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Philip Boyd

Mrs. Peckham

Advanced Composition

7 February 2020

The Truths of Architecture

THE STORY OF THE SEARCH

Dubai has been proposed a building in which each floor can rotate independently from one

another, allowing the literal shape of the skyscraper to be altered. This incredible design, the

Dynamic Tower, was crafted by architect David Fisher. He began with an untouched slate and a

vision; he finished with one of the most awe-striking pieces of art any designer has

conceptualized. Being an accepted student for the fall of 2020 semester at the University of

Nebraska Lincoln’s College of Architecture, I needed to know the full extent of the role Mr.

Fisher played in the planning of this ground-breaking structure. More importantly, I need to

know if Mr. Fisher’s career is one that I am still interested in after uncovering the truth about

architecture.

 Like many projects, the Dynamic Tower’s construction was held back due to unfortunate

financial issues. This is not Mr. Fisher’s problem, right? Wrong. Contrary to what many people I

have encountered believe, architects do more than just sit at a desk and draw all day. Personally,

I knew architects had more of a leadership role in the birth of a new structure. Yes, they “draw

buildings,” but their foot is in the door of a whole lot more than just someone with a pencil and

ruler. From my toying with the idea of designing buildings (later to be discovered as

“architecture” thanks to my mom) for a living at a young age, I had the understanding that

architects needed to not only find the shape of the structure and make it look pretty, but also fine
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tune all pieces of the puzzle to fit into the look they desire. The job was to map out proportions,

to allow for placement of objects, to embed room for utility runnings and to make the eventual

inhabitant comfortable. With everything I knew, architects had a huge job. The role was only to

get bigger, though, once my English teacher, Mrs. Peckham, approached me with a research

paper assignment -- of which my chosen topic would obviously be architecture. 

What I was looking for was simple: is architecture still a desired career after my research

is done? To begin, I kept my searching simple. Job description was my go-to topic for an

overview of what an architect truly is. Generalized sources were thrown aside so I could walk

away with credible sources giving me a stronger understanding of the profession.  From there I

was led to a scholarly paper over the mental process an architect must go through in the design

process. All in all, I dug through blogs, college websites, government websites, news articles,

books, and even published research papers to find the cream of the crop information. Finally, I

interviewed Stephen Granger. Mr. Granger is a registered architect in five states and attended the

University of Nebraska Lincoln for his education, as I will. His input would give me a completed

picture of the profession from a real-life standpoint and personal experiences. At the end of my

research, from everything I have learned so far, I can certainly state that I found what I was

looking for. 

THE SEARCH

As I mentioned, when I began my search into the depths of the architecture profession, I went

basic. My first online searches were for the job description, because an important thing to know

about a career is what that career entails on a daily work basis. An overall consensus I was

brought to, from every source to which I referred, was that an architect designs buildings and
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structures for clients, according to state and federal regulations. This means that while an

architect’s main goal is to satisfy their client (Powell and Moser Learn.org), they must work with

code officials to follow the building and spacial regulations from the state and federal

governments. Furthermore, architects also have to work alongside engineers, contractors,

vendors and specialists (YR Architecture yr-architecture.com). My biggest take away from the

information I gathered: architects do not only work with their client, but have to manage the

entire process from design to erection through working with all phases and the necessary

personnel. As an architect, I need to be a leader in the entire process.

In order to be a leader for this process, I have discovered many skills and qualities that an

architect must possess for maximum efficiency. According to YR Architecture Design, architects

need to be creative thinkers for everything from the big picture to the small details, as to interpret

ideas, analyze conditions, develop designs, create construction details and even select finishes

for the structure (yr-architecture.com). To build upon the skills and qualities, Shailynn Krow of

the Houston Chronicle pushes that architects must be up to date in technology at all time to

incorporate the safest and most sustainable features (chron.com).

When speaking with Mr. Granger, I asked him what qualities he felt were important

outside of design work. He responded with patience, communication skills and time

management. I discovered that being able to communicate with clients is one of the most

important things and architect can do, as it is the foundation for any project that will be tackled.

Furthermore, architects must be able to divide their time up to not only work on projects, but

speak with clients. Mr. Granger explained that he spends nearly three hours a day simply

responding to emails. This really showed me the level of dedication that an architect has to their
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client. Now, with all this talk about designing, I dug into the design process itself to learn more

about the architect’s daily routine.

When laying out the plans for a project, architects must do more than just draw some

pretty pictures. With that being said however, architects have to draw pictures to do their work.

According to a published research paper by M. Suwa, J.S. Gero and T. Purcell, architects cannot

work in their head at all; they must put their pen on paper to do their job (How an Architect

Created Design Requirements). The three authors expanded upon this claim by explaining that

designers must draw sketches to fully conceptualize every possibility, and credited the “Analysis

Through Synthesis” theory by B. Lawson in their conclusions.

Knowing this, I further feel like I am moving in the right direction with choosing

architecture. I find that I love visualizing things, even though I do a lot of work in my head.

Expanding ideas into a physical plane to be conceptualized, I believe, is a matter of habit that I

can begin to engrain now.

From there, the three authors begin to explain that clients generally give vague design

requirements. This makes sense as most people are not trained architects and pitch what they

need with face value. According to YR Architecture Design, a company founded on architecture

education, it is absolutely crucial to learn the client’s personality to be able to conceptualize their

product (yr-architecture.com). They continue to expand on learning personality with discovering

the client’s goals. Knowing what a client wants to ultimately accomplish allows the architect to

have an endpoint to work towards.

As for actually designing, I learned a few different methods, or processes, that put the act

into perspective. First, I found that designing consisted of four different phases: Pre-Design,

Design, Approvals and Permits and Construction Observation (yr-architecture.com). Each of

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these phases consists of a few key points. To begin with the Pre-Design, an architect must review

all of the needs, goals, budgets and schedules for the project, as well as determine state and

federal codes that may interfere. When moving into the Design phase, it is important to spend

time on the future build site and get a feel for the landscape. “Having good knowledge of the

location your building will be erected is crucial to the success of the project,” (Granger). When

Mr. Granger said this, I was taken aback. It made perfect sense and I wondered why I had not

realized it before. One of the most important things in how a building is going to stand on a

landscape, is the landscape itself. YR Architecture Design continues the Design phase with

developing design and consulting engineers and other building professionals. Next, for

Approvals and Permits, the architect must review the finalized design with architectural review

boards and establish that all building codes were followed for construction to be allowed to

begin. From there, the Construction Observation phase sees the architect selecting contractors,

obtaining quotes, monitoring the construction process, and reviewing and approving payments.

When I dug into this “quick” overview of an architect’s design and building process, I once

again found myself sitting back and just thinking for a few minutes. Wrapping my head around

the number of approvals a design must go through to even thing about construction is not in short

supply.

With all of that in mind, however, I was not strayed from my plan yet. I had completed

my research covering an architect’s job and still wanted to pursue that career. This led me to

delve into the route I needed to take to fulfill my dream and become an architect.

As a high school student, I found it calming to know that I was on the right track if I still

wanted to become an architect. I learned that taking courses in physics and mathematics are

crucial to becoming an architect (Net Industries 286). After high school, obviously, comes the
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meat of career development. College. During this chapter of an architect’s life, internships

cannot be pushed enough.

A school’s placement office is an underused tool to find the best internship programs. To

begin searching for an internship, find a company with a dedicated program (Joyner Archinect).

Firms that do not have a dedicated internship program often forget about their interns. A firm

with a program will give me a master to work under with the job to help me day in and out to

learn more about the profession in a hands-on manner. Standards for internship programs are set

by the Intern Development Program, which was developed by the National Council of

Architectural Registration Board (learn.org). Being a developed resource that is scrutinized by

the very organization that hosts the process for registration means that interning must be a vital

part of the learning process. Sean Joyner writes, “There is a significant difference between

having internships while in school and waiting until you graduate to first step into an office,”

(Sean Joyner archinect.com). What he is trying to explain in this excerpt is that you absolutely

need to be involved in internships throughout college. Either way, you will need internships for

registration, so it is important to get a head start in that manner. Not only will I learn even more

about architecture and the requirements of the profession, but I will also be stepping towards my

goal of becoming licensed, as three years of apprenticeship are required before you can even

apply to become certified.

The journey for certification to become a licensed architect is not an easy one. First, you

need a degree from a college that has a program accredited by the National Architectural

Accrediting Board. You can obtain a bachelors and begin work from there, but there are masters

and doctorate programs available for an even higher education. Mr. Granger recommended that I

continue through my masters as that will allow me to register with a national board, which can
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essentially speed up the registration process in each state significantly. Along with obtaining a

degree, architect-hopefuls must also put three years of apprenticeship under their belt. Once

those two requirements are complete, the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) must be

passed.

Each state varies in their requirements and ARE test ever so slightly, but generally each

remains the same. One thing each state does differ on is climate requirements. Mr. Granger

explained that states like California, due to frequent earthquakes, require extensive courses in

seismic activity, before the ARE can be taken whereas a state like Nebraska does not. Little

things like that were originally overlooked for me, but it began to make more sense as to why

states must set their own standards for the registration test. Once the examination is passed, I can

begin my own work as a licensed architect.

As a licensed architect, advancement opportunities would surround me. Licensed

architects have the ability to start their own business and one fourth are already self employed

(Net Industries 286). Owning my own business would definitely drop a lot of pressure on my

shoulders, but luckily, I found that when joining an existing team, many advancement

opportunities are out there.

Rather than sticking to one portion of the design process in a team, I could go on to

become a supervisor, project manager, construction manager or even more into government

work. Being able to mold into a different position while still working with architecture is a relief

in that I will be able to change as a person and allow my daily work to reflect and support who I

become. I also believe it is these diverse advancement opportunities that make it difficult to put a

finger on average salary. According to Net Industries, the average pay for an architect is $60,300

with a usual $20,000 increase throughout the duration of the career (286). Shailynn Krow boasts
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that the average pay for an architect is more like $84,470 (chron.com). The career opportunities

are seemed to have been considered with Ms. Krow’s figure as Net Industries opts to give a

general starting wage and show that the door is there to make that extra $20,000.

REFLECTIONS

I set out to delve into the life and career of an architect and see if it was still something I was

interested in. I can strongly state that I accomplished this goal. With all of the new knowledge I

gained, I began to feel more ready to head into college and begin studying architecture. There are

definitely more intricacies throughout that I did not anticipate, but nothing that I uncovered was

able to scare me away from my dream.

One of the biggest things that through me off were how many organizations and boards

there are that regulate the entire licensing process. It makes sense, however, that every stage of

the process is scrutinized in order to establish the most up to date education and push the

strongest architects through. These stages are set up so that not only the architect feels ready to

jump into projects, but he client can rest assured that the architect is completely ready for the

task.

Worrying about finding work was another issue I was struggling with, but my research

definitely cleared the waters for me. I found that schools do have placement offices that can help

me find a job after graduation. Beyond that, I found that I can join any team that is looking for

help and jump right in. This process will also be easier after I learned that a master’s degree will

allow me to register nationally and speed up registering in states. It was comforting to know that

the system is set up to succeed in this business.

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All in all, I came into this paper wanting to know more about my dream job. Did I learn

everything? No. Did I learn everything I need to know to decide if I still want to be a part of this

industry? Absolutely. I have an incredible understanding of architecture and what is required of

those that hold the title of architect, and I still wish to be one. Finding that pretty buildings is

only the tip of the iceberg was not a shock, but all of the meat I found under the surface only

excited me for the challenges ahead.

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WORKS CITED

Joyner, Sean. "Understanding Architecture Internships." Archinect, 10 June 2019,

archinect.com/features/article/150140629/understanding-architecture-internships.
Accessed 20 January 2020.
Krow, Shailynn. "Duties and Responsibilities of an Architect." Houston Chronicle, 29 January
2018, work.chron.com/duties-responsibilities-architects-12956.html . Accessed 21
January 2020.
Learn.org. "Residential Architect." Learn.org. 2018,
learn.org/articles/Residential_Architect_Your_Career_and_Salary_Questions_Answered.
html. Accessed 21 January 2020.
M. Suwa, J.S. Gero, T. Purcell. "How an Architect Created Design Requirements."
papers.cumincad.org. 1999, papers.cumincad.org/cgi-bin/works/paper/a875. Accessed 20
January 2020.
Net Industries. "Architecture." careers.stateuniversity.com. 2020,
careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/286/Architect.html. Accessed 21 January 2020.
YR Architecture Design. "What Does an Architect Do?" ry-architecture.com. 2018, www.yr-
architecture.com/what-does-an-architect-do/ . Accessed 20 January 2020.