Interviews & What’s Next?

Current Events

Since this whole online endeavor was set into motion based on a day-in-the-life mindset, and cataloging my personal path of making, architecture & the technology employed, I’ve been inclined to just share what’s going on & not just the highlight reel you typically see on social media. 

With that in mind – I decided to share an anecdote and personal story about 3 weeks spent helping my family, and helping nurture my grandmother back to health in a familiar environment. 

Well, 3 hours after I’d posted “Load Bearing Towels” she experienced another event, this time more severe, with greater impact on her physical health. Its not all good news for the family. 

I’m will be forever grateful for those 3 weeks, and the family would appreciate it if you keep her in your prayers. Thanks. 

Simpler Times + Social Implications

During the time that I had spent in an area that technology seemingly forgot, doing things away from screens, and talking to people without the use of gizmos, I discovered just how much I missed being in a room with people. Talking about the day’s events, playing cards, or helping.

Admittedly, I’m an introvert. I’m the quiet guy in the room, listening and paying attention. 

I tend to stick to the maxim: 

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to speak  and remove all doubt.” – Unknown 

Over this last year of hiding out and not seeing many people (beyond the bi-monthly ventures to get more coffee) I’m also gaining back certain levels of social anxiety. I can operate in polite society just fine, but the chances that you’re going to see me on stage anywhere belting out community theater is limited. Help build sets? I’m there – anything beyond that and for the sake of the production – I’m going to politely decline. 

Even my own introversion has its limits. I may have been more uniquely qualified to work remotely/independently – but I’m still a social creature and community is necessary. 

In the past – I’ve taken positions for the ‘immersion therapy’ aspects of flying to a new city every week and meeting total strangers. I’ve spent time walking the streets of NYC, jammed into the subway during rush hour. With practice – all things are possible. Just that lately, I’m out of practice.

Unless you’re hosting a podcast or YouTube interview channel – there aren’t many opportunities to discuss things relevant to my profession. It might surprise you, but architect’s don’t generally have random conversations on the street about window details, insulative capacities of materials, or fire separation strategies of a Type 5 framing over a Type 1 pedestal… its a niche group, and most people’s eyes glaze over after that short list. 

I understand that its not just architecture. I mean typically I have the same reaction overhearing discussions of tax strategies and accounting. I have an understanding, I can make it thru – but it doesn’t set off the same neurons. 

While I’m 100% aware of the reaction to ‘nerding out’ about one’s passions – I usually keep that stuff to myself and out of discussions with family and friends. Practical applications of flexible membrane flashing isn’t on the list of things to talk about over a beer in most instances. 

Doing that is like corking a bottle of Coke & Mentos – when the opportunity presents itself – everything tends to come out at once. 

So when an interview comes up, and I have the opportunity to talk about architecture, design, projects and war stories – I might tend to get a little verbose, and when the brain hits that gear of ‘talk about what you love’ it just comes flowing out.

Interviews + Technology Breakdown

The ‘now what’ question was prevalent during my time as a care giver & personal assistant. 

“Are you moving here?”

“What would you do for a job?”

In a town with a population of 8,000 (and decreasing), occupation paths that intersect with 25 years designing, presenting, detailing, & construction are few. I spent a good portion of the time trying to explain that fabrication & electrical product design is a different animal. I’m confident that I could learn it, but don’t have the background to land a senior position. There’s 1 architecture firm in town, family firm of 2, and a prefab home company. That’s it for architectural services. 

The family is well aware that I’m living in an area that’s prone to regional violence and crime, so personal safety is in question. It’s also going to quickly become financially difficult to maintain this living situation. Then the question echoes “Where are you going to be living?” and I still don’t have an answer to that. 

Sometime during week #2 of my stay, the Mac battery swelled, so I cracked the case and learned that a replacement would take 10 days to get there. I needed to run that off wall power. So the primary tech tool became the iPad… right up until the keyboard glitched out and killed the internal battery, causing random shutdowns if it was unplugged. No replacements for that in 100 miles. 

I needed to get back home. I had an interview scheduled for a senior project architect position in a local firm, and wasn’t going to be able to run that off my phone while explaining why I was dressed like a tech billionaire. (Black hoodie and jeans). 

I also had the tax monster looming to decide how much longer I could afford rent (and no access to paperwork). 

Combine this with the 1 year anniversary of unemployment, which means I won’t be able to keep the lights on around here much longer unless something changes.

Grandma was feeling better. She was 90% back to her usual and making plans for the future. 

The interview was over a week ago and I probably nerded out too hard without many work samples staged to address all of the questions. Fingers crossed. 

After I had done that, filed taxes and made my last post – things changed again. 

What Next?

I’ve had over a year to come up with a solution. 

For the last couple of months, I’ve been going back and forth between writing, trying to build a revenue streams on this site and taking a web-based Python classes to learn to code. I have an unpublished post on this that I started a month ago that I’ll be wrapping up soon. 

I started to gain the skills, and started to see the opportunity to build all those little things that I’ve always wanted to build starting to unfold. That organizational internal site that pulls together a firm’s documents by building phase? With pre-filled out fields based on data from other documents? 

That tool that pulls together a Revit template, loads applicable details and families based on front-end criteria? Yeah – I’m going to make that. 

Tools that scrape the web for data and images? Automating data-entry? Website augmentation tools? It’s all on the list. 

While out-of-state, to keep the hands moving (when tech tools were failing me), I researched and downloaded the local company’s prefab home catalog and started to re-design. Then I pulled in a set of wood framing tools that I had build previously.

I’ve been thinking in ‘framing & detailing’ since before I went to architecture school, and these tiny homes & options will get developed and detailed out. The intent is to provide full plan sets (just like a million other people out there). 

I also field-measured and photographed the entirety of Grandma’s house. The intent there was to build a Revit model of her home, and provide scale and dimension for a little model building to take place at a later date. 

I would love to find a way to democratize design and the practice of architecture. To bring it back to a profession that serves people, and provides design services to the individual outside of the $300 million development going up across town.

I’m fully capable to do both/either – but broadening the scope of design services and opportunities would benefit a larger portion of society and help more people gain access to design.

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Think Sam Mockabee’s “Rural Studio”. If you’re not familiar – its worth reading up on. Check it out here.

And the documentary “Citizen Architect” here on Amazon Prime. 

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No matter the scope, no matter the building typology, structural system, occupancy or code requirements – I have the background and skill set to be beneficial to the project. I’ve done everything from cutting diagrams for millwork companies/deck additions/residential remodeling to multi-phase medical research facilities and the Mall of America addition. 

Through the years of interviews I’ve been asked: 

“Can you do code review? Can you do front-end development? Can you develop and detail projects? Can you manage the CA process? Have you written specs? Consultant Coordination?” 

Well, yes to all. I usually spend most of my first year or so at the firm proving I’m not lying. My entire career, I’ve been careful to avoid being pigeon-holed in any one aspect of the career description. (That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen.)

I also want to automate some of it to make it easier to lower production overhead & provide greater project accuracy – in an increasingly competitive environment with an industry-wide business model that isn’t adapting to broader needs. (And to do that when  90% of your potential client base deems it unnecessary.) 

No matter the scale, an architect’s & drawings limit your financial risk, allow people to explore options prior to building anything (field revisions aren’t cheap) and in the age of data – can provide a modeled database of any building, any space or furniture solution. 

If you’ve ever heard or ever uttered the words “If I had to do it over – I would’ve ________” It might’ve been worth it to give someone a small fee to explore some ideas beforehand. 

My specific “Uncertain Times” (I really hate that terminology) have landed on the doorstep. I don’t know where I’ll be living next month, or what I’ll be trying to do for employment or for whom. The big question is, finding a market for design services as an independent, as a member of a design group, or remote team – if it becomes any more difficult to maintain residence here. 

All I do know, is what I’ve always sort of known.  

I can help. If I don’t know how, I’ll be the first to admit it – but I can learn. 

(Not knowing something tends to bug me, which drives me to learn more about it.) 

With that said – I’d prefer to do something that sets off the neurons. To create things, to make stuff, and to solve problems using design. 

What happens now? I know what I’d like to happen – but I don’t honestly know.