Snappy Salads Preston Forest
I have invited Chris Dahlander, a long time friend, entrepreneur, and the creator/owner/operator of the restaurant Snappy Salads, to prepare a guest post. Chris and I have known each other for almost 30 years, he’s a super-interesting guy and I was happy to invite him to write this post for you (and even more excited when he agreed). He occasionally reads my blog and knows the topics I generally cover but I told him he could write about whatever he wanted. If your in the Dallas area, you should go by his restaurant – the food is great, the design of the store is great, and Chris was supporting sustainable design before that catchphrase even existed. Please give him your support.
When Bob first asked me to guest blog for him I thought, “That’ll be easy, I’ve got a lot to talk about. I can’t even say my name in less than an hour.” So I told Bob that I was going to write an article on obesity in America but it was boring and somewhat preachy (we even had a picture of a saber tooth tiger ready to go). Sorry, Bob, for not sticking to the plan. Instead, I thought it might be more interesting to focus on why/how I created Snappy Salads and why I believe that it’s successful.
I created this concept out of desperation. One day on a flight from DFW to LA, after not being able to find anything at the airport to eat, I pulled out my notebook and starting jotting down my ideas for a new restaurant that would be perfect for the airport. It was more of an exercise to calm my mind (I’ve always been a dreamer), but turned out to be the genesis for Snappy Salads. I came up with a few name options and developed the general idea on the plane.
Once I landed, I immediately began to research this crazy idea of a restaurant that only served made-to-order salads. It seems crazy now, but there were really only two or three places that I could find on the internet that were even remotely similar to my idea. I wondered if I might be on to something.
From then on, I ate a ton of burritos, sandwiches, and salads as part of my research. I liked Chipotle because of their efficiency, Freebirds because of its cool vibe, Potbelly’s because of its pricing strategy, and Subway because it was everything that I didn’t want to be. From that point on, every place I went ultimately became research for this concept and was scribbled down in one notebook.
I choose the name Snappy Salads because 1) it uses alliteration, 2) connotes a quick transaction, 3) says to people “fresh,” 4) my grandfather used to say, “Chris, you are looking snappy today!” and most importantly, 5) has the same number of letters in both words. It has balance. And I have come to realize that balance would be a key attribute in my world in myriad ways.
A quick background on me: I worked at Brinker International as the Marketing Director for Romano’s Macaroni Grill from 1996 to 2004. A 210-unit casual dining Italian restaurant chain. It was a great job! In fact, I’ve been to most of the places Bob is visiting this weekend while I try and do justice to his blog. We sold a ton of wine and so I hosted groups of general managers and chefs on red-carpet tours of the wine country multiple times. But that’s not the story. Sorry, back on topic Chris.
One of the revelations I had along the way was that in order for this place to be successful, it had to be a direct reflection of my personal and business philosophies. I wanted it to be healthy. Healthy for the guest. Healthy for my teammembers. Healthy for the environment and healthy for my stockholders. I taped a quote to my notebook that led me through the startup phase, “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s hard to make a difference.”
I am an Eagle Scout. I’ve always been concerned about the environment, but up until opening the restaurant, I only recycled paper at the local school. This I knew had to change. “Leave it better than the way you found it” was a lesson I learned while hiking 100 miles at Philmont. When I started talking to suppliers about wanting to use biodegradable take out containers, utensils, and cups you would have thought I had three heads. Most of the food reps politely nodded their head in agreement and then never called me back. Persistence is the other word I have come to personally define.
Thankfully, I found a distributor (Ben E. Keith) that saw the vision and helped me source many of the environmentally friendly items I use today. But that wasn’t all. I decided to use milk paint on the walls, reclaimed wood for the tables and detail work, CFLs whenever possible, hemp uniforms, organic tea, earth-friendly cleaners, and humanely raised meat products. Each one of these was initially greeted with some kind of resistance. As I was confronted with more and more of these objections, I realized that I might be on to something. To this day, most of the industry rags call me for help on stories about “going green.”
Snappy Salads Preston Forest Interior
The last thing that I really had to worry about was the design. I’m no designer, but I love good design. My friend told me about a noodle restaurant that he visited a lot in the UK called Wagamama. I checked it out online and saw these cool long tables. Perfect! I needed to optimize my seating and live up to the Snappy part of the name. When I told my designer (not Bob), he looked at me, tilted his head, and said with a slight smile, “You realize we live in Texas?” I love my gathering tables. They invite people to sit down together as a community. The first time I saw two friends sit down together after they saw each other in line, I knew that I was on to something.
My tagline is “So good, even guys like our salads.” It’s true. It is commonplace to see four guys in business suits sitting down together eating salads. I really built this restaurant for myself. I put everything into this restaurant. My heart, my soul, my experiences, my hope, my money, my life. It is a mirror image of me and all that I am.
I have GREAT days. I have S#!++% days. More great days now than when I first started, but a s#!++% day will still creep in every now and then reminding me that we are only as good as our last salad. All in all though, I’m happier than I’ve ever been before in my life. I’m learning more and more each day and being challenged in ways that I never knew. When I go to bed at night I’m tired, but I’m always looking forward to the next day.
There are two Snappy Salads so far in four years of existence. Our sales were +7.2% last year and +11.1% in the first quarter of 2010. We were named “Best Salad Shop” by D magazine, “Best Salad” by the Dallas Observer, have a 4.5 star rating on Yelp.com, and were selected as the “2007 Sustainable Business” by the Greater DFW Recycling Alliance. We’re in the process of locating a third location and expect to have it open before the end of the year. We’re also in discussions with DFW airport. I’m on to something bigger than I ever dreamed.
If you are entrepreneurial in spirit, I offer these words in hopes that they inspire you to do things your way. To listen to your internal compass and to persevere regardless of the resistance you might encounter. You can do anything that you put your heart in and mind to. No excuses.
If you’re part of the process, I hope that this cracks the door open just enough for you to take a moment to listen to people like me before moving on to traditional projects. You never know when that voice on the other end of the phone might actually be on to something big.
Thank you Bob, and your readers, for allowing me to guest post this week. I appreciate the opportunity to share my story.
Chris Dahlander
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Everything you ever wanted to know about writing a blog; how to attract readers, increase traffic to your site, pump up your email subscriptions, reduce your bounce rate, etc – you won’t find here because I don’t know how to do that stuff either. What I can share with you is the information and data collected from my site – for what that’s worth. I thought others might find it interesting if I were pull the curtain back and espose some real world numbers (or parametrics…I think), to let people know what they might expect when they start out writing a blog. Your numbers might be better or they might be worse – I’d like to think that traffic to my site is driven by the amazing funky fresh insight I provide, that my take on things has some value but I have no idea and I have nothing to compare it to. I might discover that my numbers are comb-over bad or kung-fu awesome. This is exactly the reason I am doing this, bringing this information into the light so others won’t venture into bad neighborhoods to feed their need for information.If there was an article out there that was blog related, I’m pretty sure I read it. Most of them were amazingly stupid and obvious and gave advice like:
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To get more subscribers, make it easy for people to subscribe, or
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Offer original and quality content on your site, or
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Really bad website design is a big mistake and can be off-putting to potential readers
Really? Wow – such insight has to be hard to come by. I guess I should rethink my strategy of designing a sorta bad, but not really bad website where you had to solve puzzles to subscribe so you could then read partial Garfield comics that Jim Davis penned in 1983. (these are all real tips I pulled of other people’s blog posts – really)
Thanks.
At first, I was okay with simpleton advice tips 101 because I didn’t know anything and I was willing to read through the 100 ridiculous tips to find one good one. It didn’t take long before I evolved beyond these tips and I was looking for something with a little more meat on the bone. I should point out that I am not technically gifted but I do have some skills but writing code isn’t one of them. I started the writing my blog to learn how about social networking, RSS feeds, etc. so I didn’t have any applicable technological knowledge coming in. I made mistakes, but I know through my job the value of backing up my work so the few times I did kill my site I was able to restore it without much effort. As I searched deeper and deeper, I started reaching out to friends and other bloggers to get advice, tips and help. I have found that most people in the blogosphere are really, really helpful and I haven’t met one yet that wouldn’t go the extra mile to help. It is one of the greatest things I have experienced since starting this blog – learning that it’s like Utopia here and everybody is friendly and wants to help and see you succeed. So let’s get on with the curtain pulling shall we? Say hello to my little friend…..
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So once you have actually started your blog, you need to have some way of getting it to your readers. When I started, I honestly thought that the only people who would read or visit my site were my friends (which I don’t have that many) and my family (which don’t really care). I didn’t have any expectations – but only because I didn’t know what to expect. So I set up a Google Feedburner account so that people could subscribe to my site and have my posts delivered to them either through a reader like iGoogle or to their email address. You can see in the chart above that the growth is fairly consistent in the general upward direction – that is good. Lately, for some reason I can’t explain, my RSS subscriptions swing wildly day to day. I am at a high today of 186 but I was at 145 yesterday and 180 the day before that - who knows.
A few weeks ago I reduced the amount of posts I wrote from 5 days a week (M-F) to 3 days a week (M-W-F) and the blue line above – the one that looks like a heart monitor chart, reflects that pretty clearly. Something else that I can’t explain is that my email subscriptions got up to 33 pretty in about 3 weeks, but it hasn’t changed since. I thought there might be a broken link or something because I read that email subscriptions are still (but just barely) the favored delivery method. I even subscribed myself to make sure that it was working – it was – so I can’t tell you why the emails stopped at 33 and the RSS rose from 70 to 186 in the same period. Maybe my readers are super savvy and ahead of the curve of the general population (that’s what I’m going with).
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This is my Google analytics page – kinda hard to get it to fit and still be easy to read (sorry). I started hosting my site on March 4th so this chart only reflects the last 40 days. To give you some idea, March 4th was a Thursday and I had 13 unique visitors at www.lifeofanarchitect.com. When I relocated from my blogger site to my own domain, I lost loads of people and since I didn’t have that many, this freaked me out. I felt that I had lost all the ground I made in the previous weeks. I even went in to my blogger account and set up special messages and URL links to the relocated posts on my new site after I had spent a week trying to figure out how to safely migrate between sites. I have since recovered but felt pretty stupid for not making the switch more seamlessly.
You can see in the map above that there are a couple of Everest like spikes – the whole chart actually looks like a profile of the Himalayas. The first really large bump was when two posts I wrote were picked up by a fellow blogger in Portugal, Daniel Carrapa author of The Belly of an Architect. Daniel posted a link to my site and referenced the posts and it my site blew up. I went from 30-50 readers a day to 550 and when the dust finally settled, I leveled out with an additional 125 readers a day. For a while, I had more readers from Portugal than American.The next spike happened a week later was another blog site that referenced these same two posts – this time it was a German site. This pattern repeated two more times and I have slowly been crawling upward ever since. The swales or dips you see in the chart towards the end are the weekends when I don’t write or publish anything.
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I had some of my new blogger friends tell me that I needed to be on Twitter – something that I resisted. I didn’t understand what Twitter was really all about and relegated it to people who were interested in hearing that “@BrineySpears dropped her fork, picked it up, and used it again without wiping it off.” Yeah, that’s not for me – totally not interested. After I was chastised for being stupid, I dusted off a name, @bobborson that I had set up a while back and entered a “followme” link on my site. I did this on March 4th – the same day that I launched my new domain. I have made quite a few worthwhile connections on Twitter and they have made a huge difference in helping promote my site. Promote is a nasty word, I’m not selling anything, maybe market is better? No, definetly not.
I will go online and to read through headlines on Twitter that get me to follow the link to an article. It’s pretty slick and has turned out to be a great resource. Not with regards to how to increase the traffic to my site (there are gorgillions of those links) but information that I think helps make more more relevant as an architect. I feel more connected to my profession than I ever have. I have read loads of articles, even bought a book on Twitter, to learn more on Twitter etiquette. When I started, I sought out Twitter lists and followed about 150 people who were in architecture and design related fields – some followed me back and others didn’t – but Twitter etiquette told me that the decent thing to do was to follow back the people who follow you. So that is what I have done – I haven’t sought out too many people from those first few days and I haven’t followed anyone (that didn’t follow me first) without reading some of their tweets and learning if they had something worth my time.
While I would love for all my numbers to be fantastic – and maybe they are for only having been at this for basically 2 months – I am more interested in representing myself properly and genuinely. There are services that you can page that would route people to your blog or to your twitter account but I don’t see the value – particularly since I’m not trying to get anyone to buy anything.
Most of the really good pieces of advice seem pretty obvious once you hear them and can practically apply them; some that you may not be able to appreciate until you get involved within the blogging community. Read other blogs, post comments, engage other readers – these things benefit everyone. I don’t mind if someone comes onto my site and posts a comment that will route people to their site. Now I’ll delete it if their comment is superficial or so thinly veiled that the only reason they are posting is to create traffic to a different site. I just set up a meaningfull blog roll and I have written guest posts on different sites; these small and simple gestures have impacted my site immeasurably and I’ve made some new friends.
Content drives sites like mine and the ones I like to visit and read. I really do go for the content - not gimmicks or give aways. Eventually I’ll dry up and become irrelevant at some point but I don’t think that’s where I am at now. Despite being a source of stress, I still enjoy it when I write a post and someone leaves a comment (other than “you suck” but I have asked my sister to stop doing that).
Two guys are in a bar and one sees a girl he really likes and his buddy is prodding him to go talk to her:
Buddy #1: Dude, go talk to her.
Buddy #2: No way man – she’s too pretty and she’ll never go out with me. I’ll get rejected and it will be totally embarrassing.
Buddy #1: C’mon you wuss! What’s the worst thing that could happen other than her saying no? What if you get a yes?
Buddy #2: all right….
(walking over to the girls and speaking to the one he likes)
Buddy #2: Hi my name is Buddy #2 and I was wondering if maybe you would like to go out some time?
Girl: Get away from me you f*cking loser!
(walking back over to Buddy #1)
Buddy #2: That was a lot worse than no.
That joke always come to mind when you get advice that seems really obvious and the person who is giving the advice doesn’t have anything to lose. That’s sort of how I felt after reading all these posts on finding readers, what to do, how to attract them, etc. and that’s why I thought it would be beneficial to other people who have blogs to see what is going on over here. For some reason, sharing this information seems like telling someone how much money you make or how much you paid for something precious. That’s not really who I am and if sharing this information helps someone else gage if they are on the right track, that’s awesome.
Cheers!
ps – feel free to subscribe by clicking on the RSS feed or by entering in your email address (oohh, now I feel dirty)
'The Walking City' by Ron Herron, 1964
I remember something that one of my favorite college professors said during my very first class. The teacher was Larry Speck - didn’t know who he was at the time but is definitely someone I am glad was part of my formative architectural years. He taught a class titled “Architecture and Society” and he told us that he chose this name because the “and society” part gave him free reign to talk about whatever he wanted.
My site, Life of an Architect, was intentionally titled along those same lines – despite any evidence that I have or have not strayed too far from the architect part. Today’s post is a little more on the life side of who I am, what I do day to day, and how it makes me feel. Usually I am pretty upbeat but like all people, I have my moments of being cranky and I try to remember what my wife has told me on several occasions (usually when I am ripping on someone for being an “idiot). She tells me that everyone is entitled to a bad day and all people should be allowed to recover from their mistakes. She is a genius and far greater than I deserve because I truly do believe I am a better person for knowing her and for being her husband.
I am not sure how this week is going to go for me – I am a little excited and a little nervous. On Monday, I have a fire chief coming into the office for a visit/ interview. The firm I work for mostly does residential projects but we started doing fire stations about 4 years ago and but only decided to actively pursue them a little more than a year ago, right when the economy was really starting to suck – hard. We haven’t received any new commissions and there have been few opportunities to even submit our qualifications to cities for consideration. The work just hasn’t been there for the new kids on the block. I met the chief coming in during a conference a few months and this is a big deal to us – particularly me since I am trying to become the firms rainmaker. I got my fingers crossed that this will eventually lead somewhere.
My mother-in-law is coming to town on Tuesday (I think it’s Tuesday…MICHELLE!!!) She’s awesome and my daughter will love getting to spend time with Grandma. The reason she is coming in to visit is because Michelle and I are flying out to San Francisco on Thursday morning to help celebrate my brother-in-law’s 50th birthday. He is a huge wine aficionado and he has put together two days of super-insider vineyard tours and tastings. He has been buying wine (the good stuff, not the box stuff you mix with fruit) for years in $$ quantities that people who sell wine like to have come visit – and bring along 12 of their closest wine drinking buddies. My brother-on-law is a real interesting guy, I like him quite a bit. He is a know-it-all in the truest sense of the word; but because he actually does know-it-all, I enjoy talking to him. Going with him on this trip – to his world – is going to be really awesome. He sent me a list of some of the places we are going, which include:
And if going this this ‘A’ list of vineyards is already a scoreboard moment, the birthday dinner will be at ‘Press’ in St. Helena.
Needless to say, I will need to do some recon work so I can at least pretend to participate and appreciate what’s happening while I’m still in the moment. I should also thank my sister because without her general awesomeness, this trip would not have been entirely possible for Michelle and I.
On Friday, I have the preliminary judging of the entries for the Dallas Chapter AIA, Young Architects Forum CASA Parade of Playhouses design competition. I am not going to be available for the initial review since I will be in Napa Valley getting snockered. This is an important event for me because I care about the cause and I genuinely care for the success of the people who have dedicated their lives to helping these children. As a result, I am going to have to do some juggling to make my presence known during this initial design review phase. I will see about putting together a post one day of the entries, it should be a lot of fun.
Mixed in between all these scheduled activities are all the unscheduled activities that are so routine they are basically scheduled – thing like driving and picking my daughter up from school, bath nights, taking out the trash, stuff that everyone has to do. Packing will have to figure in at some point – oh, and I need to read my Robert Parker books on wine and these vineyards.
Finally, since I have gone to primarily writing my posts for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I will need to pre-write Friday and next Monday’s post prior to leaving – either that or commit to writing from the road. Not sure that I want to be dragging my computer around looking for WiFi connections. I was thinking about getting a friend of mine to write a post but not sure how much time he has to commit. He runs a really interesting business here in town – Snappy Salads. It’s a great concept, his execution is to be admired and he was on-board with the whole earth friendly, small carbon footprint – potato flake utensils before anyone. I am going to be pestering him the next few days, fingers crossed.
That’s how my week is planned so far, I bet I make it at least until later today before something goes wrong.
Cheers.
I’m not proud to admit that I’ve sold myself cheaply before but I need to admit the truth so that I can move on with my recovery.
scene: standing room only crowd but since nobody is wearing black or heavy-framed glasses, I don’t recognize anyone
Moderator: Is there anyone new here tonight that would like to share?
Me: Hi everyone, my name is Bob….and I am a hooker-architect.
Group : (unenthusiastically and in monotone) Hi Bob, welcome.
Me: Well, I guess it all started when I graduated from college back in 1992. You know, the economy wasn’t all that great back then either and despite my unvalidated high opinion of myself, there wasn’t a line of employment suitors waiting for me.
Group: (grumbling, nodding heads in agreement while looking at the floor)
Me: I actually got my first job because my Mom new someone who new someone who needed some help. I met with the guy – he was currently working out of a closet in his house – and he sorta interviewed me at fast food restaurant. He designed retail spaces and was almost exactly 10 years older than me. I had one studio in school where we had a retail project – I hated it – it was my least favorite studio but the teacher really seemed to like me, maybe more than he should have (wink, wink). Based on the personal relationship I developed with this teacher, I did very well in this studio.
Group: (murmuring to each other) – did he just say what I think he did?
Me: I knew what he wanted so I gave it to him….an all black store full of spacial experiences that focused on..(swallows loudly)…china. I didn’t want to do a store that sold plates and that Lladro figurine crap but he was soooo into it. I suppose this was the first time I realized what I was capable of doing. I was okay doing a job I didn’t want just to make someone else happy so that I could benefit.
Group: That’s were it starts – in the schools!
Moderator: (standing and waving arms) Everyone settle down! Please…continue.
Me: Ahh..Uhm…so anyways, during this time I learned all sorts of ‘tricks’ – stuff the “clients” pay extra for. I became skilled in the art of metal studs and drywall, custom cabinetry, luxurious finishes, cantilevered soffits and storefront systems that don’t have to keep water out. We’ve all been to these places before! Malls!…Architectural sin is peddled everywhere, strangers are lurking in entryways hawking their goods and services, trying to get you to come in with a promise of getting something “special”.
Group: That is disgusting…..We’re here for you brother!
Me: I was a part of this world for years until I met a special woman who pulled me out…Michelle (sigh)….I thought she had saved my life and that I could go back to just being an architect. And she did, but only for awhile.
Group: There are always setbacks on the road to recovery Brother, we’ve all been there! You can beat this!
Me: But there have been other jobs I’ve taken – usually for the money….sweet, sweet money….I know that I should turn down jobs where the clients wants to cut down a tree, or when they aren’t interested in being carbon neutral. I know this! I….(breaking down sobbing – whispering) I can’t go on….can I stop here for tonight?
Moderator: (whispering in my ear, arm around my shoulders) You did great. (loudly) Let’s give our new friend a warm welcome during coffee and donuts after we’re done here. Anyone else want to share this evening?
New person: Hi everyone, my name is Ted………….and I do multi-family.
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Come on and admit it – we’ve either done it or we’re thinking about doing it. It’s the siren’s call of moonlighting, beckoning you to the edge with the promise of being addressed as an architect and getting something built that is uniquely your own. Moonlighting has dark undertones as it’s very name might suggest. There are advantages and disadvantages to taking on work outside of normal business hours and I think it’s worthwhile to review what they might be. I read an article on moonlighting in Residential Architect some years ago and there was a quote in there I will never forget (well, I did actually forget it so I am paraphrasing here):
“…moonlighting presents a dangerous risk, if a person wants to do their own work, let them start a firm and struggle and starve..”
Yikes! That person sounds nasty, either that or they have been burned by the liability issues that moonlighting creates for architectural firms. The other remarkable thing about this phrase was that at the time, it came from the chair of the A.I.A. Practice Management Advisory group. For me, the part about “struggle and starve” suggests that the person taking on the moonlighting work is ill-prepared and unlicensed, which suggest youth and inexperience. So for my purposes here, I am going to focus on that demographic: the youthful, inexperienced and unlicensed.
I sent an email of to Cliff Moser the current chair of the AIA Practice Management Advisory group to see if the AIA had a position paper on the matter that I could share. So far I haven’t heard back but I would wager that the A.I.A. either does not take a position on or does not support the practice of openly allowing moonlighting.
I have done some moonlighting in the past although it has been years since I took on work without the knowledge of my employers but I always took the approach that the projects I accepted did not compete with those of my employer (i.e. different market sectors). I have done a few addition/ renovation projects and a free-standing restaurant. I was probably in my late 20′s when I did these jobs and in all cases, I received some sort of financial compensation. The restaurant that I worked on paid me enough money to buy the equipment I needed to work from home and have the cash available to buy my first house. While that all sounds pretty good, the final results tell a different story.
I was originally asked to review some plans and a “specifications sheet” for a new restaurant that some old friends of my family were going to build; I grew up next to these folks and had known them for 25 years so of course I wanted to help them. They had operated a steak restaurant in the area for years and wanted to improve their place in the prime streak restaurant business here in town. I charged them $50/hour but I didn’t limit the number of meetings and I didn’t charge them for my time for those meetings. I was also clear up front that I didn’t have the time or skill set to produce construction drawings so they would have to retain the services of another licensed architect for that portion of the project. The person those ended up choosing to prepare construction drawings suitable for permitting (based on my design documents) turned out to be even less equipped than me. I had stepped out of the picture after construction started and it was around 9 months later that the family called me back in telling me that the project was in trouble and they needed help. The construction documents were in such bad shape that the contractor had stopped working when it was discovered that the building had dimensional busts throughout and the steel package couldn’t be completed. The project had sat after pouring the slab for several months and the owner was getting killed with interest on his construction loan. I agreed to come back and help them complete the project but I would put off getting paid until the project was complete and they had some positive cash flow. I spent the next year of my life going to 2-3 hours worth of meetings a week until the project was done – never sending a bill as I promised. When they opened, I sent them my bill which was around $12,000 (a King’s ransom for me). That was 1998 and I still haven’t been paid and guess what? I don’t talk with them anymore. At one point, the son called me and told me that I was making his Dad feel bad by sending a bill that said “now 472 days past due” and would I stop sending those types of letters (he didn’t even call them what they were – “bills”). The lesson I learned was don’t try and do anybody any favors. I either took on work and charged what we agreed upon or I did it for free with no obligation for payment.
I also learned that if you don’t charge people for your time, they will abuse it. Why does it always seem that the people who you are trying to help will be the worst to work with? You offer to help someone out with a consult and sketch out a garage addition for free because your a nice person, they will ask you a billion questions apparently forgetting that this is how you make your living – this thing that they are asking you to give them for free.
Another consideration for those considering moonlighting work is to take a look at your client. Are they hiring you because they are your neighbors or your Aunt? Or are they hiring you to moonlight the project because they are looking for a deal? The latter will almost always make the worst client because they obviously don’t place a lot of value on your time or the services you provide, they might not have the financial resources suitable for the services they need (which put ‘s you at risk for not receiving what meager fees you are probably charging); otherwise, they would probably go a more traditional route. Because of this, most firms that have policies in place against moonlighting will allow exceptions for projects that benefit family members.
You should also be aware that while architecture firms can’t technically be held for work that employees do on their own time, as with all legal matters, there’s the written policy and then there are the nuanced interpretations. If the work you plan on moonlighting is similar to the work you perform where you work, the work may be construed by the client (and the client’s attorney) as being produced under the supervision of the firm, thereby exposing your firm to liability by association for any of your negligent acts. If you use firm resources, like copiers, Fax’s, cad equipment, advice from office peers, If you are in a decision making position at your firm that doesn’t not have a policy against moonlighting, your firms tacit approval of the use of these resources suggests that the firm benefits from and condones the moonlighting. With liability claims being what they are, principals at firms should think twice before allowing employees to use firm resources for any outside endeavors.
There are other reasons I am not a fan of unsanctioned moonlighting but to put it simply, I don’t think there are any real positives other than financial short term gains and considering the potential pitfalls, even those can be dubious. Here are some of the arguments I’ve heard supporting moonlighting:
- I work in a large firm, how am I going to get project management experience doing toilet partition wall details? Join an A.I.A. committee or donate some of your time to any of the number charities that could use an energetic future architect, get involved with Hearts and Hammers or Habitat for Humanity – the list can go on and on.
- I am a super designer but no one here cares, I need to take on work so I can express myself and get my name out there! Enter competitions if you want to introduce the world to it’s next greatest architect.
- My office doesn’t pay me enough to survive, I need to take on extra work to pay my bills. Okay, I don’t have an argument for this one – not in this economy. 5 years ago I would have told you to go find somewhere else to work. If the firm doesn’t value you enough to pay you your worth, what does it say about how you feel about your worth by staying? I will take a pass on this statement now – let’s talk in a few years.
- The people who want to hire me think I’m great and are willing to pay me what I’m charging. I would ask if you are charging the correct amount. Most young energetic future architects will readily admit that they don’t understand billing and office management so it might seem like a fortune to get paid $35/hr for drawing up house plans. Do you understand or know how many hours you will have to spend preparing the drawings? What time from your friends and family you are forfeiting? What about taxes and social security or are you just not going to worry about that? Something in the neighborhood of $12.50 of your $35 should be going to Uncle Sam so you need to consider how important your gains are for $22.50/hr.
I can appreciate that anyone with the endurance to read this post might leave thinking I am bitter towards moonlighting, maybe because I’ve been burned and there is definitely some truth to that. What I would hope for is that you evaluate the validity of your moonlighting opportunities and direct your energies towards something with more of a long term gain. I donate a lot of time to the A.I.A. – to our mutual benefit, although there are times when it doesn’t quite seem level. I have entered design competitions and have picked up some award prize money, and I have aligned myself with various charitable organizations like Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) who have events to raise funds and awareness for their cause, (in the case of CASA it is an event called Parade of Playhouses). I have also designed doghouses that benefited various charity groups and dog parks; I didn’t win any money on the playhouses or the dog house but the doghouse won first place and the coordinators of the CASA event have asked me to design the playhouse for the events title underwriter for the second year in a row. I’d say that was pretty good exposure and all of these things were done with the knowledge and consent of my firm.
Since I am not a lawyer and have plucked my research off the Internet (everything you read is true on the Internet – right?), you should not interpret what I am saying as sound legal advice, or even unsound legal advice. At best, you should leave this post with something to consider before you go and find out the specifics of your own situation. I expect to get some additional information from the A.I.A.’s Practice Management Advisory group as well as some advice from an insurance firm that specializes in insuring architects. I’ll post whatever interesting bits they provide in the comment section when it arrives.
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Construction Budget Estimate
Residential construction costs are not that complicated unless you really want to make them that way. There are some general broad stroke pieces of information that if you know them, you will not be surprised when it comes time to planning your budget. I get asked these questions all the time, it makes me wonder if doctors get asked to look down people’s throats everywhere they go? (I hope so…).
Since all these cost’s can be screwed up in any number of ways, take all this information with a grain of salt. It would seem reasonable to assume that masonry construction in the border states, with the amazing amount of readily available skilled labor, will cost less than masonry construction somewhere in non-border states. Texas is also a right-to-work state and we don’t face some of the typical cost issues that unionized states enjoy. So now that I have my disclaimer out of the way, let’s talk numbers!
When starting to plan for a construction budget, there are some items that you should plan on including in your budget. These would include:
- Providing utilities to the site if not currently present
- Site Preparation (clearing away trees, stabilizing soil, cutting and filling to grade the site, etc.)
- Demolition (if there are structures currently on the lot)
- Construction costs, including foundation, framing, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, interior finishes, exterior finishes, lighting, cabinetry, appliances, plumbing vessels, etc.)
- Construction Management Fees and Site Superintendant Fees (in my area of the world, these are typically set at 10% to 20% of the total construction cost)
- Sales Tax
- Hardscape (exterior built items i.e. sidewalks, driveways, patio’s pools, etc.)
The list above are large categories that will represent most, but not all of the total project costs. These are the expenses that are generally not considered part of the construction budget. Hopefully you and your architect would discuss these matters up front, I know I would. If you say your construction budget is $500,000, most would literally consider that to be the construction budget, not the project budget. Please make this clear, otherwise the relationship between architect and client won’t be all that great when the disappointment sets in. Other expenses you should plan for that complete the project budget include:
- Professional Service Fees (Architect)
- Consultant Service Fees
- Interior Designer – provide a great service but can add significant costs to a project. I used to work in an interior design office and let’s just say that I am aware just how much mark-up some interior designers put on the FF+E (fixtures, furnishings, and equipment). I would recommend that if budget is an issue, rather than telling you to dismiss the services an interior designer offers, try and find one that works only as a designer and doesn’t try and purchase the items for you on your behalf (you will be getting ripped off). Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh because I do like what interior designers bring to the mix. Let’s just say that you will be paying a premium one the items purchased on your behalf.
- Structural Engineer – very cost effective service to retain. We use a structural engineer on every project we design, partly because we carry professional insurance that requires it but a structural engineer will design a foundation specifically to the soil conditions on your site. Depending on the complexity of the site conditions and the house design, their fees always seem to run around $0.75/sf or .05 to 1% of the cost of construction. Even on our most complicated and large custom homes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fee over $9,500 (and this was on a 17,000sf, 4 story w/basement, steel superstructure and vertically cast concrete wall home).
- Energy Consultant – we don’t use these very often simply because we have been using energy conserving strategies (other than not building small homes) for years; it’s ingrained into our process. One of the items we are seeing now is that cities have different “green initiatives” and Energy Consultants can provide evaluation and inspection services that satisfy the 3rd party requirements of the city’s inspection process. We have that in Dallas now and are going through our first new home that will have to comply with these additional inspection requirements. When I called around for proposals, we received bids ranging from $500 to $1,000 (we went with the $500 – I’ll have to let you know how that goes).
- Permit Fees – In Dallas, Texas, the fees are based on the cost of construction. The highest cost category would cost you $2,600.
- Landscaping – obvious
Finally, let’s cover something a little more tangible, what do you get for how much? I mentioned in the beginning that there are some very broad stroke assumptions you or your design professional can make that will get you very close to a realistic construction budget expectation. We use these costs per square foot references all the time during the schematic and design development phase and it’s rather remarkable how often they bear out.
$150 per Square Foot
- This is the lowest amount we generally design to, not on purpose but we just don’t seem to attract the clientele who are looking for something less expensive. $150/sf will get you a brick house, composition shingle roof, wood windows, ogee profile galvanized gutters, and a slab on grade foundation.
$200 per Square Foot
- This is the cost where most of our projects fall, in between $200 and $225 per square foot. $200/sf will get you Brick house with cast stone features, standing seam metal paint grip roof, clad wood windows (Marvin or Weathershield type brands – both are excellent btw), 1/2 round paint grip gutters, and a pier and beam foundation.
$250 per Square Foot
- At this price point, you can do just about anything practical that you could think of. I say practical because importing Tibetan orphan monks to stamp gold leaf on the ceiling with their feet falls into a higher price category, not to mention that it isn’t very practical. $250 will get you a brick house, or masonry stucco on cmu block, standing seam metal paint grip or tile roof, high end clad/wood windows (Loewen brand), 1/2 round copper gutters, and a pier and beam foundation. You will also be at the point where you should expect high-end stainless steel appliances, designer plumbing vessels, and some extremely custom fabricated peices i.e. steel framed entry doors, specialty feature lighting, and exposed floating staircases.
$300 per Square Foot (and up)
- Bring on the monks and other artisans from around the world! At $300/sf, the exterior can be entirely 4″ thick cut Hadrian limestone panels on cmu block walls, true slate roof, whole house integrated art and audio visual controls, custom steel windows, etc., specialty energy features like geothermal, handmade tiles, etc. I am always amazed when I see houses that cost $500/sf and more - you really have to put some effort into geting the cost up that high.
A question that I get asked with some regularity (other than if I am Robert Downy Jr.) is where stucco falls on this list. In my world, with how we detail stucco, it costs just a hair more than brick. Our stucco wall assembly, from inside to out is:
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5/8″ gypsum board
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2×6 framed exterior wall (studs 16″ on center)
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1/2″ exterior rated sheathing
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vapor barrier
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1″ insulation board
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Expanded metal lath
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3/4″ three-coat masonry stucco
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Exterior insulating finishing system topcoat
We do not stucco on top of sheathing. This is a hybrid system – a combination of E.I.F. system because we use an insulation board and a finishing system topcoat; and part traditional system because we have a true three-coat masonry stucco. By themselves, the performance in our environment isn’t what our clients demand as a final product, but working together, this hybrid system is great and gives us a finished monolithic product that suits our modern designs.
I should also point out what it really means when someone says things will cost a certain dollar amount per square foot. This is for the total construction cost, (which includes the contractor fees), but only use the amount of air-conditioned square feet of the project. For example, if you have a house with 2,000 sf of air-conditioned space with an additional 400 sf of garage and 250 sf of covered exterior patio, the project would still be the 2,000sf x $200/sf (or whatever) for a construction cost estimate of $400,000. This next part is where experience kicks in – when do you start including exterior spaces and garages? Historically the cost per square foot would take these non air-conditioned spaces into consideration and are built into the overall cost; but now that garages are getting bigger and exterior living spaces are becoming more developed and include more bells and whistles, they need some additional consideration. When these spaces get developed as real programmed space, we add around $40 to $60 per sf extra to make sure that there aren’t any surprises when the construction bids start coming in.
I’ll finish by saying that I had intended to make this a short post, kind of a residential construction cost cheat sheet, but I just couldn’t do it – maybe I didn’t want to do it. If you don’t have any knowledge behind the figures, I don’t think you will be equipped to consider the nuances of your particular situation. Hopefully, there is enough information here so that you can interpolate between what I’ve outlined so you can develop a reasonable expectation of your own project needs. You should be able to slide the costs per square foot to account for regional cost differences but if you can’t, I’m all for pulling the curtain back. Send me a email or leave a comment and I’ll see what I can find out for you.
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I recently had a conversation about the importance of sketching and my job. With the prevalence of computer 3D software, fewer and fewer graduates from the design profession are entering the “real” world with the ability to hold a pen, pencil, paintbrush – whatever – and work through their ideas, explore concepts, or sit across from a client and communicate through drawings. In my office, there are some interns that don’t even keep a roll of trace at their desks while I currently have 9 rolls at mine. I also have a pen drawer that has at least 10 pens in there with different tips and colors. I start every project by sketching.
After having this conversation, I thought it would be fun to pull out an old sketchbook of mine and see what things looked like. The sketches I have stuck in here are from a project I “moonlighted” back in 1995 – and I was surprised to see that my current sketches look pretty much like the ones I drew 15 years ago. I scanned in 9 consecutive pages from this sketchbook to show you what I was thinking about, what my sketches looked like in all their unedited glory. I should point out that at the time I did these sketches, I had never done any residential work and had no familiarity with wood frame construction. The entirety of my experience had been 3 years of custom interior retail finish out work. I didn’t even know how to keep water out of a building – yet.
This project was a master bedroom addition with a detached office/ carport; just the kind of project a young Bob could try and tackle between the hours of 8pm and 1am
You can see that I write notes like I am talking through the process with myself; I even ask myself questions. Can’t tell if that’s odd or not but I still do it all the time. I wrote a post just a bit ago that included some of my current sketches (here) and you can see that the process I went through 15 years ago when I knew absolutely nothing bears a striking resemblance to the sketches I make now. Maybe that’s because I still don’t know anything? Doubtful but I recognize a pattern here of thinking through a problem in a very practical manner. I point out some obvious problems, I can see that I am thinking about the structural layout and how that will line up with the architectural features on the house. You can even see in the sketch below that I was looking at the angle of the sun and how I needed to address the heat gain on the southern elevation of the addition (wouldn’t the USGBC be proud? So ahead of the curve…)
I found these details interesting (and a little amusing to be honest). These sketches don’t have the type of evaluative study process on display that the previous sketches show. Since I know I didn’t have any practical framing knowledge, I remember putting these together to try and marry some framing information with design objectives. Other than a few specific pieces, they look like I copied them out of the excellent Rob Thallon book “Graphic Guide to Frame Construction”, a book that I recommend to everyone just starting out with limited knowledge of wood frame construction.
Just for the record, I don’t detail projects with E.I.F.S. anymore – at least not like these sketches would lead you to believe. We still use an exterior insulation board like I have drawn here but we put it between the exterior sheathing and a 3/4″ three part stucco and then we finish it off with an E.I.F.S. top coat so we can get that really clean, consistent stucco finish. Most of our projects lately have been modern and I don’t want any evidence of the different craftsmen who applied the stucco
The word “concrete” derives from Latin meaning “growing together”. A technology developed by the Romans and lost for centuries, it has become the ubiquitous modern material. Simply put, it is a matrix composed of cement, aggregate, and water. Blended together, these basic ingredients morph from liquid to solid, and crystallize over time into an entirely new substance. Faithfully assuming the form into which it is placed, concrete is a construct of intentional design. In the broader sense, concrete means solid, tangible, and real.
Details are the finer points that give relevance to broad gestures – they bring character and expression to what otherwise be commonplace. They convey identity and value through a careful investment of intent. Details are the distinguishing qualities that appeal to the perceptive eye and soul.
These interconnected concepts of the “overall” and the “distinct”, the “general” and the “specific”, come together to form a whole system and a design synergy: a unified moment of creative response to an environment. Captured in solid form, this is Concrete Detail.
I recently interviewed concrete artisan Richard Holschuh to learn more about concrete as an interior finish material, his methodology for working with the material, and the finished ethereal qualities of one of the oldest known building materials.
Richard, tell me who you are and what you do
I’m a technician (well-versed in tools and materials: making “stuff”), learning to find and trust my inner concrete artist. Having worked in construction as a carpenter most of my life, I can readily implement a set of drawings and arrive at a given result. Taking that beyond the prosaic act of straightforward “doing” and into the realm of abstraction and then conceptualization is the welcome challenge I find before me now, as I become immersed in artisan concrete. I say “artisan concrete” to distinguish it as a creative, versatile medium well-suited to the task of rendering functional art, in the form of countertops, sinks, surrounds, and other surfaces. My goal is to imbue this commonplace material with uncommon grace, expression, and personality. When the maker and the made begin to flow together and are given directional impetus by a client’s needs, the end result can be amazing. It is truly a synergy of people, places, and the physical. And perspiration. It’s not as easy as it looks!
What are some of the practical aspects or considerations of using concrete as a finished product?
There is no ideal surface; they all have their inherent characteristics. I think I can say (without stretching it) that, design-wise, concrete is the most versatile material available. The reason is this: we’re working with a fluid that becomes a solid mass, faithfully assuming the form into which it is placed. So, the considerable care and skill (and inventiveness) invested into the form, or mold, will determine the result, by default. Simply put, this is a creative process – we actually MAKE this, virtually from the simplest of materials; nearly all other architectural surfacing options are a subtractive process, machining a (basically) two dimensional cutout from a sheet stock of one type or another. It can be quite limiting, whereas we create “from the get-go” and can work in three dimensions handily, without having to assemble a whole from “what’s available”. This is why I prefer the term “artisan” over “fabricator”. Functionally, concrete will perform at least equal to most other solid surface materials, such as natural stone, acrylic, composites, engineered stone, etc. It can be priced very competitively, especially considering its handcrafted origins. Finally, I must point out that “not all concrete is created equal”; the end result is very dependent on the vision (both aesthetic and technical) and abilities of the artisan chosen. A major case in point is the sealer used on the final product (that’s another story). Concrete doesn’t have to be stain-prone. Or crack… I guarantee against cracks.
Can you describe the process you go through when making a counter top?
Since precast artisan concrete is custom by nature, the process necessitates close collaboration between the craftsman and the client. The objective, of course, is to draw upon the vast array of techniques available through the medium in order to create an appropriate design response. While the choices can be bewildering, a good designer will help to steer the conversation in the right direction. Restraint becomes liberating.
I am particularly interested in colors and foreign object inlays. How does someone know what color they will be getting? do you have a sample mock-up process?
Choosing a color is one of the first steps. Any color or combination is possible – we work with a concrete coloring supplier that can match Benjamin Moore’s palette. We simplify this by offering a 16 color standard palette (4 x 4 chips available) with a full custom option (in this case we do mock-ups). Typically, these are integral pigments made with powdered oxides; other coloring techniques include acid staining, surface dyes and washes, and multi-colored casting. After the color decision is made, we move on to other aspects: this can include embedding objects in the surface such as fossils, crushed glass, stainless steel bars, or your company logo. Features such as pitched drain-boards, built-in trivets, fruit bowls, and recesses to house a cutting board are often included. The possibilities are only limited by one’s imagination (and design sense).
What are some of the design standards (thickness, weight) people who want to design a concrete counter top should know?
Our standard thickness (if there is such a thing in custom work!) is 1 ½ inches; while any edge profile is possible, a pencil or eased square edge is very often chosen. Under-mount sinks are usually specified, but we also create integral concrete sinks in any shape, especially in bathrooms. Clients are often concerned that the weight may be an issue, but concrete’s mass is similar to granite, at about 18 lbs./sq.ft. Modern cabinetry can handle this load with no problem, as it is spread evenly around the perimeter. Integral reinforcement, both primary and/or secondary, are used as a matter of course and as needed to handle special stresses, such as overhangs, clear spans, and narrow sections such as the front and back of a sink hole. The templating and installation steps are nearly identical to any other countertop material, so there is very little time actually spent on site. The processes of actually forming, casting, and finishing the tops are all performed in the shop/studio, to maintain quality control and strict oversight of the many details involved.
How long does the process take once your services are retained?
The typical turnaround time on an individual project, once critical decisions are made and templates have been taken, is three to four weeks. Technically speaking, we can complete the actual fabrication in about 7-10 days of actual work, but there are always bumps and delays and concrete takes time to cure properly, so we need to build in some reality time for scheduling. Some more complex jobs, such as forming a custom sink, can take a little more time. It’s the front-end portion – design and decision-making – that takes the longest, to be honest.
How does the cost compare to other counter top choices?
The cost for this custom work can vary widely, as you might expect. However, we often ballpark countertops on a square foot basis, with added features affecting the bottom line as the design process proceeds. The unit price ends up being very competitive with other mid-range surface choices, at around $85-90/sq.ft. More complex work and special features are considered on a case-by-case basis; for instance we charge about $1200 for a concrete farm-style sink. Integral vanity sinks run about $600-750. A fantastic value, I think, for a handcrafted one-of-a-kind piece with unlimited avenues to explore.
Is there a maintenance program people should follow?
Maintenance depends completely on the sealer choice and use patterns. “Old school”, traditional concrete countertops were sealed (and some still are) with a penetrating sealer and waxed. These require regular re-waxing and will eventually acquire a patina, which can be a wonderful look. Then there are a multitude of topical sealer choices, some more durable than others and some requiring occasional re-application. They tend to be susceptible to abrasion, extreme heat, and perhaps difficulty to repair on site when damaged by abuse. Just as there is no such thing as a” perfect material” in the real world, satisfying every possible criteria, there is no perfect sealer. One that comes very close to that ideal, however, is reactive sealing, with a lithium densifying technology – you may encounter this in the newly popular diamond polished slab floors in commercial (and some residential) applications. A version of this (more a treatment than a sealing approach) is beginning to be used for countertops. It is water-based, food-safe, very natural in appearance and – wonder of wonders – actually improves over time! Cleanup is simply water and soap. This is the approach we are now taking, after having worked through the gamut of sealer options; we strive for constant innovation and improvement in our techniques, components, and final results.
I would like to thank Richard for the transparency he has provided into his work. When I started this interview I can admit that my knowledge of concrete was limited to retaining walls, sidewalks and driveways. I know people who have concrete counter tops but I myself have never specified one. I was not aware of the possibilities available to me as a designer – from shape, texture, color, finish and material inlays. Down below you can see the progression on the fabrication process. If you have any specific questions, I will make sure to get you the answers to need; Richard and I are now like this (fingers crossed).
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I was having lunch with a friend of mine on Friday and we had a conversation that I thought would be a good topic for my blog: The importance of setting goals. There are a lot of talented and capable people out there that would be in far better off positions had they set goals and made their important life decisions based on achieving those goals rather than moving through their daily lives rudderless (even if they didn’t know it at the time).
I feel I am suited to speak on this topic because I am a walking case study in the results of not setting goals and the beneficiary of setting goals. I don’t use my blog for dishing out unsolicited advice too often so I hope you will indulge me on this. I am going to break this down into 3 sections and I will relate it my field (architecture) – but it works across any professional discipline.
Task Oriented Individual
The task oriented person generally has lower level responsibilities. They are given a specific task to do and that’s the extent of their responsibility. This does not mean that the task is simple or not important; it just means that the extent of responsibility is limited to accomplishing a part of the whole. In my field, some examples of tasks might be to draw the interior elevations, or dimension the floor plan, or fill out the window schedule. These are specific tasks that do not extend the responsibility upward.
Objectives/ Results Oriented Individual
The results oriented person has more responsibility than the task oriented person because they are in charge of achieving a set result and have the responsibility of determining how to get there. That means they are in charge of the tasks and the tasks oriented individuals. These are the project managers who are told the goal, “this project needs to be released for permitting in 6 weeks”. The project managers then go about the process of breaking the goal into tasks that can be distributed among team members. This group is good at executing a plan to achieve the objective.
Goal Oriented Individual
The goal oriented individual does not get distracted by the process but rather stays focused on the big picture – the goal. Determining the big picture is what the best leaders do but you have to go through the process of collecting the skills and abilities to effectively lead. You need to understand the tasks, how they come together in a plan that fulfills the objective, and how all the objectives together achieve a goal. There aren’t any shortcuts, you may have the ability to move through these categories more quickly than others, but make no mistake, you do need to go through the process. Everyone has experienced the boss who micro-manages things – is this ever brought up as a positive trait?
Finally, and here’s the rub for me when interfacing with people who are in leadership roles who don’t have the experience to be leaders; just because you want to be the leader (goal oriented individual), and think that you are the boss (goal oriented individual), this does not make you the leader. It takes time, you have to earn it, and you have to be recognized by your peers as someone who is capable of being the leader and the one determining the big picture. But that shouldn’t stop you from setting goals – otherwise how do you measure your course and development? You set goals to help chart you through the growth and development process. If your goal is to become a partner in your firm, are your current responsibilities pointing you in the right direction? If you work for a small firm and the only way you are going to become a partner is if someone dies, when do you determine it’s time to leave?
Goals can help you achieve many things by focusing your energies toward the objective. I decided that I wanted to become a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) so I went in to my local chapter, had a conversation with the executive director to find out what type of things I would need to do in order to accomplish this goal. This process put me on the path where I started off participating on a committee, and then the next year I chaired that committee, always escalating the responsibilities of my role. I chaired the Dallas Chapter’s Gala event – the chapters largest and most high profile fund-raising event where we set a new record high for the total amount of money ever raised. The next committee I was a part of was a committee of two where we helped prepare the governance for the new Dallas Center for Architecture (DCFA) which involved identifying and establishing a dialogue with the outside groups that would participate in the center, and determining that a full time program director for the DCFA was needed. The following year I chaired the AIA’s home tour committee – the chapter’s largest public outreach effort. Only in its third year, we were able to build upon the previous years’ momentum and increase the total number of visitors to the event while spending less money.
For my efforts, I was presented with the AIA’s Young Architect of the Year award – something that I am proud of receiving because it is an award presented to me from within my peer group. The next steps to my goal involve participating on a state level and then on a national level. By having a goal, the number of decisions to make is reduced and my energies are focused.
You can look at the procession of events that I just described and see how an established goal (become FAIA) was broken down into objectives (participate in the AIA at the Local, State, and National levels) and then tasks (participate and chair certain committee’s). I established this goal about 5 years ago and the process of achieving this goal has shaped several important decisions for me.
I wanted to highlight a project that we completed a few years ago that did not fit our typical client profile. This is one of our very few speculative residential projects. Our client was a design savvy developer who had received a his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Rice. At some point after graduating, he went into the family business (which was not in the field of architecture) and only came out to try his hand at developing modern residences after sensing that there were not many available to choose from located in neighborhoods that supported people in the upper mid-level income bracket.
I should write a post about the speculative builder market in the greater Dallas area – which is mostly quite terrible. A quick check online at the Dallas Real Estate Guide listed 62 custom residential builders (just on that site). These homes have generally been reduced down into byproducts based on formulaic spreadsheets of programming requirements and “available options”. In short, they all look alike with few exceptions. Some really great neighborhoods have seen great older, but smaller homes get torn down by these speculative residential builders, who then place a “for sale” sign in the now scrapped and empty lot. You want a home in this area? On this particular lot? You are going to have to hire me (the builder) to build it for you -
Speculative Builder: “Please, take your time and peruse this catalog of excellent floor plans….look at page 47, the “Tudor Renaissance Baroque plan #12b3″ is quite popular. We have already built 4 of those on this street if you want to look at one.” Future Client: “Since this isn’t built yet, can we make some changes?” Speculative Builder: “Of course you can, you can choose from these 3 brick colors.” Future Client: “How long will construction take?” Speculative Builder: “I can have it ready for you to move in next week!“ .Okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration (but probably only on how long it takes to build, the rest ahh..err… I’m sure is quite accurate). Yes, yes, – I know there are good speculative builders out there, I even know him. So before you send me a million emails complaining how unfair I am being, I’ll make you a deal: for every good speculative builder you throw at me, I will avalanche you with 100 that aren’t. But enough of that, back to this project.
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This developer sought to fill a few needs with taking on this project. He wanted to be a part of the design process – so a imaginary family was developed. This was to provide some guidance for room needs, square footage (both total and by individual room) and material palette. We had design meetings with the developer just like we have with every one of our other residential clients. We had the same conversations, reviewed multiple solutions, reviewed budget and construction schedule requirements. This developer hired additional consultants (interior design, lighting, landscape, etc.) to develop and address solutions on the front end rather than along the way. He would be acting as his own contractor and there are always learning curves when trying out anything based on realized practical events and results. Like most people who really want to learn about something, they get involved, read a book, and get dirty.
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From our end, this project, despite being speculative, was processed through our office just like every client based project. We went through programming, schematic and design development, produced a full set of construction drawings, and construction administration. In total, we have designed three projects for this developer and he has continued his evolution into a full time development and construction company. He has bid on several of our projects – which could have been weird since he was, and still is, a client. He has successfully been awarded a few projects although I think he has lost more – we don’t play favorites in this office.
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All images ©2010 CDS. Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited
I have asked long-time friend, and fellow architect, Michael Malone to write an article for my website. I told him it could be on a topic of his choice – and he chose volunteering. Michael is a great guy and an engaging conversationalist, and while he is an accomplished author, he is new to this format so please leave him your thoughts on his post in the comment section below.
sketch by Michael Malone, AIA
As a profession we architects are lousy at giving back: giving back to our communities, giving back to our profession, giving back to things that would better our own lives and the lives of our families. I’m a keen observer of this condition, in part because I have found that by taking on tasks and responsibilities outside my work (and family) I have been enriched and actually expanded the professional opportunities available to me. Architecture, a profession whose stated purpose is to improve the built environment and through it, the quality of life for the people we design for, have a natural predilection to see such goals achieved only through the actual building of our work. This suggests we can only do “good” or make an “impact” when we get paid for it, but are there other barriers that keep us from serving?
My own thoughts on this follow two distinct tracks. One is the old 80/20 rule, the one that says in any organization twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work. This adage suggests this is true in PTA’s, social clubs, churches and professional associations. My intrinsic optimism is against this cynical view though; I’d like to think more people would and can actually do more, they just don’t know how to engage in the process and so they hang back. Architects, whatever our unique skills and abilities are no different than anyone else, some of us are socially awkward and shy, reluctant to join or participate in something we don’t know or fully understand.
The second track is more ominous, tragic actually, and it gets to the root of why many of us feel unappreciated and alienated from society. A great deal of architectural education is about seeing the world through a lens of aesthetic sensibility and how to take what we see and insert strategies that bring balance and harmony. The awareness of the environment, both natural and built, is hyper sensitively present in most architect’s day to day perception of the world. This is the same world that is often messy, unordered, visually ugly and disregarding of the aesthetic values our profession holds dear. By extension, it leads we architects to feel we have a better path, a path that we know and you should all be following; taken to an extreme it can make us elitist and at its worst cynical. Architectural schools are often staffed with educators who are ill at ease actually practicing in the “real world”. They find refuge in academia with its impressionable young students eager to learn what they have to say (since their prospective clients were not interested). Being taught a profession at the hands of those who have never been active in it themselves is a hallmark of our educations.
When we get out of school and begin to work, we have to live and practice by the norms and standards of society and to do that I’ve found the best thing is to be a part of it. Be active in your kid’s schools and sports and PTA. Join boards and groups at your church, teach Sunday school, sing in the choir. Be active in your local or state AIA chapter, sit on committees, and assume positions of leadership. Take a risk, meet your friends and peers, give more than you think you have time to, and then give more. You will find yourself and your place in the world around you, and surprisingly, you will find clients and opportunities that may lead to opportunities. You are your own best marketing tool and there is no way to show how hard you can work, how well you are organized and the enthusiasm you bring to tasks than through volunteer work. When someone needs an architect you will be the one they think of and the one they know, personally. What a thought!
Michael Malone, AIA is the author of The Architects Guide to Residential Design and a practicing architect in Dallas, Texas. His work centers on the design of single family homes, retail stores and commercial interiors. He is active in his children’s schools, a past president of the Dad’s Club, Auction and Carnival Co-Chairs, Room Mom (yes Mom), cafeteria volunteer, and a member of the choir and basketball booster clubs. He is an Elder in the Presbyterian church, teaches Sunday School, and serves on the church’s building and grounds committee. Professionally, he is the Chair of the Design Committee and a member of the Publications Committee for the Texas Society of Architects. He is a frequent contributor for Texas Architect Magazine and Metal Architecture.
Yesterday something pretty funny happy – maybe I should say something exciting, then a not so much exciting as funny. I received an email from Rob Jones who is with Build Direct, a Vancouver BC company that is the worlds leading online manufacturer-wholesaler of building materials. His email message was pretty short, just telling me that he had written an article and that I was in it. He provided me with the link and that was that – so I checked it out (wouldn’t you?)
Turns out it was his list of individuals in the field of architectural design – “Design Guru’s” that were on Twitter and I was included in his list as an innovator in architecture and design.
Wow.
I should call the Mayor because I am clearly awesome in an innovator / Guru-y type of way. So attached for your viewing pleasure is the introduction, my twitter picture (like the smirk I got going?) and the brief bio that Rob Jones wrote about me. Enjoy……
Okay, so don’t worry about the fact that I haven’t been blogging since the early days, I started 3 months ago (which is almost the same thing – right?) and I only started tweeting on Twitter about 4 weeks ago. All the same, I was pretty happy with myself and while the Mayor probably wasn’t interested in hearing from me now, definitely the mayor pro tempore would take my calls. Because I was raised correctly, I wanted to thank Rob for including me on such a prestigious list (you can find the whole article here), so I wrote him a note – to which he responded with a coup de grâce.
Again, enjoy……
The picture that Rob is referring to is the profile picture I use on my website in the ‘about me‘ section. I always thought this picture was funny despite the fact that I was in my 30′s and I look like I’m in my 50′s. This picture was taken (obviously – hopefully) Halloween 2008. I was ‘Unit D-400′ and my daughter Kate was ‘Spider-Girl’ but a robotic version as evidenced in the picture below. For those of you who might be wondering, it was a cardboard box, that I painted silver, drew all sorts of knobs, dials, gauges and switches on; those are foil exhaust ducts (typically used for laundry room dryer vents), plastic kitchen trash bags on my upper thighs and blue painters tape. I was extremely hot in that costume but it was totally worth it.
I would still like to thank Rob and the folks at BuildDirect, I am glad that they thought of me in any capacity and the other folks on the list are definitely worth looking into. I imagine that I will be taken off the list as soon as the others realize what a horrible mistake has occurred. Here is the link to my Twitter account @bobborson, if you tweet, let’s connect.
1. Personal relationships with clients
Working on residential projects allows for a personal connection that simply doesn’t exist on commercial or civic projects. The distinction might be based purely on the fact that residential projects are not developed for profit. When I work with a developer, the bottom line is really the client because that’s what driving the decision making process. Residential work is motivated by the individual who is paying for the work – it’s their money and the level of emotional/ personal involvement is proportional to that end. I have written other posts that explore this concept in greater lengths, one is title ‘Clients and Online Dating’ (here) if you are interested in reading more.
2. Involvement of the client in the process
I also have another post that discusses the traits that make a great client (here). Most of the traits are more readily available with residential projects because of the personal and emotional involvement clients demonstrate when it is for their own benefit. We do quite a bit of commercial work for individuals who originally came to us as residential clients – they liked the experience of working with us, enjoyed the methods at which we problem solved (which for the record are not intrinsic to residential vs. commercial) and asked us to take on a project type that was not in our typical base of expertise. Interestingly enough, my experience with these clients is dramatically different with them in the role of homeowner than when they are in the role of developer.
3. My role in the process
I learned a long time ago that I enjoy working on projects where I am involved in the entire process. Starting with initial programming meetings, through design development, construction drawings and construction administration, I enjoy them all. The size of most residential projects lends themselves to this level of involvement. While this might be more the result a the size of firm rather than project type, my experience has shown me that residential firms need individuals that can wear several hats at once far more often than large firms (regardless of project type of size).
4. Length of projects
This is one item that I debated leaving off the lists as a positive. A very high percentage of our residential projects have a higher cost per square foot construction cost than our commercial projects (the biggest separator being land costs). The general timeline in our office for starting a project and getting through programming, schematic design and design development is around 3 months. Once the project enters the construction documents phase (unless we have a client who constantly makes changes – which all are guilty of to some degree) we can typically get a high quality competitive bid set of drawings issued in 2 to 4 months. Construction generally runs around 9 to 14 months on our projects but here is a good rule of thumb:
- A really top level contractor, on a project with high end level finishes, can only average about $25,ooo a week (slightly lower end might be around $18k – $20k). Take your budget and divide by the approximate level of your finish out and you will get a pretty good approximation of how long your period of construction will take. I learned this rule from a great contractor years ago and have been amazed at how often it works out.
All told, most residential project take around 18 months to two years from start to finish and the amount of time required from my level of involvement seem to be just the perfect amount to keep me motivated and focused on the project. Some commercial projects are in the works for years before they break ground. They stop and start, get put on hold, pull them back out of the drawer where you have to review them for code changes from when you put them in the drawer, etc., shift directions due to constantly changing external factors. It can be an exasperating experience and I’d just as much try to avoid that nonsense as much as possible.
5. Opportunity to Teach
This can mean several things; for some, it’s a balance between their professional working lives and teaching at a institution of higher learning. For others, like me, I have the ability to work with younger architectural interns at my office and help guide them along their process of becoming an architect with quality skills (at least I hope). Since residential practices often require each individual to wear several hats, interns are given responsibility early and are frequently asked to demonstrate proficiency at a faster rate than they might be at a larger office. This puts me in a position to try and help the interns who work with me understand what they are being asked to do, rather than simply sketching it out and telling them to put it into cad. I enjoy this aspect of my job probably as much as any other and I have found out that I’m pretty good at it. The opportunity to teach people has helped me stay on my toes knowing that anyone could walk into my office and ask me “why?” and I’d better have an answer.
6. Opportunity to Learn
The ability to work on projects that have a relatively short life span in our office means that we can experiment more frequently. I wouldn’t want to come right out and say we get things wrong, but I will say that we can get things better. Personal evolution is a strong reason to work on smaller projects – at least those whose start to finish is measured in months (like 18). I’d like to say that I am not terribly influenced by trends but I know better. I have been able to track my own predilections over the last several years as I have come to know what’s important to me in the architecture I create but there are constantly evolving technologies along with the availability to new materials, I am always looking for the opportunity to marry the appropriate material with the appropriate project.
7. Flexible Hours
Let’s get this one out of the way up front; you work a lot of hours as an architect, 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration right? Except who among us ever has ever stopped at 10% of the hours in a work week? With a practice that’s focused on residential work, most of our clients have jobs that are not associated with the designing and construction of their building. As a result, we frequently meet on a schedule that meets their needs, which includes a lot of night and weekend meetings. A positive spin on that is the ability to be flexible with my time during most regular business hours. I have been able to attend all the school programs for my daughter and I work in the school cafeteria serving food once a month. I know all the kids in her class and they all know me and that’s the way I like it to be. I have a friend who is a partner at HKS and he just reached 2 million miles on American Airlines at 37 years old. While I know his paycheck is far greater than my own and I am happy for his success, I feel that I am better compensated.
8. Ownership
To be direct, residential practices tend to be driven by the talents and personality of a small few, typically the person whose name is on the door. The “Sole Practitioner” category represents the highest percentage of licensed architects in this country and I have been searching for some statistic that tells me what market sector these practices focus on. What I do know would suggest that they are residential practices and I know that of the times I have thought through starting my own practice, the focus would be on residential work. The reason I went to the firm I am currently at 8 years ago was to get quality experience in this building type so that when I did go out on my own I would be prepared (turns out I like the people I work with and they like me).
9. Part of a Community
This is also an area that could have several different meanings. A majority of our projects are concentrated in a geographically small area, something in the neighborhood of 10 miles squared. That community knows who we are and we have taken lengths to get to know who they are. At my office, we use a credit card that has a rewards program for business purchases and at the end of every year; we turn all the points into cash reward cards and donate them to the local elementary school to buy things that the local independent school district can’t provide. I am very proud to say we do this but it’s really to two partners in the firm – it’s their points. These rewards could easily be turned into several nice vacations for their families but as a part of that community, they don’t spend any appreciable time thinking about what how those rewards will benefit others in more need.
10. Good for my Ego
I feel constant gratification for the work I do and the time I spend on projects for others. These people are paying me for my time but they know that I am just as invested in the success of the project as they are – and as a result, I feel appreciated. I speak with far too many people who either don’t like what they do or work for a paycheck to take this appreciation for granted. When I have visitors come in from out of town, I generally arrange for them to take a tour of some of my projects and the homeowners are always excited to show people their house. This goes on for years after the project has been completed. The homeowners always go on about how great their house is, how much everyone likes it, how important I was to the process – it’s a great feeling and seems to be fairly unique to our profession and more specifically to residential architects. I am friends with everyone one of my clients. Eventually, they aren’t my clients anymore, they are simply my friends.
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To say I could elaborate on this list of reasons is an understatement. I hope you will leave a comment to contribute to the discussion. If you are already an architect who is thinking about getting into this market sector, check out this book by my friend Michael Malone titled “The Architect’s Guide to Residential Design“.
I received an email asking if I would share details from some of my projects. While I bristle at the risk I might be exposing myself to, I remembered that I enjoy looking at details quite a bit, so I thought I would try and come up with something. Meantime, while this was in the back of my mind, I am feverishly designing and sketching on a new project we have – a tenant improvement project that has no time for proper development and has a limited budget. So in an effort to keep our fees down, I am not doing much of the drafting on this project but rather spending my time developing the concept and detailing the ‘wow’ features.
What I am going to focus on is this floating ceiling tray concept that I am developing. It should be unique, cost effective, and something that would make most people stop and go “wow” (but in a good way). This ceiling tray is running down a central open corridor and will serve as a defining element for social gatherings - one of the program requirements for the project was that the space be able to rent out for parties.
I decided to make the corridor 12′ wide so that it could accommodate tables and chairs during events but not be so wide that a visitor might feel lost during the normal course of doing business. Because the ceiling is around 20′ high, I wanted to bring the ceiling tray down to create a sense of enclosure and make it a little easier to have a conversation during events. I also want to maintain the loftiness of the shell space, so the design concept is to wrap the tray in translucent paneling which would allow for some light to pass through and give us an opportunity to highlight some pendant light fixtures that would be suspended from the deck, through circular openings I located in the tray.
Some of the construction issues I am trying to address is you make a thing translucent and still provide construction tolerances, places to hide connections, mask the edges of the polycarbonate paneling, all while working under the premise that this needs to be more cost effective than creating a traditional ceiling tray out of gypsum board. These are some of the methods for becoming a cost effective solution:
- the translucency allows us to avoid running electrical through the tray itself while reducing the number of lighting fixtures. A gypsum board tray would have required recessed down lighting to illuminate the area under the tray. (Oh, and did I forget to mention that there is a mezzanine from where the top side of this tray will be visible? That’s a nasty bit of wrinkle to deal with.) Now we are able to provide fewer fixtures, make them the cost effective surface mounted variety, and use a narrow beam spot lamp to create the sense that our tray is floating.
- Polycarbonate sheets are extremely durable and very lightweight. They also are sold in unit costs (big pieces have the same costs per square foot as smaller pieces – approx. $43 for a 4′x8′x1/4″ sheet) and I can get them as large as 48″ wide by 24′ long. This means the labor costs to install them is going to be very low. When compared to installing a gypsum board tray where I would have the weight, and the expense of paying for tape, bed, texture and paint, $43 a sheet doesn’t seem so expensive anymore. Putting a drywall lid on the top of this tray just wasn’t a viable option because of the premium of expense this would create – but we had to do something with the top, you know, because you can see it!
- I also spent some time working out the geometry of the stud spacing because it would be visible through the paneling and I needed it to be as simple as possible to construct. Everything is on a 16″ module so that it would minimize the amount of unique panels sizes and reduce the number of cuts that needed to be made. I also modified the radius of the openings in the ceiling tray so that they fell within the 16″ module (3 x 16″ = 48″ radius) left to right and I was able to create the symmetry this design required between the individual openings. These issues touch on my opinion that cheap materials don’t have to look cheap when you pay attention to the execution.
The next issue to address was how to finish off the edges of the polycarbonate panels. Since the cells are ribbed only in one direction, the edges are different in the x-direction than they are in the y-direction. You also can’t effectively bend these panels in the radius we have (too tight). I considered using homosote to trim out the edges – it’s inexpensive, can be painted, doesn’t require special knowledge or skill to manipulate, and is readily available. Problem was, it didn’t add to the ‘wow’ we are going for; it simply solved the problem of trimming the edges out. I eventually decided on using 1/4″ thick masonite. It is also inexpensive, takes paint great, and I liked the thin edge it would create. In addition, I thought we could take advantage of this material when we wrapped it around the interior edges of our radiused openings. I am extending the edge up 2″ above the polycarbonate panels to accentuate the form, and down below, I am extending the masonite edge down a total of 3 1/2″. The reason I choose these numbers was based on an effect I wanted but I also considered how many pieces could be cut out of a 48″ wide piece of masonite without waste. I might have liked to exaggerate these numbers a bit more but this achieved the effect I was looking for and didn’t require more product or labor.
The last bit I had to think about was how I was going to suspend this tray from the ceiling. Using all-thread rods and unistruts is pretty much par for the course and I knew I wasn’t reinventing the wheel – the contractor would know what I was doing. The feature I did take time to consider was how the all-thread rods met, or rather intersected the paneling. You can see in the sketch above, I went pretty direct at first but wasn’t too happy with the result – again, from the mezzanine level, you will see this connection. I started to think about the sequence of construction and realized that I could rotate the uni-strut downward and insert it within the framing of the metal stud, effectively taking it out of the picture. As a result, the all-thread rods will come down within the joint where two polycarbonate panels come together and disappear. This will really make a difference in creatin the appearance of the floating-illuminated-translucent ceiling tray.
To put a final bit of perspective on this exercise, these are my actual sketches that I used to work through my idea – for better or worse. I don’t think they are precious and they are not art but I think most people can read them for what they are – a resource and tool. I will give these sketches to some other folks in my office to turn into cad drawings that will eventually make their way into the construction drawings. We basically have about 5 days to design and prepare the construction documents so while I am sketching out these designs and details, Joseph (say hi Joseph) is dimensioning plans, preparing schedules and noting interior elevations. Joseph and I have spent a lot of time talking with one another the last 3 days on the phone – yes, the phone, I am in an ivory tower and he is sadly on the other side of the moat (aka wall) – but I throw him choice bits of stuff pretty often, he is a good guy. I will buzz him -
hey Joseph, raise the wall up 4 3/4″ inches outside the office, hey Joseph, come look at this to make sure I’m not crazy, hey Joseph, the polycarbonate panel needs to miss the girder at the ceiling..does it? Well, then we need to move the wall over…And on and on. The clients are good people but they admittedly don’t know what we are doing or what we are thinking about. They just want it done….yesterday. They haven’t been demanding but like most clients, they don’t understand the effort that goes into doing what we do. But that’s okay, they’ll appreciate it even without knowing why – that’s my job.
All right everyone, back on your heads!
