The Owner called with a problem with the doors.  First it was getting the door hardware installed on the job - hardware that must be programmed for multiple users to have access into the school with complex software- and now it’s the closure mechanism.

The problem is that the form of the door pull has to meet ADA requirements (it looks like a “C” form in shape with a required certain depth before it returns flush with the surface of the door and the key hole has to be inside that form to comply) but for the closer to hold the door open, you have to push the door open beyond 90 degrees to activate the mechanism that holds the door open.  We didn’t design for that space, 4″ depth for the hardware.  When the doors are fully open, the pulls knock into each other.  In order for the doors to be held open, you have to push the door beyond 90 for the closure to click and activate.  We can’t do that in all instances of our brand new building because that consideration was skipped in the design process.  One door can hold open at a time, but we lack 8″ for both doors to remain open at one time.

We are currently brainstorming solutions…

In these years we’ve had five
I’ve never felt so much alive.
Never felt so in love
we’ve been put together by God above.

Your smile so sweet
it makes me feel complete,
your laugh so genuine at my jokes
even when they are poorly spoke.

Our time together I treasure dear,
my love language of time spent near.
My words I speak to fill you up
I hope they overflow your cup.

Less than a year we’ve been wed,
“I could never be happier,” I truly said.
Than with you as my bride, by my side,
Our adventures together stride by stride.

Ten years down the road
a wild party we must hold!
To celebrate love so bold
that others see and we behold.

I went to architecture school for for years; graduated with a bachelor of arts in architecture degree. I am apprenticing in a firm to earn my intern development program credits (IDP); I will return to graduate school to get my master’s degree in architecture.  I will complete my IDP and start taking 7 architect’s registration exams (AREs).  I will gain my license to practice architecture.  I will participate in continuing education credits and attend seminars to stay up to date with my profession.  I will become a project manager.

At times it feels frustratingly overwhelming how much I feel I don’t know.  My employer gave a very interesting dialogue today of the paperwork that our firm fills out during the design development process of our educational jobs, and it was really interesting to me; within a few hours he had me transcribing marks on payout forms from a general contractor, discussing how he determines and evaluates how much to give builders.  On a current project that we have in the office, the construction manager (CM) provided us with a design development cost estimate, and I had no idea how the monetary figure was determined for rough carpentry - and had to look at a specification to see what was included in the woods section.  These are new things that I didn’t receive exposure to in school and feel completely inexperienced.

At the same time, I’m learning so much.  In just over one year, I can see a tremendous change in myself.

I’m learning to listen - and not just “hear” people.  I’m getting better at not interrupting people while they speak - and it’s amazing what I’ve missed for so long.  I’m seeking to see patterns in the needs of my employers, so I can better aid them and make their jobs easier.  I’ve been asked to take on more responsibilities at work: I’m now the webmaster of our website, and I’m assisting in promotional projects like adding our company a page on facebook.  I’m learning how to read a set of documents to answer questions about the building’s existing conditions and verify construction progress to a set of contract documents.  I’m learning to draw in more detail than I ever did in undergrad- and compose a set of documents in a beautiful, artistic, and logical way.  I’m seeking to be more thorough in quality control of the document review process.  My vocabulary is expanding.  My 3D vision is becoming more fine tuned.  I’m interested in flashing details and issues of environmental controls.

I think architecture is what I want to make not only my job, but also my long term career.

“I’d like to get the foundation on  #17 dug today.”

“Look, I know you’re new around here, kid.”

“What?”

“I can’t get to 17 until at least next week.”

“Comeon, Mulhern, That’s bullshit and you know it.  Take Clemens and Rodriguez off roofing.  Jorge can run the backhoe they’re not using on 14…  Grab 4 or 5 of those other guys who are sitting around not doing nothing on 7 and 10.  Paulie, Carlos, Frank, Danny, and what’s-his-name, the tall guy?”

“Rafael.”

“Rafael.”

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

This is a quick section sketch I did of the Paul Sawier public library in Frankfort, KY.  I need to go out sketching more to practice those hand muscles, because I felt clumsy and uncertain of myself at this first documentation sketch I’ve made in several weeks.

Through the primary entrance and 8 sided lantern/oculus

My section doesn’t capture this well enough to my liking, but as you go in the primary entrance to the library, you enter a wall of 4″ deep display casework with sliding glass doors, and then enter a hollow metal door frame with transom light to enter the circulation area.  Above that entrance, the ceiling rises to 18″ higher, and you can see an 8 sided lantern that looks into a second 8 sided lantern above you, and from that you can see the sky above.

I went up to the second floor (children’s wing) and stood at the large glass lantern, looking down into the space where I had just stood at the entrance.  I then looked up, and out to the sky - and saw that there are side walls outside of the second lantern that conceal roof conditions (stucco with a metal edge trim around the top).  One the second floor, a column separates some computer spaces lit by a chandelier, and a open web truss carries the roof load down to the exterior wall on a slant.

Looking at my drawing, I needed to make some small thumbnail sketches before I started to describe what I wanted to say graphically.  I also missed the entrance foyer hallway and the steps down to grade, which really accents this vertical relationship that I’m trying to show.

I need to go and draw it again.

My paper looks yellow in my scanned image, yet my acid-free paper in my sketchbook is white.  I will look at the scanner settings before I try to post another sketch.  Any tips or advise how to make this look better?  There is also a little bit of the scan from my previous page visible in the top right corner, so perhaps I need to start my next sketch on a clean page front and back to prevent this from happening.

Porch Sketch (Plan, Section, Elevation, Detail)

My employer and I had a conversation a few months ago about understanding and comprehension, and I’ve been thinking a good deal about it over the past week.  One of the architects in our office was working on sections of an auditorium for a high school that our office is renovating and coming up with an addition, and as I asked him how the sections were coming along he replied,

“I have to draw it myself, because I have to understand it.  If the contractor asks me questions, I have to be able to think my way through it.”

I left the office smiling, digesting what he said.  He desires a deep level of comprehension that comes through a three dimensional understanding of how the object would be manufactured, transported, and assembled in the auditorium.  He needed to know how the connections would be into the existing conditions, and if the existing walls could carry the load for the new trusses and lighting.

More than a month ago, I was working on record drawings to give to a client of work that we had built, and I sketched this (porch column, above).  It is a steel column, expertly hidden inside of a masonry base with concrete sill and a metal sheathe.  Looking at the construction documents, I was able to grasp how it would be built, and how the metal would be bent and connected with a backer rod and sealant to keep it together.  To prevent the masonry from getting too much moisture, the concrete sill was cut around the perimeter to create a drip edge.

I “understand” it when I glance at the built construction and see a column, supporting the load.

I “comprehend” it when I can explain it to you and answer your questions about how it will be built, how I might estimate its cost, and how much load it may carry (based on calculations of the size of the steel).

Last but not least, I wanted to say I have been inspired to draw more and to post my sketching from the work of Suzanne Cabera and Edgar Cabera, both of whom keep updated, beautiful blogs about sketching in their life.  If you two find this, I want you to know that seeing your sketches reminds me of why I fell in love with the joy of sketching.

Tomorrow night is busy, I’m going to a dance with my fiancee, but this weekend I will post a section of the Paul Sawyier Public Library.

It’s Saturday, and I woke up at 5:55AM, just five minutes before my two alarm clocks would normally start chiming on my makeshift nightstand during the work week.   I actually laughed in bed, because I knew I didn’t have to get up.  I tried to reposition the covers, and even switched the blankets between the one my fiancee made for me and the one I received as a gift for Christmas that is so soft.  I rearranged the pillows, and even shifted my arms around in a more comfortable position.  I also need to mention that it is really cold.  Like Wednesday afternoon it was 80F and this morning is 36F.

Nothing.

I mean, my mind is already buzzing about work.  It’s SATURDAY for goodness sake!

7:00AM.  I awoke again.  “It’s not time to leave the house for the commute, it’s Saturday.”

I started to wonder if my body is slowly conditioning itself to the schedule of a routine.

7:14AM.  My roommate, Peter, opens the door from his bedroom.  He ran in a marathon over the summer, finished it (go Pete!) and won a medal for finishing the race.  It now resides on the doorknob to his room, which is a major source of frustration to me on Saturday mornings.  Because when Pete gets up to go to the bathroom, somehow that medal jiggles against the rabbet of the door jamb way too much.

Around 8:06AM, I couldn’t take it anymore.  I got up out of bed.  Time to do something.

For me, I need to carve away part of my week that is just alone time - for just me.  I need time to reflect, think, analyze - and I haven’t made myself set time aside to do this in over a month.  Every weekend for the last month has been jam packed with traveling, running errands, spending time with loved ones and family, and planning a wedding - and I haven’t taken that “J.T.” time.

Thoughts for the morning:

1. Spiritual, mental, and physical “batteries” need to be recharged.   For me, this means reading my bible, spending some time in prayer, reflecting on the past.  I need to be physically clean with a hot shower and close shave, and let go of things that are gnawing in the back of my mind.
2. I have a lot of things that I need to do, but seem to lack getting them done.  It’s not for a lack of motivation or a desire to complete them, but more a problem of not having enough hours in the day.  I was thinking about this last night, and here are some of the details that make that the way it is:
   • Working Monday through Friday 8-5 only leaves 4 or 5 hours at the end of the day after the return commute from work before retiring to bed.  Part of that has to involve dinner (cook, eat, clean up) and so that takes a chunk of the time.  When I get around to working on a task, I seem to only put in two hours before calling it quits.
   • I need to make a ordered list with calendar date deadlines and estimate how many hours each task will take.  Write the upcoming week’s calendar, and show some graphic way of representing how important things are and how I’m doing on each of them.
   • Accept that some things come up on a schedule that you don’t know about, but not be afraid to tell people, “No,” and that I already have plans.  I don’t like doing that, but it needs to happen in order that I can be more productive.
3. I don’t remember the last time I sketched for pleasure, for the joy of drawing.  I will sketch something in my sketchbook before the end of the day.
4. I have nothing that I want to eat for breakfast in the pantry this morning.

That’s all for now.

Our architecture firm is doing a fitup of an existing building, a renovation for a new owner and new company that is moving into an empty office.  The problem lay in the fact that we had no existing drawings - and so we had them pulled from the archives.

The department of buildings of local authorities keeps records of the 100% construction documents, when a project goes out to bid after getting approved from the building authority for life safety, egress, and building code fulfillment.  The department keeps them on file during the construction process, but eventually has to archive the drawings, otherwise there would be a massive need for storage space of all the buildings built in the jurisdiction of the authority.  I believe they are scanned into a computer or photographed and reduced to microfilm, and put on a roll and stacked on a shelf.

Those scans from the microfilm were the documents that we paid to have a copy made, and received digital TIFFs of the images.  We brought these into AutoCAD and scaled them until the dimensions came out to less than an inch of their intended measurements, and overlaid or traced the walls and lines of the existing building.  This gave us an image of the building that we printed out and took with us to the site to make field measurements and verify information.

What would happen if those drawings had not been kept?  The building would have been lost to time and space, and it would have taken lots of measurements and scouting to come up with the information that we could have gotten from construction documents.  As architects, we could have gone in and drawn from sketches the room layouts and made dimensions, it would have taken large amounts of billable time that would be better spent in the schematic or design development stages of the project, instead of gathering information.  Our firm saved money by purchasing an archived copy of the construction documents and overlaying our new lines over top the old ones.  Although it wasn’t a perfect match, it was close enough to print out and make field measurements.

I was wondering if there couldn’t be a better method of submittals to the department?  If digital documents were required to be submitted, I initially thought that this would help my problem - but it opens up a whole new realm of issues.  Different architects use different line weights, drawing styles and methods, and different digital programs to draw their architecture - and some still do it by hand with pencils, the old fashion way.  Requiring digital copies (PDF, JPGs, TIFFs) would require massive digital storage space - and a security to keep those documents safe and out of the hands of someone who would try to take advantage of them.  Although it sounded like a good idea, so many logistical problems make it seem unlikely solution in the near future.

I heard an interesting metaphor for an architect’s role last week, and thought it deserved sharing; the architect not only as a renaissance man, but also as a spider.  Look carefully at the images from Leonardo’s Virtruvian Man and the first Spiderman comic.

“Renaissance man” is a phrase for an individual with broad intellectual interests in areas of both arts an sciences; this is similar to a “jack of all trades,” an individual who knows a little bit about everything.  Indeed, that is exactly the role architects fill.  We speak with clients, contractors, retail vendors, manufacturers, media, our coworkers and to other architects in diverse ranges of communication.  We know about how to draw, technical building science - the nuts of bolts of how buildings go together - but also the beauty of architecture and spaces that fulfill needs while being aesthetically pleasing.

“The Spider” described how the architect worked with time management, prioritized tasks and events, and dealt with issues and problems.  Imagine the architect as the spider in the center of a web.  In radial lines moving out in 360 degrees from the architect are ongoing projects and tasks to be performed (some big, some small).  The architect holds all of these things together in a sticky web, moving from one project to the other - and keeping them all connected in his head.  Gnats and flies are construction problems that arise in the field, and it is the architects responsibility to deal with construction management and acts in the owner’s interest as the owner’s representative.  When you can “eat” those problems in a single day and solve the problem, the web stays clean and maintained.  Too many gnats at once seem to jiggle and bounce the webbing, and it seems like all of the projects are in danger of collapse (pun intended).  That’s not true, but it seems that way from the perspective of the spider.

As a young intern architect, I find myself continually learning about graphic communication in our legally binding contract documents.  I’m learning to draw objects that include all the information that should give a contractor the ability to construct the objects, space, and eventually buildings.  My education so far has been largely schematic in my educational designs, and we never got a project to the stage where we would have made contract documents, so I feel slow and sluggish at my task.  I am learning and picking up things every day at work, and trying my hardest to be vigilant and meticulous to detail(s).  (My second pun - excuse the corny jokes!)

I have several articles drafted, and will try to post another or two this upcoming week.

LAMY Fountain Pen, B Pencil, and Yellow Pad

The previous year in 2009 was absolutely wonderful for me, and the new year already proves promising.

I hesitated in writing this for some time, because I didn’t think I had anything worth saying on my blog, so I kept my mouth and pen closed; I thought that my words had to be this deep, profound architectural or faith statement that made a reader say, “Wow.” on every post.  Although that sounds nice, it is probably not the case for most readers, and that is okay.

The blogs that I enjoy reading don’t always include posts that make my mind grow and stretch every time, but reveal the thoughts and attitudes of an individual who has a opinion on an issue or topic.  They are often humorous, clever, and include drawings or photographs, but don’t always have all of those components.

What I am trying to say is that I am going to start writing again.