Kate Borson

An interview with Kate Borson: Cultural Prodigy

Bob Borson —  May 18, 2010 — 25 Comments

Kate Borson

I recently sat down with 5 year old kindergarten prodigy and future renown veterinary explorer Kate Borson to discuss architecture. Kate has her finger on the pulse of her generation and Life of an Architect was lucky to catch her between engagements to get her take on the current state of the practice and profession of architecture.
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Life: Hi Kate, can I call you Kate? Thanks for taking time to answer some of my questions today. There are no wrong answers, I just want you to tell me whatever comes to mind.
Kate: What are we talking about?
Life: Do you know what I do for a living?
Kate: You’re an architect.
Life: What does an architect do?
Kate: Design buildings
Life: What kind of buildings?
Kate: All kinds – houses and playhouses.
Life: Anything else?
Kate: I don’t think so.
Life: So who does the really big buildings?
Kate: Other people
Life: Who are the other people?
Kate: They are builders
Life: Do you need any special skills to be an architect?
Kate: Super-duper skills….and you have to be good at drawing and picking stuff out.
Life: Do you think it’s easy being an architect?
Kate: No!
Life: Why not?
Kate: Because sometimes you have to go to work and help the builders know what they have to build.
Life: What are some jobs that are more difficult than being an architect?
Kate: Building them…because you get all sweaty and you can hurt your muscles.
Life: Do you have to be smart to be an architect?
Kate: Yes
Life: How do you know this?
Kate: Because you are smart and you’re an architect.
Life: Is being an architect a difficult job?
Kate: No – I think it would be fun.
Life: Why do you think it would be fun?
Kate: You get to draw all day and you get to talk a lot.
Life: Do you need any computer skills?
Kate: Yes, so you can make videos of your projects.
Life: Are architects men, women or a mixture of the two?
Kate: They can be either one but there’s more men than women.
Life: Why do you think that’s true?
Kate: I don’t know. Maybe because men are strong and can lift heavy things.
Life: Do architects need to lift heavy things?
Kate: No – so I want to change my answer to women.
Life: Do architects have to work a lot of hours?
Kate: Yes
Life: Do I miss anything because I work a lot?
Kate: No because you are the boss and can leave when you want to as long as you get your work finished.
Life: Do architects have to go to school?
Kate: Yes, a special school – it’s called the Architect’s School.
Life: And do all architects go there?
Kate: They do if they want to become an architect.
Life: How do people know if your a good architect?
Kate: You prove it to them.
Life: How can you prove such a thing?
Kate: You do it in front of them.
Life: Do what in front  of them?
Kate: You design their house.
Life: Does it take long to design a house?
Kate: Yes
Life: How long?
Kate: 5 hours
Life: How long does it take to build a house?
Kate: 5 days – but that’s for a simple house and it’s 5 days straight with no breaks.
Life: Do you think being an architect is a good job?
Kate: Ummhmm – it’s a good job. In fact, it’s such a good job I want to do it when I am a grown-up.
Life: Do architects make a lot of money?
Kate: Yes – they make a lot; like $300.
Life: $300 huh? Total?
Kate: No – that’s per house.
Life: Well, it’s time for you to get out of the bath. I would like to thank you for allowing me to ask you these questions today; you did a great job.
Kate: Thanks Daddy.
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There is a wealth of information to be mined from this interview but I’ll let you discover it’s value for yourself. As for me, I have no doubt that I will come back to this interview and reread it for years to come.

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Bob Borson

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Dallas architect who specializes in modern design. I'm AIA, Leed AP, NCARB certified, and previous Dallas AIA Young Architect of the Year (2009).
  • Barabbas

    God, I wish I made $300…

  • Paul Gerber

    From the mouths of babes…too funny!

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  • Ken

    LOL..there is SOOO much truth there. 300.00 per house(sure feels like that sometimes)

  • Jen

    When my daughter was 5, my husband asked her”Do you know what mommy is/” She said ” Yes she’s an architect” He said ” do you know what architects do?” She said ” Yes they eat ants!”

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  • Ps

    love this – treasure it and show her when she is 18…
    when asked what i do, my three year old replies “he draws restaurants, i love restaurants, you have fun there…” if she looks at resturants (my interpretation: architecture) as fun, who knows, she way follow along…

  • Anonymous

    My favorite is:  “Do architects need to lift heavy things?  No… so I want to change my answer to women”!  There should be more women in architecture!

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  • Ashleshabarua

    Aww…!!! Please don’t let her become an architect… I swear if my kids ever utter the term”archi-torture” I’ll lock them up..!(provided I ever have kids, that is..I’m almost 22..almost graduate..and almost dead thnxx to architorture!)

  • http://funandfit.org AlexandraFunFit

    I hope you’ve explained to Kate that your muscles have never gotten all sweaty. Never. Because if they started to, you’d take a nap in your office chair. And probably dream of that $300.

  • Jare_tech

    love this! cuteness abounds!

  • http://exploringvenustas.wordpress.com/ The Evolving Critic

    soooooo cute!!!!!!!!

  • http://twitter.com/ExtremelyAvg Brian Meeks

    That was the greatest interview I have ever read! Kate was Brilliant A+…Bob, you were pretty good too, I will give you an A.

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  • bobborson

    I'd love it if she became an architect, I think I have the greatest job out there. Certainly better than a vet! That's seems to be a horrible job – nobody brings their pet in for wellness checks, only when something terrible has happened. Once your actually at the vet, they start killing you with all sorts of things that you should be doing. I hate going to the vet a million times more than going to my actual doctor who is almost the same age as me and is female – those yearly exams are awkward! And you know me, that just means all the inappropriate jokes start coming out!

  • http://blog.buildllc.com Andrew

    Brilliant interview! Very clever of you to catch her in the bath while her guard was down and you could get the honest answers.

  • Marcy

    brilliant! She is a prodigy…but don't let her be an architect. My daughter is going to be a vet!

  • sarita

    lovely…interesting conversation : ))

  • http://jeromymurphy.wordpress.org Jeromy

    $300 PER HOUSE! I WISH! Maybe you should make her your business development partner.

  • lancotf

    Love this…amazing to get it from our youngsters. You've obviously done a wonderful job, Bob!

  • modernsauce

    Hey you set up that professional relationship between interviewer and interviewee.

    Now: calls you Bob.

    Later: emancipation of a minor.

  • bobborson

    When my wife Michelle heard that Kate said she wanted to be an architect she asked Kate “I thought you wanted to be a Veterinarian?” and Kate replied “I want to be like Bob”.

    What!? She is supposed to call me Daddy for the rest of her life!

  • modernsauce

    That was great! She went from veterinarian to architect in about 5 minutes. I bet it was all part of your master plan!