not those of The American Institute of Architects. Copyright © of individual articles belongs to the author. All images permissions are obtained by or copyright of the author.

2021 - 2022 Communications Director Beresford Pratt, AIA

2021 - 2022 Advocacy Director Monica Blasko, AIA

Central States Malcolm Watkins, AIA Florida Caribbean Trevor Boyle AIA Northern California Olivia Asuncion, AIA Middle Atlantic Kathlyn Badlato, AIA New York Christopher Fagan, AIA Pennsylvania Anastasia Markiw, AIA Northwest and Pacific Brittany Porter, AIA Illinois Holly Harris, AIA Gulf States Kiara Luers, AIA New Jersey Matthew Pullorak, AIA

2022-2023

2022 Young Architects Forum Advisory Committee

2021 - 2022 Knowledge Director Jason Takeuchi, AIA

2022 Chair Jessica O’Donnell, AIA 2022 Vice Chair Matt Toddy, AIA

South Carolina Ryan Lewis, AIA North Carolina Shawna Mabie, AIA Kentucky Terry Zink, AIA Arizona Jordan Kravitz, AIA Texas Samantha Markham, AIA Virginia Carrie Parker, AIA Colorado Kaylyn Kirby, AIA West Virginia Meghann Gregory, AIA Georgia Laura Morton, AIA Indiana Ashley Thornberry, AIA Nevada Andrew Martin, AIA Ohio Seth Duke, AIA New Mexico Efren Lopez, AIA Utah Melissa Gaddis, AIA Connecticut Brian Baril, AIA

Rhode Island Bryan Buckley, AIA New Hampshire Nathaniel St. Jean, AIA Michigan Trent Schmitz, AIA

Young Architect Represntatives

2021 - 2022 Young Architect Regional Directors

2022 Past Chair Abi Brown, AIA

2022 - 2023 Community Director Sarah Woynicz-Sianozecki, AIA

2022 - 2023 Strategic Vision Director Kate Thuesen, AIA

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17 Career path stories: Navigating a large firm Malcolm Watkins

7 Proactive evolution or passive irrelevance?

Katrina Yin & Ed Han Myo Oo

Jessica O’Donnell

14 Design // development

22 ACE mentor & and career evolution: The evolution of ACE mentor Darius Johnson

25 Career path stories: From designer to partner Carrie Parker

38 Connection and Chill: Cocktails and streaming content for the casual consumer YAF Knowledge Group

5 Editor’s note

27 The in-between of fabrication and architecture Paige Russell

32 Career path stories: The practice of freelancing Carrie Parker & Malcolm Watkins

34 Job hunting and salary negotiation Saakshi Terway

11 Mergers & acquisitions: Understanding the process and navigating career trajectory after expansion

19 Architect license and expanding practice model: A conversation with Jeeyea Kim and Dorian Bybee Li Ren

Contents

6 When you thrive, we thrive Daniel S. Hart

21 Flying solo Katie Kangas

8 Career path stories: Starting your own firm Carrie Parker & Malcolm Watkins

30 Resilient, adaptive, and innovative: The next generation of architects Kelsey Jordan

36 Career evolution: Statistical insight on the 2022 YA Award Winners Katie Kangas

Laura Morton

Senior Editor

Bryan Buckley, AIA, NCARB Buckley is the studio director & business development director at Signal Work in Providence, Rhode Isalnd. He focuses his efforts on both internal and external growth and is the managing architect behind most of the firm’s K-12 and urban rehabilitation projects. He serves as a director-at-large for his local AIA chapter and is Rhode Island’s young architect representative..

Senior Editor

Pratt is a design manager and architect with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He co-leads multiple J.E.D.I based architecture pipeline initiatives with Baltimore, Maryland K-12 students. He is the AIA Young Architects Forum communications director.

Paige Russell, AIA Kelsey Jordan, AIA Saakshi Terway, Assoc. AIA Knowledge Focus Group Kaylyn Kirby, AIA Darguin Fortuna, AIA Ryan Lewis, AIA Kiara Gilmore, AIA Trent Schmitz, AIA Jason Takeuchi, AIA Terry Zink, AIA

Harris is a healthcare architect and planner at SmithGroup in Chicago, Illinois. She was selected for the Herman Miller Scholars Program for emerging professionals in Healthcare in 2019 and rec ognized as a Rising Star by HCD Magazine in 2021. She is the chair of the AIA Illinois Emerging Professionals Network and serves as the young architect regional director for Illinois.

Holly Harris, AIA, ASHE, LEED AP BD+C

Shawna Mabie, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP Mabie is a project manager and associate at Hanbury in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has taught at North Carolina State University and University of Arkansas Community Design Center. She currently serves as the young architect director on the AIA North Carolina Board and is the young architect representative for North Carolina.

Editorial4Connection team

Meghann Gregory, AIA, NCARB Gregory is a project manager and architect at oysk3 architects in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is the young architect representative for West Virginia and a member of the AIA West Virginia chapter. Her professional interests include adaptive reuse, urban planning, cus tom residential, and sustainable practices.

Matthew Pultorak, AIA, NCARB Pultorak is a Senior Planner/ Estimator for Rutgers Universi ty’s Planning Development and Design Team and Owner of Time Squared Architect, LLC in New Jersey. He currently serves as the young architect regional director for the region of New Jersey, Emerging Professionals Communities At-Large Director of Mentor ship, and AIA Jersey Shore’s president-elect.

Senior Editor

Contributors:

Editor-in-Chief

Beresford Pratt, AIA, NOMA

Senior Editor

Daniel S. Hart, FAIA Jessica O’Donnell, AIA Carrie Parker, AIA Malcolm Watkins, AIA Laura Morton, AIA Katrina Yin, AIA Ed Han Myo Oo Li Ren, AIA Katie Kangas, AIA Darius Johnson

Senior Editor

2022 Editorial Committee: Call for critics.interviewerscontributingvolunteers,writers,anddesign aia.beresford.pratt@gmail.comcontacttoyourIf(3–4articlescontributingResponsibilitiescirculatedamongstinterviewstargetedourportfolioinseekingeditorialConnection’scomitteeiscurrentlyarchitectsinterestedbuildingtheirwritingbyworkingwitheditorialteamtopursuearticletopicsandthatwillbesharedConnection’slargelye-magazineformat.includeoneormoreperpublicationcyclesperyear).youareinterestedinbuildingresumeandcontributingConnectionpleasetheeditorinchiefat:

I have often wondered how much betting on yourself, your career, and/or your practice requires a leap of faith. As someone who relishes high-level planning, I have come to embrace that meticulous plans and mission alignment are essential in taking the next step, however, all proceeding steps may not need to be clearly defined. Rather, that clarity is an evolving design process itself. If you’re considering exploring a new opportunity, I encourage you to embrace not knowing where it may lead you. You may find the thrill in the journey more so than the destination.

Q3 Call2022:forsubmissions on the topic of equity, diversity, and inclusion (E.D.I.)

paths the 2022 Young Architect Award winners experienced. We will also learn how firm mergers impact firm culture, how to job hunt and negotiate salaries, and how mentorship builds pipelines. Throughout, contributors grapple with how to manage the unknown as they step into new phases of their career and/or practice.

Editor’s Bettingnote: on yourself

In this issue, you will read about multiple career path stories of how nimble young architects rose to become firm leaders, freelanced their talents, navigated large firms, and built their practices. Alternatively, you will see through the unique lens of architects as developers, fabrication designers, and the diverse array of career

Vol. 20, Issue 02 20225

Career evolution looks at how young architects fabricate unique career paths, the evolution of practice, alternative career paths, and much more. In a future of vast uncertainty, embracing the unknown has become essential for professionals to adapt.

Almost a year ago to date, I made a challenging decision to leave an employee-owned private practice where I had built my career of almost eight years on. I was nothing short of restless when relinquishing the office culture, I became accustomed to and even participated in building. I had entrenched myself in various committees, specialized in project typologies, and forged some lasting and impactful relationships over those years. Venturing into an alternate career path in public service as a design manager, with limited working knowledge of the new culture and design process, was quite an adjustment. However, the nimbleness I carried proved to be an asset and quite a rewarding experience as I found myself acclimating quite quickly.

Submitted content is subject to editorial review and selected for publication in e-magazine format based on relevance to the theme of a particular issue

committeeEditorial call

Connection’s editorial comittee welcomes the submission of articles, projects, photography, and other design content.

When you thrive, we thrive

Weprofession.havebeen

The AIA’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan focuses on those two areas. We want to position architects as community leaders to drive wide scale adoption of practical design solutions that will rapidly address and mitigate the impact of climate change. We also want to eradicate racial and gender inequity within the built environment and

investing in programs and resources to support these goals and need your unique perspectives and experiences to enrich and hone them. Within our Framework for Design Excellence, we have programs and resources to help you design, construct, and evaluate projects holistically to achieve a zero-carbon, equitable, resilient, and healthy built environment. These include the 2030 Commitment and the Materials Pledge. We recently updated our Guide for Equitable Practice with a supplement on Justice in the Built Environment. Next to Lead is a pilot association leadership program that removes barriers to AIA leadership positions for ethnically diverse women.

While we are committed to reaching our sustainability and equity goals, we also remain committed to supporting architects at every stage of their careers, providing them with the tools and knowledge to lead the industry forward. But ideas are not enough — I invite you to collaborate with us to create change with action.

Daniel S. Hart, FAIA, PE Hart is the 2022 AIA president. He is the executive vice president of architecture and serves on the board of Parkhill. He was an adjunct instructor of architectural engineering at Texas Tech University and the founding president of the college’s Design Leadership Alliance.

It could be bringing these programs to your firms. It could be working toward a more supportive and inclusive culture within the profession by removing barriers and unconscious biases or creating a better work-life balance for everyone.

President’s6Connection message:

“...[We] remain committed to supporting architects at every stage of their careers, providing them with the tools and knowledge to lead the industry forward. But ideas are not enough — I invite you to collaborate with us to create change with action.”

As an architect, you do not and cannot operate in a vacuum. You are integral to the profession and your community. As young architects, your viewpoint is crucial to helping the profession acknowledge our shared challenges — equity and sustainability at the top of the list — so we can all find solutions and move forward to a more equitable and sustainable future.

Invite those around you to join your efforts. I will never forget those few mentors along the way who saw something in me I didn’t see in myself. They invited me to the work in the AIA in specific ways that aligned with my passions and expertise. Apart from them, I seriously doubt I would be an engaged AIA member today, much less president of the national organization. Who is it around you who just needs a nudge? However you choose to get involved or share your talents, we know that when you thrive, the profession thrives.

For our profession to fulfill its full potential to lead the change society seeks and needs, the next generations — you — need to be front and center as we look for ways to achieve the change we seek by using the power of design to create, promote, and advance the health, safety, and welfare of everyone, everywhere.

— Daniel S. Hart, FAIA

“Career evolution can also be small scale elements that shift your work schedule to align with other life priorities. It all comes down to the opportunities you create and the decisions you make.”

The topic of career evolution is fascinating to me. How do we as architects continue to grow our expertise and value within our profession? How do we adapt to new technologies and changing availability of raw materials? How do we break the cycle of “we are doing it this way because this is how we have always done things”? There is more to life than work, so how do we home in on what brings us joy as an individual and blend that into our work? How do we find a balance between family time and office time?

I took a traditional path to architecture and at first glance nothing stands out as evolutionary. Over the past decade since I graduated from college, I have worked in several traditional architectural firms. My volunteer involvement with several organizations has given me access to a multitude of different practice models, design typologies, unique perspectives, and some wonderful people. Everyone that I have connected with has influenced my personal career evolution. I have taken some career chances that were a little unnerving at the time, but I would not be where I am if I had not done so. Today, I

am a project architect, BIM manager, volunteer, horsebackrider, dog-mom, and hobby gardener. My current life balance energizes me to try new things, challenge the status quo at the office, and get the most out of my days. I am excited to see where things go from here!

Career evolution does not look the same for everyone and it is not a one-time thing. It can be large scale evolution such as coming from a non-traditional background in science or literature then going into architecture, or starting off in the architectural field after graduation and then moving on to a tech startup or a career in politics. Career evolution can also be small scale elements that shift your work schedule to align with other life priorities. It all comes down to the opportunities you create and the decisions you make.

Looking forward, my hope for the architectural profession is that we can collectively evolve to embrace what is considered nontraditional in 2022 so that it becomes commonplace in short order. Nontraditional paths to architecture, within architecture, and after architecture all bring value to our profession as a whole and the spaces we create.

Jessica M. O’Donnell, AIA O’Donnell is a project architect at Kitchen & Associates in Collingswood, N.J., where she specializes in multifamily housing. She is a 2022 AIA Young Architect Award winner and the 2022 chair of the YAF.

- Jessica M. O’Donnell, AIA

Looking back, two guiding elements stand out through my Broadenevolution:your horizons. Change is not easy, and it can even be downright scary. Change can also lead you to wonderful things you never imagined. Intentionally try something new — you never know what you will learn. Maybe this means asking to work on a different building typology at work or volunteering to become a mentor. Take that new job you were offered or start looking for opportunities within your office to expand your knowledge.

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YAF Chair’s Designmessage:for evolution

Pareto principle (80/20 rule). Many years ago, this was explained to me as “find a job where you spend 80% of your time doing what you enjoy and 20% of your time doing things you may dislike but need to do.” That is a loose translation of the actual principle, but its underlying message can be applied to many facets of life and business. Finding a work environment that enables you to be your best self is not always easy. Sometimes it comes with trial and moving on, while sometimes you need to create that environment yourself by starting your own firm.

Tull provided a large variety of experiences, and my superiors allowed me time to explore my interests in firm management and operations. I am forever thankful for that experience because it gave me a small taste of what running

Josh Kunkel, AIA Kunkel is the managing principal at Method Group in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and his firm focus on infill, adaptive-reuse, and interior design projects and have seven people across three states. He is president of the Kendall Whittier Main Street association and co-chair for programming for ULI Tulsa. Kunkel and his wife, Beth, have four sons, ages 3, 6, 7, and 9.

Carrie Parker (CP) and Malcolm Watkins (MW): Tell me a little about yourself.

My next firm, Crafton Tull, had been recruiting me for quite some time, so thankfully I was able to line up my next position with them on the phone in between trips to my car packing up my desk from being laid off. I truly had my next job lined up before I even told my wife! With the news of having just passed my last exam, I was able to step directly into a project architect

We know that everyone’s career path is different, and some are even non-traditional. Members of the YAF Strategic Vision Group, are offering our insights into how we got to where we are, paired with contributing authors. The contributing YAF members of this career path series are Malcolm Watkins and Carrie Parker.

Craftonrole.

— Josh Kunkel, AIA

CP and MW: How did you get to where you are now? Describe your path/career progression.

I always imagined that I would be a principal or a firm owner one day. My dad is a small-business owner, and I come from a family of entrepreneurs (farming).

JK: After deciding to be an architect in high school, I attended Oklahoma State University for my bachelor’s of architecture. Graduating in 2012, Tulsa had not yet fully recovered from the recession, and jobs were scarce. I luckily landed a job at Dewberry and was fortunate to work on some very large health care projects right out of school. It is important to note that the week after we graduated, we found out that my wife was pregnant with our first son Eli. Having children really helps provide focus on career trajectory, and soon after he was born, I decided to take my licensure path seriously.

“I realized that what many perceived to be a safety net (of working for someone else) really wasn’t a safety net at all.”

In true fashion, I knew I couldn’t go it alone in getting licensed

Starting your own firm

Career8Connection path stories:

It took me three years to get licensed, which I realize is accelerated, but by that time, we had the birth of our second son, Ethan, so I knew I had to get it done! Almost immediately after I passed my last ARE exam, I found out that I had been laid off from my current firm. This was the moment that really planted the seed in my head about starting a firm someday. I realized that what many perceived to be a safety net (of working for someone else) really wasn’t a safety net at all.

and studying, so with the help of an older colleague, we formed an AIA-sanctioned study group that over the next four years helped over 20 people get licensed, including myself. That is still probably one of my proudest accomplishments! During this time, I was asked to come work for Selser Schaefer, where I was able to work on a very popular grocery chain in Texas, HEB. They were a 50-person local architecture firm, and I was interested in getting varied experience.

CP and MW: Did you always want to do what you are doing JK:now?

Josh Kunkel (JK): I was the son of a residential contractor, so I grew up on job sites and always was creating things with K’Nex and Legos. It wasn’t until high school that I wanted to be an architect. I took a drafting class my junior year and fell in love with it. Up until then, I wanted to be a meteorologist but realized that probably wasn’t the path for me, and really it was more about the thrill of storm chasing!

my own firm would be like in the future. After being at the firm for a few years, I realized that I had a different vision of how I saw the architecture side of business going. (They only had two small offices of architects and were primarily an engineering firm.) I, along with my boss at the time, approached the senior leadership about spinning off the local office and taking all of our projects with us. Thankfully for us, they agreed!

JK: There have been many challenges and failures along the way, but three in particular come to mind. The first is when an experienced client mentioned to my senior project manager that I was maybe a little too confident and that I should say, “I don’t know the answer, and let me get back with you.” It was really difficult for me to hear at the moment, but that truly was an inflection point in my career, and I am thankful my client brought it to my attention.

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CP and MW: What have been some challenges and failures you have faced?

Thus began my path to firm ownership. So on June 1, 2018, we officially made the switch over to Method Group. Since we were an established office and brought work with us, we started with five people right out the gate. Four came from Crafton Tull, and the fifth was an interior designer who we had been wanting to hire for some time. Since I had the idea in the back of my mind for a while, I had been reading as many books as I could about running a firm, operations, etc. Most proved to be helpful, but I really didn’t start the real learning until we actually became a real firm with real expenses. For me, I had to jump out of the nest and try to fly.

Above Oklahoma Ironworks Building; an adaptive-reuse project in Tulsa, OK.

Four years later, we are seven people across three states. We have some amazing projects at all phases of the process, and our future projects are the most exciting we have ever had! Even with the roller coaster of it, I still enjoy being a firm owner and enjoy the challenges and opportunities that it brings. I am looking forward to our growth as a firm and working on larger projects.

I will be honest, it was not easy. We had a lot of assumptions that didn’t pan out, and time (and money) burns quicker than you think. Having good metrics and data in place is paramount, and in the beginning, we didn’t have it. (We do now.) And then

being a year-and-a-half-old firm going into COVID wasn’t fun either. Luckily for us, the federal government provided. Also, our clients at the time all said, “Keep going.”

JK: For the firm, next looks like growth. We have been actively working to “level up” our project sizes so that we can grow our team. Ideally, we are 15 people in the next two to three years and operating regionally/nationally within our niche of infill and adaptive-reuse projects.

For my family, it looks like stability. Our youngest is FINALLY potty trained, and so we are officially done with diapers! Which really means we are about ready to start planning a trip to

a poor hire I made. I had thought that since I knew this person well and that they were a low performer in another environment, that they could be a high performer on my team. I was completely wrong in my assessment. Later on, I realized that had we had our core values we have implemented in place then, this person would not have cleared “the bar.” So the lesson learned is that hiring someone is a serious commitment, but even more serious is knowing who you are as a firm, what you stand for, and more importantly what you don’t stand for. Firing this person was still one of the most difficult things I have had to do as a firm owner.

Related to that is that more firms should pick a niche and stick with it. Expertise in a few things is truly a blessing (and quite profitable). It may take you some time to figure it out, but go find

Malcolm Watkins, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP Watkins is a vice president with SJCF Architecture in Wichita, Kan. He serves on the management team with an emphasis on design technology, quality control, and recruitment. He is also the young architect regional director for the central states.

CP and MW: What advice do you have for others who may be interested in following the same path?

The10Connectionsecondwas

I am really excited about finally being able to take a trip internationally next year. We were planning on going to Europe in the winter of 2020, but that clearly didn’t happen. For this year specifically, I am looking forward to finally achieving my goal of reading 50 books in one year. I have had the goal for four years in a row now, but so far have only made it to 44 books. As of this writing, I am at 39 books!

JK: My advice is to figure out what you are really good at and focus on doing that. I was thankful to have a wide variety of experience at a full spectrum of firms, but once I finally discovered that speaking vision and being really passionate about firm culture/operations, I never looked back. It may take you five to 10 years of searching, but don’t let life happen to you by accident, be intentional about it!

Read a lot! All you need to know in life has been written down in a book somewhere, and all you need to do is find it!

Carrie Parker, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Parker is an associate vice president at Can nonDesign’s D.C. office. She is also the young architect representative for Virginia and won an Emerging Professional Award from AIA Virginia in 2020.

CP and MW: What is next for you?

The third is being a parent in this industry. Our industry, which starts in school, teaches you to work yourself to death. One, this doesn’t work, but two, it’s especially hard when you have a family. One of the drivers in starting my firm was to be able to undo that expectation for myself and now for others. I believed that great architecture could be achieved without working insane hours and paying the team fairly. So the firm has no office hours, we are fully remote in operation (most of us are hybrid by choice), and we pay our people fairly and treat them with respect. I am proud of the fact that the majority of my team are working moms, which means I am accomplishing one of the goals I set out to achieve. Our studio leader just came back from her second round of paid maternity leave! (We offer three months’ paid maternity leave at 60% salary for full-time employees.)

Also,it!READ.

Above Josh and his family

ForDisney.myself,

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in on a leadership track. So, when S&W’s shareholders were confronted with voting in favor of this acquisition, I (among others) had concerns on what it would mean to become a small fish in a big pond.

Above SSOE’s ProMedica Wildwood

As an architect in a midsize, multidisciplinary firm in the Southeast, I experienced the acquisition process firsthand at the beginning of 2021. Our firm of about 120 people between two states was acquired by a large, corporate A/E firm headquartered in the Midwest that had over 1,000 employees between three countries. I had spent nearly a decade at Stevens & Wilkinson (S&W) when this occurred, working my way from intern to associate to shareholder in that tenure. I

It is a common news headline in our architecture circles these days — “Firm X has acquired Y Group” — which is followed by an internal dialogue wondering whether the company we are working for will be next, on either side of that transaction. Will our smaller firm undergo a merger, which is when two similarsized companies combine forces to become a new entity? Or will it be an acquisition, in which a larger company procures a smaller one, often for market gains or shareholder value? In the architecture industry, we are typically looking at an acquisition, and depending what company you are working for, there is a good chance you will end up on one side of this transaction in your career. As of a 2015 merger and acquisition survey of A/E/P and Environmental Consulting firms by Zweig Group, 78% of architecture and interiors firms indicated their five-year plans included a merger or acquisition for strategic purposes1 In one week in April 2022, there was an average of 13 merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions throughout the domestic U.S. architecture and engineering market2. By July, a single M&A advisory company, AEC Advisors, had closed 60 deals in the past three years3. Those five-year-plan targets are clearly tracking, so it is probably a matter of when, not if, we will each experience this in our careers.

Understanding the process and navigating career trajectory after expansionwasdedicatedandlocked

SSOE Group is what is known as a “Big-E, Little-A” firm, meaning it is still multidisciplinary but is more well-known for engineering and industrial projects. In M&As, there are several reasons that a firm or company may seek to buy another or, on the flip side, that a firm may decide to sell. Having a need to fill is often the primary driver. In the case of SSOE, they were looking to expand their architecture brand, and Stevens & Wilkinson was looking to address gaps in succession planning. Both parties were also looking for growth. Growth is not only related to markets and projects, but also to revenue and stock price. In a privately owned company, stock is based on a formula, and to continue to grow the stock value, the company profits need to grow. The percentage of organic growth can be difficult to maintain as a firm grows larger, and subject to outside factors like inflation and recessions. As a result, many firms, including SSOE, begin to shift to M&A as their primary growth vehicle. In the case of Stevens & Wilkinson’s acquisition, our brand of “smart design solutions” allowed SSOE to market our work when pursuing corporate and commercial projects with their long-standing industrial clients. This synergy led to new project opportunities within the first year — opportunities neither firm could have landed on its own.

These are examples of each firm’s work before the acquisition, and why both companies saw value in combining talents to market new opportunities in various sectors.

Above Stevens & Wilkinson’s Clemson University

Mergers and acquisitions:

Hurner has more than 20 years of experience in the AEC industry. As SSOE’s vice president of Corporate Development, she oversees and integrates organic and inorganic growth functions, including M&A, marketing, and business development. This includes direct oversight of SSOE’s acquisition strategy.

banks to help market their company to potential buyers and drive transactions to a successful close.

The timeline of a deal can vary depending on the circumstances, but once a firm has been identified and there is mutual interest from both parties, there are generally several rounds of meetings, information exchanges, reviews of financials/valuations, and the appropriate approvals before a “letter of intent” is submitted. At a high level, this outlines the purchase terms including the intended price and how it will be paid out (often a mix of cash, stock, and earn-outs). Then begins the due-diligence phase(s) and work toward structuring the deal. The two companies ultimately come together with a purchase agreement.

Betsy Hurner

As stated previously, the M&A market is hot right now, which has led to some firms overestimating their value, and asking

12Connection

Above SSOE flowchart illustrating a typical acquisition process

In an interview with Betsy Hurner, vice president of Corporate Development at SSOE Group, she elaborated on the M&A process at a large A/E corporation. Every company will be unique, but the general principles are the same — identify the opportunities and constraints to growth, then develop a profile of a firm that will address those constraints. Criteria generally include markets served, location, disciplines, and size of company to seek. The process can start in a variety of ways. Companies will often engage outside advisory services for either side of a transaction. Strategic acquirers will often engage a buy-side advisor to search for companies they can acquire or invest in, as well as to assess the value of potential deals. A buy-side M&A advisor will contact several companies meeting the acquiring firm’s acquisition criteria, often including companies that aren’t actively for sale. On the other side of the transaction, firms looking to transition ownership or liquidate their equity will often retain sell-side brokers or investment

With a better understanding of the M&A process and transition, how can a dedicated employee from an acquired firm, committed to leadership aspirations, not lose positioning as a “new” employee in the acquiring firm? It starts before the M&A process ever does. Show interest in company share ownership,

FOOTNOTES: 1

A selling firm is going to be most focused on protecting its remaining leadership, shareholders (as applicable), and overall employee talent. The value proposition matters. Before closing on any deal, both firms should understand the synergies driving the transaction because the real value from an acquisition comes from opportunities the firms can pursue jointly that they could not pursue separately. A business plan should be developed to guide the joint firm in pursuing and optimizing these opportunities. Just as important is the ability to retain talent following the acquisition. It costs a firm anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 per person when there is employee turnover, so that can quickly add up and make the acquiring firm’s investment even greater or hurt the acquired firm’s performance metrics that were negotiated. Early conversations with HR regarding salary and/or title changes are important to mitigate turnover. A critical aspect of a successful acquisition is making sure expectations are managed in both companies. Our Chairman at S&W had individual conversations with all shareholders and described the inner workings of how and why they were considering this acquisition. We had imminent retirements that were going to leave voids in leadership, and the growth opportunities provided by SSOE (in addition to the benefits) eased our concerns, and we voted to move forward. What would the next chapters really look like?

- Betsy Hurner

Laura Morton, AIA, NCARB Morton is a senior associate and senior archi tect at SSOE | Stevens & Wilkinson in Atlanta. She is the young architect representative for Georgia and serves as the AIA Atlanta board secretary.

“Each firm must make sure the other is aware of its capabilities and existing client relationships to properly leverage them.”

prices may not be realistic. For that reason, EBITDA — or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization — is used to properly benchmark a company because it is a more precise measure of performance based on a company’s trending profitability and is used to compare companies against one another or industry averages4 . The AEC market is still seeing a 15% to 30% increase in firm valuation over the past 18 months3 when factoring in these more precise metrics.

if available, and purchase it when offered. Exercise your voice when it comes to the company — your concerns, accolades, critiques — because this indicates your professional investment is more than just a salary. If you establish this before an M&A scenario, your firm’s leadership will go to bat for you. In the new firm, communication is key. Each firm must make sure the other is aware of its capabilities and existing client relationships to properly leverage them; young leaders looking to move up within the new organization should lead the way on these communications. Engage yourself in business planning between the joint firms. Share how you’ve done things, but also be open to new ways of doing things. Be proactive with the new firm’s account managers and ask to come along on meetings to introduce the value you bring to the new firm’s clients. Make strides to engage with leadership and stand out through your efforts in the organization, but also in the greater industry with professional organizations, networking events, leadership development programs, conferences, etc. Adapting to a new culture can be challenging, but there is also opportunity to influence culture shifts. When you are moving up the leadership pipeline in a firm, adjusting to an acquisition can be challenging. However, the sooner you begin thinking of yourself as a leader and acting as such in the combined organization, the more successful the transaction will be, and the better you will be positioned to grow. Acquisitions can bring new opportunities, and the choice is yours to choose a growth mindset that focuses on this opportunity rather than dwelling on what could have been.

43acquisition-update-april-15-2022/2acquisitions_oof-architecture-firms-are-considering-mergers-and-https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/a-majority-https://www.csemag.com/articles/weekly-merger-and-AECAdvisorspresentationtoSSOEGrouphttps://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ebitda.asp

Vol. 20, Issue 02 202213

Ed Han Myo Oo

What does a career in design management look like? How does it differ from your experience in an architecture firm?

Yin is a design manager at JDS Development Group in New York, NY. She is a licensed real estate salesperson in the state of New York and a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture. She was involved in the design and execution of 100 Flatbush, an all-electric residential tower, and sales at 168 Plymouth, an adaptive-reuse condominium in Dumbo.

Ed Han Myo Oo (EHMO): The analogy I often use when explaining what I do to peers is that I feel like after joining a consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG, or Bain, and sampling different roles at different companies, I decided to work for one full-time. You bring your expertise in-house with you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your company stops hiring other consultants to tackle different goals and issues — you are just in the position now to do something with all the reports and solutions they provide to you. It also doesn’t mean that you stopped consulting for the firm — you consult on a longer time horizon and have to own the suggestions and research you put

What, if anything, surprised you in your transition from architecture to real estate development?

forth. In that sense, you are not just designing but executing and implementing, as well.

Once I had that realization, I felt a lot more assured about where I was coming from — that I hadn’t missed the oppor tunity to contribute and translate my skills and interests into development. These firms have to solve complex problems at every level to facilitate a successful project, and design was a specific role I could fully own with the skills I had from being an architect. In fact, in some ways, developers do what I always thought was the work of the architect — to be a conductor in an orchestra of different players and parts to realize a building project. At the end of the day, there’s room in the development cycle to carve out your niche, whether it be design, marketing, sales, construction, or property management.

Ed Han Myo Oo is a senior associate of design at SHVO in New York, NY, where he manages the Mandarin Oriental Residences Fifth Avenue, 711 Fifth Avenue, 530 Broadway, and 333 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Katrina Yin (KY): One common misconception people tend to have about in-house architecture roles is the idea that you no longer get to practice architecture. I would say that the focus of practice shifts heavily towards practice management and project management — evaluating scope gaps and planning to wards outside deliverables for project stakeholders — while still staying firmly within the bounds of the architectural discipline. In my experience, I’ve found that in-house designers tend to stay engaged with their projects over much longer timespans. The level of engagement will differ from office to office, but you can plan on being staffed on pre-development and post-occu pancy projects, in addition to the normal project phases we’re used to seeing in traditional architecture.

Design14Connection // development

Katrina Yin, AIA

Their discussion touches on a variety of topics, including learn ing how to manage the practice of architecture in real estate development and their experiences transitioning to in-house design management roles.

KY: That’s a really fitting example! I agree fully and would even argue that we are more engaged in the act of design than ever before. I’d like to think that we are a complement to our archi tects and consultants — mediating the gaps between them and communicating the owner’s intent in ways that are constructive to the design process.

EHMO: Before I transitioned into my current role, I had as sumed that there was a prescribed path for real estate develop ment. What came as a surprise to me was actually the variety of specialty backgrounds that are represented in a development firm. Many successful developers and colleagues I admire came from successful careers doing something else — lawyers, architects, brokers, construction managers .

KY: Something that I never fully appreciated until I started working client-side was the tremendous diversity in methods of practice that exist in architecture today. When we were in school, we were taught to look at aesthetics, geographical area of practice, scale of projects, etc., when evaluating firms. Once I had the privilege of engaging these firms, it became clear that there’s an even greater diversity of practice that lies in the way each firm approaches (even the most mundane aspects

of) their work — an overlay that is rarely talked about in school since we spend so much time heroicizing the napkin-sketch “Eureka!” moment.

KY: I suppose, in addition to the point you’ve made about real estate development being complex enough to require people with all professional skill sets, I would also say that something surprising about my transition was the extent to which you can add value even if all you have is just the innate ability of the architect to hold the image of the project in your head. Being able to anticipate land-use challenges, possible design opportunities, giving volume and unit counts for the purposes of very broad-stroke underwriting — long before numbers start firming up into a real project, it has to first live in your head to take seed as a realistic endeavor.

How has this role changed the way you perceive architec ture or real estate development?

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KY: Getting to see how people at other firms work and cher ry-picking their best practices is one of my biggest joys. I say this unironically: I have learned so much about how an office responds to emails and RFIs. How they organize and obsess over certain material samples. What vendor relationships they’ve fostered to create custom details over the years. It’s a real privilege to sit through these design presentations and truly enjoy the diversity of practice that exists today. Project delivery methods, drawing standards probably sound downright tedious to a fresh graduate, but there are some really thought ful firms out there that deserve much more appreciation from the community for pushing the profession forward in their own ways.

EHMO: Surprisingly, most people at development companies don’t have that ability to imagine. It’s a unique and necessary skill set that we bring to the table.

Above Katrina and Ed on a scouting trip

EHMO: To that point, it is really only on the ownership side that you get exposure to that diversity of practice. At SHVO, I’ve worked with designers ranging from Peter Marino Archi tect to Snarkitecture and gotten the privilege to see Foster + Partners’ work on the iconic Transamerica Pyramid Tower in San Francisco, and I think to myself — I would not even be at this meeting or at the decision-making table if I were working for any single one of these design firms, much less be part of all of them.

We’ve all blamed the client for picking the less appealing design option or having to VE a masterfully detailed compo nent out of the project. It’s easy to villainize someone you see as having more agency who is making what seems to be the wrong choices. All the while, your counterpart on the develop ment team is trying to understand how they could ever under write all that gorgeous poche space into the drywall budget. It would help if we could all take a step back and let go of easy scapegoats and understand the benefits we can extend to each other in a true partnership.

What advice would you give someone who is interested in learning more about a career in development?

Katrina Yin, AIA Yin is a design manager at JDS Development Group in New York, NY. She is a licensed real estate salesperson in the state of New York and a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture.

EHMO: Yes! Joining building tours, going to lectures, com munity board meetings, staying abreast of the news — a lot of this information is all public. Definitely a matter of taking the initiative to read up on research and staying informed.

KY: Absolutely! I have such a different level of appreciation now for site visits and celebrating each painfully wrought win with our designers. It’s certainly something I took for granted when we were young designers and shielded from the tough realities of construction tolerances and budget woes.

EHMO: The short answer — developers just need to hire more people like us.

low to get into design management. Long story short: Don’t be afraid of showing up to a coffee chat with “dumb questions.”

EHMO: Yes, building relationships with designers and vendors is a real perk of our jobs. You and I have gone to several show rooms and toured new developments together, like that time Steven Harris gave us a personal tour of 109 East 79th Street.

KY: Another thing to remember is that the people you are reaching out to have a position that naturally lends itself to show and tell. A programmer or analyst would be hard pressed to show you raw data and source code. Real estate is by com parison a very transparent industry in many ways. There are offering plans available online and Department of Buildings (DOB) permits you can pull up on any old project you pass on the street. If you happen to admire the work of a specific developer in your city, chances are you could find someone from their development team who is more than happy to tour you around and trade war stories. There’s a very small portion of how the cake gets baked that is wholly proprietary, but oth erwise you can really learn so much about the larger develop ment landscape just by doing your homework and speaking to a handful of people.

Above Katrina on a pre-closing unit walkthrough

KY: Agree — it surprised me to learn how friendly and support ive people are in the world of real estate. We happen to run in the same circles here in New York City, and it can feel like a really tight, insular group from the outside looking in. As you’ve said, Ed, there is no set professional track that you have to fol

Ed Han Myo Oo Han Myo Oo is a senior associate of design at SHVO in New York, NY. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

16Connection

EHMO: If you’re interested in architecture and design roles on the client side, it can be difficult to gain exposure to it since it’s still a very niche role. On the other hand, this contributes to a really tight-knit community of people who are ready and willing to reach across the aisle and help you make that same transition. It’s been my personal experience that a lot of senior leadership folk from design backgrounds enjoy teaching and will actively set aside the time to mentor or take a phone call.

Having sat on both sides of the table, what are some ways you think the client-architect relationship could be im KY:proved?

CP: I am now an associate vice president at CannonDesign in the Washington, D.C., office. When I started, I was the office renderer, educating my colleagues in a design process in formed by renderings, as opposed to only including them as a final deliverable. I was open with my bosses and told them of my goals to become licensed as soon as possible. When the time was right, I was added to project teams that provided the experience I needed to fulfill my AXP. The projects I was part of and managed continued to scale up, all the while asking for more responsibility, asking the tough questions, and in some cases asking for forgiveness and not permission.

Vol. 20, Issue 02 202217

Carrie Parker (CP): If you ask my parents, they knew I was always going to be an architect. As an only child of an engineer and interior designer, I can think like each of them. I was one of those children who loved building with anything I could: Legos, Lincoln Logs, sticks and rocks. When I started thinking about careers, I wanted something that would leverage my talents in math, science, and art. I didn’t know it at the time, but it has also been important for me to have an opportunity to serve others and my community through my profession. I started considering architecture as my calling in the ninth grade and had my first internship at HKS Inc. in Dallas the summer after 11th Whilegrade.atthis

Throughout my tenure, I have been the person wearing many hats for office functions, the first to volunteer to organize events and pursue engagement opportunities with the profes sion at large. This has led to a unique and varied network, each with their own opportunities to improve my skills and visibility.

It was purely by accident that I became a subject-matter expert in student life and student unions. The projects I worked on during my initial growth fell into this category. Now I am all-in as a recognized expert in the field, creating content and articles, participating in client conferences, and collaborating on project pursuits across the firm. I believe my tenure has helped shape me in this role; by having so much of my portfolio

When I graduated, I moved to Washington, D.C. Again, I leveraged the alumni network and found the firm I have been working at for almost 10 years; navigating a large firm has become my career path.

Carrie Parker, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

Career path stories: Navigating a large firm

“Knowing that I am a future leader and firm owner has led [the firm] to investing in my growth. The best bosses and firms know that their employees are the future.”

MW: Did you always want to do what you are doing now?

Parker is an associate vice president at CannonDesign’s D.C. office, filling the roles of student life/student union subject-matter expert, client leader, and project manager. She is serving as the young architect representative for Virginia and as an architect-representative on the AIA Manufacturers Council. She is also a co-chair for the Buildings and Urban Design Solutions group with the Washington Board of Trade’s Connected DMV initiative. She was awarded an Emerging Professional Award from AIA Virginia in 2020.

We know that everyone’s career path is different, and some are even non-traditional. Members of the YAF Strategic Vision Group, are offering our insights into how we got to where we are, paired with contributing authors. The contributing YAF members of this career path series are Malcolm Watkins and Carrie Parker.

MW: How did you get to where you are now?

firm. I have always preferred the path of working my way up in an already established firm that is diversified and positioned to weather economic downturns that frequently plague this profession.

— Carrie Parker, AIA

CP: When I was a new graduate, I knew I wanted to work at a firm that supported my professional and licensure goals; that usually means a larger firm who has the resources to invest in their people. But I’ve always been a little risk-averse and didn’t want the liability and financial risk of starting my own

Malcolm Watkins (MW): Tell me a little about yourself.

internship, a principal recommended I apply to Oklahoma State University. Though initially skeptical, I fell in love with the campus community the minute I visited. I had also done considerable research and wanted a five-year B.Arch degree within a day’s drive of home that would give me the flexibility to get my architectural license and freedom to get advanced degrees in something else should I desire.

GUT. If it’s not the right fit, if the culture is not supportive, if you are not comfortable … or many other reasons: Leave. Your company needs to work for you as much as you work for them. Don’t be afraid to make a change, or at the very least have a tough conversation.

SOMETIMES THE GRASS ISN’T GREENER. Sometimes the impact on your career in forging lasting relationships and investing in the evolution of a firm you want to have ownership in is better than bouncing between firms every few years. You’ll have to balance the pros and cons of staying vs. pursuing new

MW: What advice do you have for others who may be inter ested in following the same path?

CP: I am looking forward to continuing my personal and professional growth. There is a reason it is called the “prac tice” of architecture — it takes work, and I am forever learning, advancing, failing, and succeeding. My priorities may change with my life stage, but I will always be an architect drawn to serve others.

not last more than a few months. You may need to re-frame your perspective, goals, and timeline. But when those opportu nities arise, do not be afraid to …

MW: What is next for you?

Above Groundbreaking ceremony at the University of South Florida’s Student Wellness Center

BE PATIENT. I don’t mean this like “wait your turn.” I mean it more in terms of knowing how your firm/office pursues and performs work and working within those constraints. It can take YEARS to turn over projects, whereas college projects do

BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE. Be the squeaky wheel. Be a self-promoter. If you don’t, no one else will. You need to do this first and communicate your goals with your bosses/team so that when opportunities arise and you are not at the table, someone is in your corner to say, “I think that person would be good for that role/task.” Just be sure to have a good attitude and BE HUMBLE when asking — you may turn advocates against you if you only complain.

CP: SAY YES to any opportunity that will let you learn a new skill, increase the size of your network, or make yourself a more indispensable employee. What took me a long time to learn is that IT IS ALSO OKAY TO SAY NO when there may be a nega tive impact on your time or mental health.

Malcolm Watkins, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP Watkins is a vice president with SJCF Architecture in Wichita, Kan. He serves on the management team with an emphasis on design technology, quality control, and recruitment. He is also the young architect representative for the central states.

current firm, it positioned us more strongly to win more similar projects.

TRUSTopportunities.YOUR

MW: What have been some challenges and failures you have faced?

reflective18Connectionofmy

Above Meeting with the AIA Manufacturer’s Council

I can’t stress this enough — the reason I have stayed so long at the same firm is because I have had great bosses who have recognized my potential and given me opportunities to fail and succeed. My firm and office culture is collaborative, supportive, and values mentorship at all levels. Because I have been here so long, I have forged lasting relationships with people who want the best for me and for the firm. Knowing that I am a future leader and firm owner has led to investing in my growth. The best bosses and firms know that their employees are the future.

CP: I spent my whole academic career overworked and overcommitted. But I emerged with a strong portfolio, lengthy résumé, and high GPA. So I became very task-oriented in my vision of what success looked like because everything had a deadline (end of semester, graduation). Since working, and especially since becoming licensed, I have had to completely change my frame of mind because now the schedule is on my terms and how I want to live my life. Learning to say no, understanding where I place value in how I spend my time, and defining what “success” looks like to me are still challenges I am learning to navigate.

Li Ren (LR): What benefit results from an architectural license for your career and practice?

Architect license and expanding practice model:

Kim’s work experience has involved many projects, including art installations, product design, residential design, office headquarters, cultural centers, museums, and urban design. As a lecturer, she joined the interior design program at Indiana University in 2014. She started teaching at the J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program of the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design as an assistant professor in 2019.

Bybee’s professional experience has included health care projects, schools, high-end residential work, and large-scale mixed-use projects. Most recently, he has focused on R&D and cutting-edge digital fabrication using Indiana limestone. He teaches as a lecturer at the Interior Design Program of the Eskenazi School at Indiana University.

Jeeyea Kim (JK): I was part of the interior design accredita tion process when I was teaching at Indiana University. I found it is critical for the faculty to have a license for teaching, and it

W. Dorian Bybee, Assoc. AIA, NCIDQ

Vol. 20, Issue 02 202219

Above un(bespoke), a modular table accessory that can be arranged in a variety of formations.

W. Dorian Bybee (DB): First, neither of us is yet licensed, which you know puts us in a precarious position of discussing this. But it’s because we are not licensed that we were interest ed in participating in this conversation. After all, we recognize how important it is. For both of us, part of our path towards licensure has included periods of our life where we were not interested, and our role models were not licensed. Those roles we saw were practicing international projects, doing a lot of competitions, and not necessarily building things, and licensure was not their priority. Now I understand how important it is for all the reasons, and I am interested in managing our practice as academic plus art. Sometimes, I need to use my Assoc. AIA designation to prove my experience. Licensure is one reason clients can put their trust in us because being licensed is a nationally recognized credential.

A conversation with Jeeyea Kim and Dorian Bybee

Jeeyea Kim, Assistant Professor

How do the core values of the diverse architecture experience and AIA credentials support future careers and industry possi bilities? Regarding those questions, I talked with two design ers exploring alternative practice models to discuss the core values of architecture education/training and how the licensing process benefits candidates. The conversation centered on how professional licensure produced by the current path provides a strong foundation for the potential future directions of practice.

LR: What types of challenges may be encountered with the current licensure process?

Above Between Imitation and Arbitration, research project aimed to identify a distinct material culture significance

Above FMRL - Ephemeral Permanence, modular limestone wall panel system

Li Ren, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C Ren is a licensed architect in the District of Columbia with a LEED Accredited Professional. Li serves as a board member/Director-at-Large in the AIA Washington Chapter, affiliate faculty at the Virginia Tech WAAC, and an active member of the NCARB Examination Committee.

DB: I think it is critical here to not just complain or point out the problem of the traditional linear career path, that you must work in the conventional architectural firm, fill your AXP and pass the exam, and understand the whole process of architec

JK: When I graduated, the Great Recession made me practice internationally and I did many projects in Asia. For those inter national projects, I had to stop the design at the DD phase and give the rest of the work to the local design institute, which lim its the chance to touch CD and CA work. The challenge is that I had to go to Asia to find a job in an international firm when I graduated, and now I want to come back to be a local architect in Indiana. The significant difference in life and work frustrates me and brings a lot of challenges to pursue my license.

tural service. The current AXP portfolio could be described as a reasonably non-linear path. It allowed me to put in a highly diverse portfolio of work from different industries and com panies I have worked for from multiple sides of the planet. So I think the direction that AIA and NCARB are going is to encourage diverse practice, skills, and career opportunities. A joke I shared with my students is “to be a politician. We need more politicians who can think creatively, who have that kind of design thinking.”

20Connection

LR: What refinements could we implement to assist the advo cacy and advisement of future architectural license candidates?

JK: I would encourage my students to consider doing work dif ferently from what they were getting from their mentors when they were in school or the firm. Many students and young de signers follow their mentor or supervisor’s perception of the ca reer path and limit their choice. I would encourage the license candidate to explore other possibilities and take advantage of the architect license and AIA credential as a tool to learn about this industry and figure out your practice model.

DB: I always tell my students to start their licensure as early as possible even though they are not sure what they would like to pursue at last: Working for the architect license and AIA credential won’t hurt you; sooner or later, you will find you can learn so much from the licensure and exam and finally help your professional growth.

has become quite popular for them to check the box how many majorities of the teachers teaching in the studio are licensed or not. This license accreditation and AIA credential will benefit the practice and academia. Today, the academic adviser in the college catches this trend and can prepare to have a better understanding of this licensure and AIA credential.

Oncelife.

I’ve heard there are peacocks who render award-winning architecture. In the right setting, the clients come to them. (It is a rare type of architect — once they attract the attention, they need to be able to deliver on their beautiful design.)

Ugly ducklings, like myself, never fit in anywhere else. So they slowly and steadily work their way into entrepreneurship, hoping one day to look down and find they are gliding along gracefully as a swan.

Have you ever wanted to work for yourself? Venture out on your own? Be your own boss? Jumping out from the safety of another firm can seem risky — especially if you are a young architect who has never flown solo. Many architects have taken the leap in many different ways. Whether they venture out alone or in Woodpeckersflocks.make it happen by door knocking. They make endless phone calls and build social media followings. It’s headache inducing, but they find enough work by sheer force of Nightwill.owls

Parrots simply copy what other firms do well. (Which can be a little annoying.)

similarity between the birds in this aviary analogy is simply that they are birds. As architects, we have many ways of approaching projects, serving clients, and working with a team. Understand your unique strengths and passions to synthesize

your efforts. If you want to fly solo, start by clarifying your vision for the work and life you want to live:

Connect: Meet the people or businesses who need the ar chitectural services you want to provide. Talk with them and understand what they need from your business.

Finally, there are penguins. They try their hardest to fly on their own but never succeed. Failing at entrepreneurship isn’t a total loss — they learned something by taking on the risk. In failing, they discover they can swim. (And the cold never bothers them Theanyway.)only

3. Why start now? What will trigger the shift to working on your own?

Special.)thanks to the review and comments of Christopher Fagan, AIA.

within their local environment. They live, work, and specialize in the needs of their local community.

Eagles start out by scavenging jobs or clients from a former employer. If done in good faith, they can soar on majestically. (However, if the deals are shady, they seem more like vultures.)

The path to entrepreneurship is shaped by your process, profit model, people, and project type. Embrace your entrepreneurial species and leverage it to do your best work and live your best

Find mentors: Talk to architects who are doing what you want to do. You can find them online, through AIA committees, or other entrepreneur events in your community.

Katie Kangas, AIA, NCARB

Kangas founded Pasque Architecture in Minne sota to provide story-centered architecture and design. Kangas worked in other firms but had ideas and interests that didn’t align. She is build ing a process-centered practice to provide simple functional design that is beautiful and inspires.

Read, listen, or watch: Learn as much as you can. As archi tects, our education only starts with licensure. EntreArchitect, 30x40 Workshop, and Business of Architecture are architects who produce content for other architects. (Start with En treArchitect Podcast episodes EA013, EA024, EA031, and EA040

2.practice?Whatdo you want to do that you can’t do by working for someone else?

Oxpeckers live a good life on the back of a big client or another architecture firm. They solve problems as consultants and Heronsspecialists.thrive

you make the decision to start your own firm or do some freelancing, there are many logistical challenges. Try reading other Connection articles about Starting Your Own Firm or the classic Rena Klein book “The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management.” Below are the most valuable resources I’ve leaned on while launching Pasque Architecture:

Vol. 20, Issue 02 202221

1. What are you looking for personally and in professional

Turkeys get fat on whatever work they can find. They don’t mind what they do — there are always code reviews, remodels, and other off-the-beaten-path projects to get by on.

Flying solo

build a clientele and portfolio while maintaining a day job. It’s hard work. (Just make sure your employer allows it in your contract.)

Over the years, ACE has awarded over $25 million in scholar ships to alumni. More than 70% of ACE seniors annually enter a college or skilled trades program with an industry-related focus, 69% of students served are minorities, over 40% are female, and 25% of ACE seniors entering college are first-gen eration college students. Many alumni remain active partici pants in the program through the scholarships they receive, relationships they develop with their mentors, and future employment opportunities they exercise — such as internships and post-college jobs.

A passage from ACE founder Charlie Thornton’s biography, “A Life of Elegant Solutions,” states that Manhattan Engineer ing School was at risk of closing until the Board of Advisors and a group of New York City firms acted quickly to reach out to minorities and women to interest them in architecture, engineering, and construction. This resulted in a team of 30 students who were mentored by volunteers from several firms. Those firms also provided summer internships for the students. Eventually, this “solution” was formalized in a meeting about taking the program to the next level, in which Lou Switzer, an African American architect with a 100-person firm at the time, suggested the program be named ACE — an acronym that combined each of the career pathways and a term “for some one who was good at what they do.” The group agreed, and over two decades later, the ACE Mentor Program continues to thrive across the country.

Today, ACE serves over 10,000 students annually across 75 affiliates in 38 states, plus Toronto. The national program consists of local affiliates with their own boards of directors, program leaders, and mentor/student teams.

ACE22Connection

Mentor and career Theevolution:evolutionof

ACE Mentor

Each local team is set up to emulate an actual design team, with students guided through a mock design project by archi tect, engineer, construction management and tradesperson mentors. Mentors assist the students as they work toward a final project, introducing them to the careers, industry vocabu lary, and various roles companies play in the industry.

Above Campers for CU Denver’s 2022 Architecture Camp

Since 1994, the ACE Mentor Program of America has played an active role in the career evolution of thousands of youths who aspire to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, and con struction. The program originated from a critical problem iden tified by industry leaders in Manhattan — a lack of interested students applying to AEC-related higher education programs.

Mentorship is a critical component of career evolution. It’s often a mentor who brings clarity to unclear situations or helps a mentee discover untapped skills that can take a career to the next level.

What we have found in ACE is that mentorship supports the career evolution of mentors just as much as the students.

So, by the scope of the original issue identified by ACE Men tor’s founders, it’s clear that the program is helping the industry attract future talent. But how does this connect to a broad topic such as “career evolution”?

In addition to workshops, ACE Mentor has expanded program ming to include the ACE Summer Experience, which provides high school students and ACE alumni a paid opportunity to gain perspective on what the work environment is like for an AEC professional. Students and alumni also can attend sum mer camp at Fallingwater, Colorado University’s Denver School of Architecture, or Jefferson University College of Architecture and the Built Environment for a variety of experiences.

While Rubin’s career evolution is unique, thousands of other ACE mentors undoubtedly share a similar view on the impact of mentoring on their own careers. With their help, ACE provides the year-round enrichment that contributes to the career evo lution of the students ACE serves.

Vol. 20, Issue 02 202223

Mentor Perspective

Siam Suleri, a speaker on the panel, shared, “Even when I thought I was prepared, there are so many things I wish I’d known before the beginning of architecture school. It was a joy imparting this knowledge with the next generation of architec ture students, as well as learning about other schools from the adjacent speakers.” Suleri is an incoming second-year archi tecture student at CCNY’s Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of AmyArchitecture.Chen,an

ACE and Career Evolution

To dive deeper into this notion, ACE spoke with Greyson Rubin, who was recently named the 2022 Outstanding Mentor by ACE Mentor of Greater Kansas City. Rubin participated in the ACE Dallas program during high school and decided to pursue a career in architecture based on his experience.

For example, the ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York hosts an annual Planning for Architecture School workshop to help graduating seniors understand what to expect in college. ACE alumni who are enrolled in architecture programs at New York colleges and universities share their perspectives on questions ranging from “how to approach a professor with a question” to “how do I get my belongings to an upstate school.”

Student and Alumni Perspective

attendee, shared, “By attending the Planning for Architecture School panel, I obtained insider advice on how to best prepare for a successful, fulfilling, and smooth transition into an AEC-specific college experience. Specifically, I under stood the importance of balancing my workload and person al life with maximized efficiency, dynamism, and ultimately achieving my goal to make a difference in the AEC industry and give back to the community.” Amy is an alumna of the ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York, a top winner of the CMiC-Allen Berg Memorial Scholarship and an incoming firstyear architecture student at MIT.

Above ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston – Suffolk

From Rubin’s perspective, “Career evolution is the enduring process of going from a novice in a field to a subject expert over time. As you begin to evolve as an architect, you transition from first identifying knowledge you don’t know to being able to find solutions and opportunities in those gaps through experi ence gathered over time. Ultimately, others begin to turn to you for guidance, while still being open to learning from emerging trends and technology.

“What ACE has helped me to better understand is the strong role that mentoring and teaching possess in that process. Seeking out opportunities to mentor helps to solidify that ever-expanding knowledge, while also opening the mentor up to new perspectives to create more innovative design solutions. Still being early in my career as an architect, ACE has allowed me to propel the process of career evolution, as I am given the opportunities to share my experiences and learn from the creative perspectives of younger students.”

story of his own career evolution is a perfect example of

Bryant’s story not only emphasizes how career evolution can be advanced by the presence of mentors, but also how it can be energized by a desire to serve a community. He stands by the quote “find a way and make a way” to impact your community, and he is doing just that and more.

During the first few years of his professional career, Bryant worked at the community level to develop affordable hous ing in Oakland and Houston, which he calls a marriage of his planning and design background. Bryant went on to work for Moody Nolan, the largest African American-owned architecture firm for four years before receiving a call to work for the city of Detroit as its director of planning and development —where 70% of the population looks like him.

In a full circle, just as Bryant’s father connected him to a Black architect, he is seeking to build the same connections for young architects of color in partnership with ACE Mentor and NOMA, a union of two critically important missions.

Conclusion on Career Evolution

Growingthis.

From Bryant’s perspective, no matter how strong programming may be, aspiring design professionals of color must be able to see people who look like them and who understand diverse cultural perspectives to envision a future in the field for them Bryant’sselves.

If there is one thing to take away from this article, it’s that ACE Mentor needs you to continue supporting the careers of the next generation of the AEC industry. Youths need committed mentors to guide them through a rapidly changing society, and their career evolution relies on the factors that influence them along the way. You can be a major influence on their success by partnering with ACE Mentor to host an extern or intern, provide a scholarship, be a mentor, or sit on an affiliate’s board. This article includes a few examples of the ACE Mentor impact, and there are thousands more to share. Hopefully, yours will be the one that we hear about next.

Bryant’s father suggested he could be an architect and con nected him with a Black architect he knew, Harry Simmons, who was known for designing and rehabilitating lower-and

Bryant followed that experience by excelling at a great high school, which provided him with the opportunity to enroll in Cornell University’s architecture program. Bryant ultimately shifted to urban planning, and upon completion of his bache lor’s degree, he completed a master’s in architecture.

Above ACE Mentor Program of Greater Baltimore.

The first step in this partnership was to include NOMA’s per spective on ACE Mentor’s strategic initiatives, which led to the appointment of Antoine Bryant, Associate AIA, APA, Detroit’s director of planning and development, and NOMA’s director of strategic partnerships, to the ACE National Board as director of strategic partnerships.

NOMA provides summer programming with Project Pipeline, a network of college student chapters and a fellowship program for prospective architects pursuing their licenses; the ACE Mentor partnership helps provide supplemental enrichment for year-round support and exposure and mentors for high school students of color. Given that many NOMA students are likely ACE alumni, this is a natural partnership opportunity.

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Career Evolution and Intentional Impact

As ACE Mentor expands and strengthens programming to set up students for long-term success, the ACE National Board has recognized a need to be more intentional about whom ACE Mentor serves and how, which has led to a partnership with the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).

up in the Brooklyn projects during the ’70s, he wit nessed the changes that came with the ’80s that were terrible for his community. At 10 years old, he asked his father, “What can I do to change where we live and how it looks?”

middle-income housing that addressed social needs in the inner city. Simmons promptly hosted 10-year-old Antoine in his office for a full Saturday to give him direct exposure to com munity-oriented design and the mentorship of someone who looked like him.

Darius Johnson

Johnson is the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic regional director for the ACE Mentor Program. He has served as executive director of Kent Attainable Housing, project manager at Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, and affiliate director of ACE Baltimore/strategic outreach manager for the MD Center for Construction Education and Innovation.

“[...] never shy away from asking for more responsibility or to be a part of a project you are interested in. The worst that can happen is to be told no.”

Malcolm Watkins, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

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CP: Did you always want to do what you are doing now?

our office and outside consultants, so you end up with a vested interest in making sure it is a success for everyone.

MW: During architecture school, I always saw myself working in a small office doing residential and small commercial proj ects for a few years and then going out on my own to similar projects. I started my career down this path, but the Great Re cession changed my trajectory and led to where I am today. I’ve found the emphasis SJCF has on community-focused projects very rewarding. Seeing the reaction of a teacher or student the first time they step into a new school is incredible. These proj ects often take years to develop with involvement from dozens of stakeholders and the coordination of a large team within

Carrie Parker (CP): Tell me a little about yourself.

Malcolm Watkins (MW): Since the age of 7, I knew I wanted to be an architect. Building and construction has been around me for as long as I can remember. I grew up on a farm (there was always something to fix), and I have six uncles in the building trades. This exposure mixed with my interest in art, math, and science made architecture a natural fit. Following high school, I attended Kansas State University and graduated with my M.Arch in 2008. After graduation, I began my career with Shelden Architecture, a small firm focusing on commer cial projects. In the spring of 2009, half the firm was laid off. Following the layoff, I was fortunate to receive an opportunity with SJCF Architecture. Over the last 13 years, my role within the firm has continued to grow and evolve, from a designer with one year of experience to my current role serving as a vice president and partner in the firm.

We know that everyone’s career path is different, and some are even non-traditional. Members of the YAF Strategic Vision Group, are offering our insights into how we got to where we are, paired with contributing authors. The contributing YAF members of this career path series are Malcolm Watkins and Carrie Parker.

CP: How did you get to where you are now? Describe your path/career progression.

MW: SJCF Architecture brought me on in 2009 to help with the firm’s transition to Revit. This helped to get me assigned to high-profile projects very early on as the “Revit guy.” From there, my technical knowledge, both software and building/ construction, opened opportunities for me to continue to grow and thrive with additional responsibility and was able to get licensed in 2011. After that, moved directly into a project architect role and then was promoted to an associate with the firm in 2013. During my time as an associate, I was the project architect on a large new high school project leading a team of seven in our office as well as a large group of consultants. Following the success of that project, I was promoted to vice president in 2016. Since then, I have taken on various man agement roles and continued to lead large projects for the firm, including the new 445,000-square-foot Junction City High School, completed in 2021.

Watkins is a vice president with SJCF Architecture in Wichita, Kansas. His work experience encompasses a variety of project types, including education, fitness, community, and corporate. He also serves as a member of the firm’s management team with an emphasis on design technology, quality control, and recruitment. He is the young architect regional director for the central states, and he and his wife, Alyssa, have two sons, Emmett (8) and Everett (4).

Career path stories: From designer to partner

- Malcolm Watkins, AIA

26Connection

MW: I would say to never shy away from asking for more responsibility or to be a part of a project you are interested in. The worst that can happen is to be told no. Showing initiative and a willingness to jump in and help the team/firm goes a long way in earning everyone’s trust and opening more doors for Theyourself.otherpiece of advice I would have is to gain as much

Personally, my family and I are traveling more. During the height of the pandemic, we purchased a camper so that we could take our boys and go explore. We have already traveled to three national parks and seven different states with many more stops in the planning stages. Other trips in the works are West Virginia later this year for a college football game vs. K-State (Go Cats!) and a return to Europe in the spring of 2023.

challenge I faced during my career was graduating in 2008 at the start of the Great Recession. As I started to look for a firm to start my career with early in the spring semester, there was already a slowdown, so many firms weren’t even willing to talk to new grads. Fortunately, I was able to get two interviews and received the one offer I ended up taking, with Shelden Architecture. I was one of the lucky ones, as only about half of my graduating class was able to find a position with a firm.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced is the financial invest ment (burden) required to even try to get started in the field of architecture. I was fortunate to grow up with two working-class parents, but the cost of any college was something I had to shoulder on my own, let alone the additional costs associat ed with a five-year professional program. It took sacrifices to get through paying off my student loans, but since then, my wife and I have taken a portion of the money that used to go towards it and started funding scholarships at K-State to help others from limited means more easily attain an architecture

CP: What have been some challenges and failures you have MW:faced?

Anotherdegree.

technical and hands-on understanding of construction as you can. My experience of working construction, doing commercial concrete work and home building starting in high school, has paid untold benefits in my career. Understanding how buildings go together early in your career helps you with detailing and can give you confidence when speaking with a contractor about your design.

MW: Professionally, I’ve taken a renewed interest in construc tion. Earlier this year, I got my Class A general contractor’s license and am currently managing the complete remodel of our office. The continued retirement of skilled tradespeople has led to a greater and greater need for on-site involvement from architects. Being the architect and GC allows for a condensed information loop and expedites both the design and construc tion timelines, often leading to a cost savings, as well as a final product that more closely reflects the design vision.

Above The first football game at the new Junction City High School.

Carrie Parker, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Parker is an associate vice president at Can nonDesign’s D.C. office. She is also the young architect representative for Virginia and won an Emerging Professional Award from AIA Virginia in 2020.

CP: What advice do you have for others who may be inter ested in following the same path?

CP: What is next for you?

Paige Russell (PR): How would you describe your role with in the field of architecture?

Julia Hunt (JH): I have found that I work best at the mate rial and fabrication scale in architecture. I enjoy the level of problem-solving utilizing both hands-on and digital tools to produce physical pieces. From Synecdoche to now Morphosis, I have worked with two translations of architecture’s relationship with materials. At Synecdoche, I worked on fabrication within the language of architecture through furniture or installations that lived within the overall design. Now at Morphosis, I am translating architecture into material through making models that represent the overall design.

and explore ideas through making. I come from a family of craftsmen , carpenters, residential renovators, metal fabri cators, etc. My father and grandfather were even woodshop teachers, so they taught me as I gained interest. I pursued architecture to apply the skills I learned to the physical world. However, I realized I was not well suited for the larger design scale of problem solving within the field. I found myself drawn back to making things and working at the smaller scale with materials in a hands-on way. Fabrication really affects what we interact with daily, what the public uses. Furniture, art instal lations, models; it’s all something people can touch and feel. So I think it is the tactile part of architecture that continues to fascinate me.

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PR: When you started undergraduate studies at the Uni versity of Buffalo, were you planning on pursuing a career in fabrication?

Julia Hunt

Above University of Buffalo Sustainable Futures studio classmates in Costa Rica. This studio included the building of a playground for the local community.

The in-between of fabrication and architecture

Julia Hunt and I went to the University of Michigan, graduating with a Master’s of Architecture degree, and both went to under grad at our respective universities for four years before we met at Michigan. However, we lead very different paths in the architecture profession today. I practice in the education studio at Corgan in Dallas. Very capital “A” architecture, one could argue. Julia on the other hand works in fabrication. According to the 2019 National Architectural Accrediting Board Annual Report, there were approximately 26,000 students enrolled in NAAB-accredited programs just in 2019. When that is com pared with the 116,242 licensed architects in the United States, we can see that there are plenty of students who either choose not to pursue licensure or decide to practice in a different role of the architectural field or in a different field altogether. Upon graduation, Hunt worked at Synecdoche in Ann Arbor, Mich igan, as a design/maker and now works at Morphosis in Los Angeles as a fabrication designer. You can even see her golden retriever, Rose, on the People page of Morphosis’ website.

Hunt is a fabrication designer at Morphosis in Los Angeles, focusing on fabricating furniture, art installations, and presentation models. Growing up in a family of craftsmen, Hunt enjoyed making things and expanded that interest at the University of Buffalo and the University of Michigan.

PR: You were exposed to construction a lot growing up. How did that inspire you to go into the architectural world?

JH: I grew up making things, fortunately encouraged to tinker

JH: It depends on the school, but I do think a personal drive is necessary to pursue the field. Architecture is a broad prac tice, but everyone can find their niche if they focus on it. At UB, fabrication and construction is prominent throughout the degree programs. Meanwhile University of Michigan has an outstanding digital lab, yet students have to fight for the fabri cation classes that provide access to the machines. The heavy theoretical studios there also pushed me further away from the typical architectural practice. I was searching for ways to focus more on fabrication. Luckily, I was able to get into more fabri cation classes and independent studies in my second year that

JH: I think it is a good background as I continue to work in the field and work directly with architects. I understand the lan guage and the overall design goals in mind. I can understand the whole scope of a project and find where my skills fit into the project’s lifespan. I believe it is beneficial for architects to study fabrication and do hands-on construction in order to better understand how materials and buildings go together. With stu dents working in the Habitat for Humanity course at UB, they are able to physically rationalize wall positioning for plumbing, for example. On the other side, working with materials within

Above A digitally fabricated art installation, a collaboration between Detroit artist Mike Han and Synecdoche Design.

PR: My outlook on architectural education is that it teach es us to problem-solve in creative ways. Do you think your education in architecture helps you look at how fabrication can solve problems in a different way than someone with out an architectural education?

The University of Buffalo does a tremendous job of encourag ing students to study architecture in a hands-on way. Because it was ingrained in the culture, I feel it was a very non-threat ening environment to learn. They fostered an environment in which I could grow my personal confidence in my skills but also sparked that interest in digital fabrication. That really led me to the University of Michigan so that I could explore design with digital tools further, such as robotics.

JH: I took a robotics course and pursued an independent study in robotics with Mark Meier. I was also introduced to Super Matter Tools by Wes McGee during my thesis studies, focused on concrete fabrication. During my thesis, we also attended the 2018 ACADIA [Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture] conference in Mexico City. This conference series explores digital tools such as robotics within the world of archi tecture. From new processes tested through clothing design to research into ways digital tools can aid environmental efforts.

PR: Do you think the university system encourages explo ration in fabrication, or do you think you have to rely on a personal drive of wanting to learn about these processes to find those learning opportunities?

28Connection

allowed me to explore materials and even robotics. I fortunately got into the one fabrication thesis group available and had a thesis project testing limits of concrete casting and design. The opportunities were there, but I really had to be intentional with my own education and voice my want for that experience.

JH: I was not really planning on that at the time. It kind of just kept popping up. The University of Buffalo (UB) has a strong focus in making because of how involved their fabrication workshop is within the architectural programs there. I was one of the student workers within the workshop, one of many that were trained and helped other students with their projects. We learned so much while working in the shop that it became second nature to bring that experience into the studio.

PR: What was your experience with robotics at the Univer sity of Michigan?

Up until college, all my experiences were with manual tools. The fabrication workshop at UB was my first true introduction into digital processes. So I started taking an interest in how I could combine this new knowledge with my former experience with manual fabrication. The project never just stops with the machine. There is always a level of finishing that requires a human touch. Adversely, the accuracy and speed of digital tools can work much faster than just one person in many ways.

PR: What drew you to Morphosis?

JH: I think my grandfather and my father both being educators in woodworking did play a big role in my interest in fabrication. They fortunately had no problems teaching me as a female alongside my brother. And the learning environment they fostered allowed me to build my confidence as a maker before interacting with any biases within the field or in other levels of education. The way they described things and instilled the confidence to make what is in your head a reality is something I want to pass on. Allowing people to grow confidence in them selves in a field such as fabrication allows them to be masters of their own domain and solve problems in the world around them, from hanging a shelf to renovating their own home.

I went into school very interested in the overall goals of the ar chitectural practice, but I have really found that where I fit into that larger puzzle is just a bit different than the typical practi tioner. I do not see myself ever going and pursuing licensure, which is something different than what I initially thought.

the overall design of architecture, it helps to understand the whole design to find what works.

JH: Morphosis also has its own shop as a part of their archi tecture studio. The fabrication team is slightly larger with both full-time employees and interns. I thought the opportunity to work within a larger team while also training interns was well suited to grow my skills as a team member, leader, and educa tor. I also find it helpful to learn from as many sources as pos sible, and moving to the Morphosis team allowed me to explore my skills within another facet of fabrication in architecture.

PR: Construction is a very male-dominated field. Your father fostered a very supportive learning environment for you, though. What has your experience been as a female now that you yourself are in the industry and toeing that

JH:cation?

Paige Russell, AIA Russell is an architect in the education studio at Corgan in Dallas. She serves on the AIA Dallas emerging professionals and education outreach committees and in her A4LE chapter.

It is the confidence I was instilled with that I want to teach. If you have the confidence that you can do it and just take the time to attempt it and learn from it, we would all be a bit better off. Knowledge of tools and methods comes with time and a variety of instructors. If you have the desire to learn, never accept someone telling you no just because you’re a woman. Finding mentors that foster your growth no matter who you are can be trial and error, but it is so worth it in the end. Architec ture should be an inclusive field because we are all housed in these spaces we design. No group should be excluded from exploring architecture or fabrication since it affects everyone. I strive to empower all people, especially women, to become masters of their own domain and feel like they can change the world around them.

PR: What was your experience finding a fabrication-fo cused job? You had to really seek out opportunities during school. Was that like your experience when starting to look for a job?

PR: What about age?

PR: Do you have any advice or want to pass something along to young women interested in architecture or fabri

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JH: Unfortunately, people tend to underestimate women in the field. Finding female mentors along the way became very important to me. I was recommended to work at the UB fabri cation workshop by a female mentor of mine that saw my expe rience and skills with constructing molds and casting concrete during one of my freshman studios. Working alongside her in the woodshop, we often faced faculty members and students that would go and ask the male students instead of us. I be came the student shop manager, and even then, my knowledge went unrecognized by some. One of my good friends worked in the shop with me, and men generally would go and ask him questions first. At the time, he was new to the shop and still de veloping his skills. More often than not, he would come and ask me the answer. It took years for some of these men to come and ask me their questions. In some ways, I have had a better experience in the professional world than during my education. At Synecdoche, our clients wanted to work with us for a reason and knew going in that we were a team of mostly women in a female-led firm under Lisa. Working in their team encouraged my confidence as a professional woman.

JH: There are a lot of people who think things should be done one way, and that’s their way, and we’re just the young ones who don’t know yet. Obviously, we have a lot to learn, but we also have a lot to give. Staying in an old mindset because it is the way things have always been is no way to move forward.

line between architecture and construction?

PR: Do you think that your father being in construction and being a shop teacher played into your want to be an educator as well as your interest in fabrication?

JH: Falling into Synecdoche was really lucky. Lisa Suave and Adam Smith were coming in to speak at a seminar I was enrolled in one night. I wasn’t even planning on going to that class. I was hoping to stay in the studio and complete one more concrete cast but ended up attending after all. As soon as I saw how they were utilizing fabrication in design and how they helped to build up local small business through architecture, I was hooked. I practically chased them out of the room looking for a job. It is rare to find a firm like Synecdoche; not many jobs fit in that in-between fabrication and architecture.

Above Data in the chart sourced from the annual NCARB’s Survey of Registered Architects for the years 2007-2012 and NCARB by the Numbers for the years 2012-2021.

The numbers within the next few years will better show the trends of the next generation of architects and the work that will need to be done to shorten the possible 10-year building period, but what can be observationally interpolated from the fallout are minimally two things:

When Wall Street crashed in 2008, architectural billings soon followed, which in turn impacted the architectural profession. The outcome of the recession of 2008 can be seen through NCARB’s annual report, NCARB by the Numbers, and their annual Survey of Registered Architects. NCARB provides rele

The number of registered architects reported by NCARB between 2007 and 2009 declined by almost 11,000 . It would take 10 years, until 2017, for the numbers to get back to where they were in 2007, but then three years later, in 2020, the pan demic would hit many fields, including architecture. While it is too soon to conclusively understand the fallout from the pan demic, it is understood that the industry has too many pressing needs, such as equitable space, resilient waterfronts, and safe schools, to take 10 years to bounce back and not dedicate the time necessary to address where it must adaptively innovate.

adaptive, and Theinnovative:nextgeneration of architects

vant, statistical information in the report, which has expanded throughout the years to show how the profession can improve through gender and race as well as provides an educated pro jection of future amounts.

Throughout the world, the past 15 years have brought a global recession and pandemic, wars in places like Iraq and Ukraine, racial injustices and school shootings in numerous U.S. cities, and a political divide deepened through righteous indigna tion. For many professions, these events caused upheaval and turmoil. Some practitioners left professions for others, some went to pursue additional education, some started families never to return to work, some started their own businesses, and some melded the options into a role that suited their needs. Throughout these misfortunes and adjustments, many faced tough choices and conversations because of events outside the industry. To prepare the next generation of architects and lead ers, we need to mentor for resiliency and adaptability. Com ing out of a global pandemic, this is relevant more than ever to understand what is needed now to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

Resilient,30Connection

FOOTNOTES:

The architects of the past 15 years can be summed up in a

3 Parker, Kim, and Ruth Igielnik. 2020. “What We Know about Gen Z so Far.” Pew Research Center. May 14, 2020.

Testing centers were closed for a period during the pandemic because of safety measures and this meant aspiring architects faced an additional obstacle toward completing their licen sure requirements. Individuals were required to test online or to pause their studying regimen , making it challenging for testing later. This skewed newly licensed architect numbers in an unfavorable way compared with past years, as months compounded without in-person testing and some architec tural professionals lost their jobs, along with firm-reimbursed tests or testing income. Numbers may be further skewed in the coming years before stabilizing, as the numbers hopefully in corporate individuals who would have become licensed during the pandemic, if it were not for testing location closures and income loss.

2 NCARB by the Numbers, 2018; 2021 NBTN COVID

Currently, those in the baby boomer generation are between 57 and 75 years old. Many are recently retired or creating succes sion plans to start retirement in the next 10 years. Like gener ations before them, firms are preparing for new leadership and will continue to promote from within and hire from outside. In either case, firms are looking for the next generation of leaders. These succession plans are going to include architectural lead ers who have proved to be resilient and adaptive because of their experiences with the recession and pandemic. In the suc cession plan for those getting ready to retire, they are required to start the process of doing one of the hardest things — letting younger generations try and sometimes fail in their growth.

Kelsey Jordan, Assoc. AIA, WELL AP Jordan is an associate and educational planner at Legat Architects in Oak Brook, Illinois. Her visions for the future of architecture involves designing for equity in the built environment. She serves on the AIA Public Outreach Com mittee, which spearheads Blueprint for the Better.

Due to an influx and abundance of work, Firms are still com petitively looking for qualified candidates to fill positions. At the same time, one of the largest generations of architects is reaching a retirement age. The combination of firms growing and people retiring means firms will be proactively looking for two types of candidates: individuals to grow the firm and indi viduals to fill or backfill senior roles held by retirees.

1 NCARB’s 2007 Survey of Registered Architect; NCARB’s 2009 Survey of Registered Architects

few words: resilient, adaptive, and innovative. Now with one of America’s largest generations preparing to retire, the next generation of architects also needs to be intuitive, mission-fo cused, and impatient. Intuitive to understand what clients need but to also anticipate the continued highs and lows of the state of our nation. Mission-focused to create and control the nar rative of change via the built environment with respect to sus tainability, wellness, and past injustices. Impatient to empower

4 NCARB by the Numbers, 2018; NCARB’s 2007 Survey of Registered Architect; NCARB’s 2008 Survey of Registered Architects; NCARB’s 2009 Survey of Registered Architects; NCARB’s 2010 Survey of Registered Architects; NCARB’s 2011 Survey of Registered Architects; NCARB’s 2012 Survey of Registered Architects;

1. People were laid off and testing centers closed

Above Data in the chart sourced from NCARB by the Numbers reports. The line indicating the trajectory removing COVID outliers eliminates the data from the years 2020 and 2021.

Comparatively, younger generations generally have a greater emphasis on environment, justice, and diversity . This differ ence in an architectural mission can cause tension, but both parties need to use the next 10 years to learn from each other so that knowledge is not lost, but instead grown and adapted to relevant technologies and situations. Plus, if younger gener ations fail while they have the safety net of older generations to show them the way and provide teaching opportunities, then they are more likely to find successes and be adaptive if they are to fail when no one is there to fall back on. Now is the time to get the one last push of knowledge, guidance, and mentorship from the baby boomers. Like all generations, their experiences, opinions, and points of view are valued.

5 NCARB by the Numbers, 2018

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2. Qualified candidates are needed to fill two types of positions.

A: I had an opportunity that I could not pass up, but I was not ready to start my own firm because I did not have the financial resources. The allure of more money is also hard to pass on with massive student debt and sky-high housing prices. My firm’s policy is more open than others: They know that they can’t stop you from doing it, and it is generally allowed — as long as you don’t use company time or resources to do it and the work type is not in competition with the firm. Until, that is, you become a partner in the firm. Then they expect that your full attention is on the firm you now have shares in, and the compensation is accordingly higher. I work with a friend sometimes to share work, and their firm is more of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” moonlighting policy.

A: I have learned so much more about a different way of doing business than I did from my firm. Since it is a bigger firm, there is a lot of red tape with how we do business. Being smaller, I was able to be more agile. However, I expose myself to more risk. So I learned to write my own contracts (that also acknowledge the side business and indemnify my employer), setting and negotiating my own fees. I learned to navigate budgets, overhead, business taxes (so many taxes that first year!), setting up the business as a legal entity for my own protection and figure out how business finances work. All of these things I would not get exposure to in my day job for several more years, and when I did, it was different because of the scale. But because I had this perspective, I have a greater empathy for my firm partners and more understanding of architecture as a business.

The practice of freelancing

Parker and Watkins interviewed an individual who can speak to various experiences in freelancing. Due to the nature of the work, they have opted to remain anonymous.

Anonymous (A): I am a recently licensed architect at a large (100-plus) firm in a major city. We primarily do institutional projects.

Career32Connection path stories:

A: More often than not, they pick me more than I pick them, which also gives me the power to say no when I have too much going on to balance the combined workload. The one I could not pass up was working for a family member for some commercial work. Since this was not a market or geography the firm had a presence, I went for it — working nights and weekends for over a year. It was exhausting, but I paid off some debts with the extra money. Since then, I’ve mostly done home plans for friends or family and answered one NextDoor request for help in picking furniture. My friend at a smaller firm has been able to pass along some projects to their firm and still work on them and maintain that business relationship. I have other friends who make and sell wearables on Etsy and local flea markets or do portrait photography.

CP and MW: What have you learned in this process that you couldn’t learn in your day job?

CP and MW: Why did you choose to start freelancing, and does your employer know?

CP and MW: How do you pick your projects, and what kind of work?

Carrie Parker (CP) and Malcolm Watkins (MW): What is your primary occupation?

We know that everyone’s career path is different, and some are even non-traditional. Members of the YAF Strategic Vision Group, are offering our insights into how we got to where we are, paired with contributing authors. The contributing YAF members of this career path series are Malcolm Watkins and Carrie Parker.

“Time management and self-care are still my biggest challenges. Eventually, I started asking myself, “What am I missing out on by taking this job?”

Malcolm Watkins, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP Watkins is a vice president with SJCF Ar chitecture in Wichita, Kan. He serves on the management team with an emphasis on design technology, quality control, and recruitment. He is also the young architect regional director for the central states.

Carrie Parker, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Parker is an associate vice president at Can nonDesign’s D.C. office. She is also the young architect representative for Virginia and won an Emerging Professional Award from AIA Virginia in 2020.

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CP and MW: What are some of the drawbacks you see to moonlighting, and what advice do you have for others thinking of doing the same?

A: Time management and self-care are still my biggest challenges. Eventually, I started asking myself, “What am I missing out on by taking this job?” — time with friends, eating a healthy meal, doing something that brings me more joy than just chasing money.

I have three pieces of advice: Know yourself and your motivations; protect yourself mentally, emotionally, legally; and advocate for yourself in the side hustle and/or in your day job. If you are honest with your bosses about your financial situation and debts, they should be willing to have an open conversation about compensation. If they don’t, then maybe it’s time for a change.

Read the job requirement and understand what they are seek ing. See how your skill translates into that role. While every firm has a unique approach toward its office structure, the AIA has done a good job of creating a list of typical architecture positions and their duties. Use this resource to understand the position best suited for you, AIA Best Practice – Definition of Architectural Positions. Another good source for this informa tion would be the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center’s online library.

Job Hunting and Salary

Goal 2: Selecting a position/understanding what you are qualified for

I often see people applying to an overwhelming number of positions just because they see there is an opening at that firm. I would encourage you to keep this list to a max of 30; you can add to it later if needed.

ImmigrantNegotiationArchitectsCoalition

Job34Connectionhuntingis

hard enough on its own, especially with all the requirements and paperwork associated with it. Adding salary negotiation to this mix can easily make the process overwhelm ing. In a situation like this, it is easier to break down the one big goal of “getting a job/ internship” to multiple, small goals that are simpler to manage. These goals can be further subdivided per an individual’s need, but a five-step process keeps it effi cient, making it a good place to start.

Goal 1: Selecting Firms

Once you have identified your criteria, start listing out the firms.

This goal is unique to every individual because everyone has their own set of restrictions. Knowing your expectations/lim itations is important. I work better with lists and Excel sheets; hence I always start by writing down my criteria. Some that worked for me are:

Type of studio: Some firms have offices in multiple locations, but not all those offices do the same type of work. Knowing which studio is in the location you are applying to can be im portant. It is a tricky task because sometimes this information is not easily available on the company website. Networking and LinkedIn are the best tools for finding this information.

Location: This matters more when you are willing to relocate but can also be a consideration within the city based on your distance/method of commute.

Firm size: Everyone has a different comfort zone. Some people thrive in big organizations, while others prefer the comfort of a small firm. Knowing what works well for you is critical.

Sponsorship: As someone who is not a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, it is important to know whether the firm you are interested in will support your visa and understand what that process would be like. There is no sure way of knowing this answer until you go through the process and have an honest discussion with them, but it’s comforting to know whether they have supported/gone through this process in the past. A good resource for this would be https://www.myvisajobs.com/

Sometimes you know the exact position that your skill set will translate to/you should be applying for, but there are other times you don’t.

Studio structure: Some firms have their studios structured such that you get to work on the same project through different phases, while others have you work on different projects in one phase, like concept packages or construction drawings, etc.

In the architecture industry, international licenses don’t always transfer easily, but your experience does. You don’t always have to start from scratch. Your experience with working in a team, coordination skills, leadership, and mentorship abilities, etc., are all crucial assets that cannot be taught and come only with experience. These are some examples of soft skills that easily translate over borders. Understanding your worth and what you bring to the table is important.

• Foreign Labor Certification Data Center Online Wage Library

• Glassdoor Salary Calculator

• ThereNetworkingmightbecases

when the salary is fixed, and it can’t be increased beyond a certain limit. In such cases, it is better to negotiate perks and benefits. Try negotiating the number of

Goal 5: Know your “must” and “maybe”

Terway is a licensed architect from India, currently working as a designer at in Washington, DC. She focuses on responsible architecture with a social impact, and is a recipient of the 2022 AIA|DC Emerging Architects Award and 2022 Sho-Ping Chin WLS Grant.

“Follow-up”it.

Some sources that can help you get this information:

If the firm is any good, rest assured you won’t be the only per son applying for that role. Always follow up on your application. If the application process is online through a third-party portal, it might be worthwhile to call the firm and ask to be connected to the person in charge of hiring. If asked what the call is about, feel free to say that you are following up on your job applica tion. If they don’t have a point of contact, ask them what the firm’s application and follow-up process is and how you should go about

This is one time you can put all your cards on the table. List out your “must” and “maybe” prior to having this conversation with the firm. “Must” are items you need to have. For some people, these can be items like visa sponsorship, flexibility with working from home, flexibility with office hours, etc. “Maybe” are items you would like to have, but they are open for negotiation. De pending on your priorities, sometimes it is easier to be flexible with the salary, but be honest about what is most important to you out of that list.

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Knowing your worth and what you bring to the table is import ant. When discussing salary, do not pull an arbitrary number out of your hat, do your homework. Salary negotiations are rarely easy. Some items that might help in deciding this num ber are:

• Minimum salary required to support your visa status

Goal 3: Getting an interview/reaching out and following up

Goal 4: The art of salary negotiation

• Average salary for the desired position in the given city/ state

Do not underestimate yourself. Aim for your dream position; if nothing else, the experience might make you aware of the things you need to work on to build yourself up for that posi tion. Some firms also let you apply for more than one position; see whether you can use that opportunity to your advantage.

• AIA salary Calculator

• Cost of Living Index

Know what you are asking for. Example, if visa sponsorship is in your list of “must,” familiarize yourself with the process. Un derstand what that process requires and what would be needed from you and the firm to make that happen. When negotiating, if there are follow-up questions to your request, you should be ready to Negotiationanswer.and

• LinkedIn Salary Calculator

• Salary for the desired position in the given firm

is the key word here. Sometimes people skip the firm’s application process and call or email directly asking for an interview. This seldom works in their favor because they are often directed back to the online application.

• Cost of living in your location of choice

vacation days, health facilities, transportation expenses, and all such things. Sometimes the combined value of the salary offered the benefits, and facilities provided ends up being a satisfying salary package.

Saakshi Terway, Assoc. AIA, LEED Green Associate

self-advocacy go hand in hand. The key is to have reasonable requests and be able to advocate for them.

The ideal time for the follow-up is one to two weeks after you apply for the job. If you are following up via email, be brief, con firm your interest, reiterate your top qualifications, and express your gratitude.

Each year, the AIA recognizes 12 to 24 young architects from across the United States for the Young Architects (YA) Award. The application process follows the structure of AIA Fellows. Applicants share their stories of exceptional leadership and advancing the profession within 10 years of licensure. Review ing the press release, summaries, and career paths of these incredible young architects revealed several strong trends — yet each architect’s path toward this award was remarkably unique. What set them apart? Is there a secret ingredient for the Young Architects Award?

these architects transitioned between firms after three or six years. After six years, architects tended to stay and grow within the same firm. Whether they stayed or moved, it was clear they all made remarkable advancements in their early careers. Their leadership and professional advancements fell into two of three categories: professional leadership, academic involvement, or nonprofit volunteering. There was a surprising number of leadership roles outside of architecture. These young architects have stepped into leadership positions within arts councils, nonprofits, and other professional organizations. Their stories invite other young architects to think outside the box of tradi tional practice as they start their careers.

The Young Architects awardees of 2022 represent a broad range of professionals. They practice across the county and in different sectors. Many are in large firms, but some have started their own practices. Some live in cities, others in smaller towns. Some work in traditional settings, and others leveraged their careers into the adjacent industries of construction, man

The Young Architects Award can be the first step toward ap plying for AIA Fellowship. The fellowship process identifies five categories of professional contributions, and four of those are evident in the 2022 YA awardees:

Career36Connection evolution: Statistical insight on the 2022 Young Architects Award winners

lights represent years of AIA leadership or participation in other

2. Engage community: The “Star-chitect” is gone. In this century, collaboration and engagement make greater and more meaningful change.

5. The final category of fellowship is an alternative career.

Read the press release for the 2022 YA award on the AIA Na tional Website.

4. Public service, government, industry, or organization

The careers of these young architects haven’t yet fallen into a single lane of practice. Design was present in every narra tive because they nearly all recognized sustainability as a key factor of their professional practice. Yet design was never the exclusive focus. Each person also engaged in the categories of practice management and leadership, which easily fit into an architect’s early career.

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3. Leadership in AIA or related organizations

3. Lead on: When you hear a call for leadership, say yes. Or if there is a void, step up and fill it.

Through all the differences, the 2022 YA awardees shared stories of engaging and building local communities. Some also created connections abroad, but they always connected with either the local school, professional organizations, or nonprof its. An award can be nice and all, but the stories carry more power and lasting impact than the title. Consider adopting these lessons to improve your professional practice and grow the community around you:

1. Focus outward: These architects don’t make their work about themselves. Their stories enrich the people and com munities around them.

1. Design (professional practice — specifically advancements in sustainability)

2. Practice management

Katie Kangas, AIA, NCARB Kangas founded Pasque Architecture in Minne sota to provide story-centered architecture and design. Kangas worked in other firms but had ideas and interests that didn’t align. She is build ing a process-centered practice to provide simple functional design that is beautiful and inspires.

½ oz Matcha simple syrup

The YAF Knowledge Focus Group is dedicated to identifying important issues of recently licensed architects and the creation of knowledge resources to enable young architects to advance their careers.

As our careers evolve, we continue to value mentors and build experience. In the spirit of mentorship, finding the right match is always key. This matcha old-fashioned highlights not only the matching process, but also the process of the ingredients in the recipe. Aged Japanese whiskey requires a minimum level of maturation and evolves slowly over time. On the contrary, tea leaves and yuzu are harvested at peak seasons and develop much more quickly. This cocktail celebrates the confluence of timelines of evolution, similar to how we experience the architectural profession and the people we engage with toward growth.

recommendations (available on Netflix):

The following recommendations challenge us to be better mentally, physically, and in the work environment:

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

StreamingEnjoy!

Instructions

Each quarter, the YAF Knowledge Focus Group curates streaming video content and a cocktail recipe to salute each Connection issue theme. In Q2, we highlight career evolution through provocative shows and a drink recipe.

Connection38Connection and chill

Cocktail Recipe: “Matcha Made in Heaven”

2 oz Toki Japanese whiskey (or similar)

Cocktails and streaming content for the casual consumer

Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru (2016)

The Last Dance (2020)

1/8 oz yuzu juice (substitute with equal parts orange and lemon juice)

American Factory (2019)

AIA YAF Knowledge Focus Group (Kaylyn Kirby, AIA, NCARB/Darguin Fortuna, AIA, NCARB/Ryan Lewis, AIA/Kiara Gilmore, AIA/Trent Schmitz, AIA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate/Jason Takeuchi, AIA, NCARB, NOMA/Terry Zink, AIA)

Matcha Made in Heaven with orange peel garnish

Knock Down the House (2019)

Matcha simple syrup: Combine half cup water and half cup sugar. Boil until sugar dissolves. Stir in ½ oz matcha powder. Whisk until foamy and matcha is smooth. Cool and keep in the refrigerator for up to one week. Stir whiskey, matcha simple syrup and yuzu together with ice. Pour over ice ball into a rocks glass. Garnish with orange peel.

Ingredients

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