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… You might be an Architect

On August 18, 2011, in Architects, Life in General, Observations, by Bob Borson

Do you want to be an Architect? Maybe you already are you an Architect and wondered if you made the right decision? Times are weird and the economy is making a lot of people who thought they knew they wanted to be an architect re-evaluate their thought process. Since I get so many emails asking for advice, I’ve made a test that will definitively let you know if you have what it takes to be an architect.

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Can you see an X-acto blade from where you are sitting?

… You might be an architect

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If you cut your finger with an X-acto blade, do you worry about bleeding on your model and not your finger?

… You might be an architect

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As an adult, do you still buy LEGO’s for yourself?

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever slept under your desk?

… You might be an architect

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Do you like wearing wigs and really large shoes?

… You might be an clown

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Do most of your books cost at least $79?

… You might be an architect

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Are those books mostly picture books?

… You might be an architect

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Do you have more than 2 calculators on your desk?

… You might be an engineer

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Do you hate the question: “What do you think of my house?“

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever gone out to a restaurant and thought: “The scale of this space is off.”

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever said: “Are you going to be using all your cardboard?”

… You might be an architect

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Can you name more than 100 architects but less than 5 interior designers?

… You might be an architect

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Do you know the names of 30 different shades of blue but not the actual size of a 2×4?

… You might be an interior designer

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Do you only use a particular type of pen?

… You might be an architect

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Do you either have a messenger bag or really, really want one? A black one??

… You might be an architect

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Do you drive a really nice car, have more money than you need, vacation 4 weeks a year, and sleep well at night?

… You might be an Developer

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Have you ever worn an entire outfit of black clothing?

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever dressed up as Le Corbusier at Halloween?

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever said with pride: “I haven’t been to sleep in 3 days.“

… You might be an architect

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Do you plan vacations to go see certain buildings?

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever thought: “How is that cantilever doing that?” but then realized you don’t care?

… You might be an architect

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Do you know when to use Elmer’s Glue and when to use rubber cement?

… You might be an architect

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Do you dream in theory but cry in reality?

… You might be an architect

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Have you ever said: “Nobody but you will notice that it wasn’t built right.“

… You might be an contractor

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Have you ever said: “Yo trabajo muy duro por lo que me pagan.“

… You might be an subcontractor

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Have you ever spent 70% of the fee on the first 20% of the project?

… You might be an architect

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Do you complain about the reliance on computers and miss the days of hand drafting?

… You might be an old architect

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Did you go to school for a really long time, go through a lengthy internship, and take a bunch of hard tests to get licensed?

… You might be an doctor

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Do people think you are a great person, that you have a fantastic moral compass, and trust you with watching their kids despite just having met you?

… You might be an architect

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I’m quite sure there are some other tell tale signs that I’ve forgotten or left of the the list … in fact I know of a few. Do you have any to add? Let me know in the comment section below…

Cheers

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About the author

Bob Borson

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

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  • Hanna

    You rub the outside of buildings and take close up pictures.

  • MRL

    ifevery other person you meet says “I wanted to be an architect, but…”
    you might be an architect

  • Carolyn Krall, AIA

    You often stand in the street looking up – passersby are confused about what you are looking at.

  • Carolyn Krall, AIA

    I would object to those last two – except I had a female architect friend who went to work for HOK in the early 90′s.  She was assigned a desk in the interiors group –they said there were not available desks with the architects (who were on a different floor). After several weeks she discovered there was a male interior designer had been assigned to a desk with the architectural group.  Guess HOK was having a hard time overcoming those stereotypes.  She eventually negotiated a trade.

  • Jeremiah

    Oh Dude!! That’s just wrong. But funny (in hind sight). I would HOPE that this is MUCH less common these days. We need more women in the profession, and licensed women.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FPJHMMFULBIGVWRSXH6KU7EV64 tcb90125

    I think everyone should start out their training with drafting for at least the first year.  Let those youngins start with the ‘antiques’ to appreciate what the computer allows.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FPJHMMFULBIGVWRSXH6KU7EV64 tcb90125

    How do you know he wasn’t refering to photography…perverts! :)

  • Craig Chasse

    If you constantly study the effects of lights and shadows on objects and materials.

    ….You might be an architect

  • http://www.ArchitectofDesign.com Josh Harry Berkovitch

    Do you ever get strange looks from passer-bys whilst you are dreamily staring towards the sky side of a 1960′s block yet still proceed to rub the concrete almost as though it is a guilty shame?

    You might be an Architect.

  • Andrea

    I have ALL of my kit from University including the table, horse hair brush, all the pens, leftover charcoal and conte.  I still have all my brushes etc etc.  But I can proudly say I graduated in 2001 and that was still how we worked.  When I left we still only had about 30 computers for a school of 300+.  I know it is different now though.

  • archamy

    if you’ve ever been reviewing the photos you took on that last trip and realized there wasn’t one single person in any of them… you might be an architect

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1312540429 Furqan Habib

    no u r an architect

  • http://www.facebook.com/obby.rahman Obby Rahman

    Your desktop is always full of shortcuts.. !

  • http://www.facebook.com/cnan69 Senan Ahmed

    Do u speak more than you think..?

  • Kutay

    … You might be a bad architect

  • Michael

    Were you secretly happy about your eyesight failing because now you can wear the cool glasses?

  • tasmina

    i totally agree.in my university we all hv to hand draft till 4th year.
     

  • Huy

    Hi Bob, My sister in law has asked me to design her 1500 SF office, I had no idea until I finished my deadline at work yesterday. I took my tracing paper, sketch out my thoughts. The final design had come out quick, just few passes of using tracing paper. It keeps the ideas consistent and shows progress. Many architects using software almost loose their feel of scale, like my case, so that I always try to sketch the idea out before working with computer. Hope you have an idea writing about architect’s most wanted – tracing paper……..may be a  list of most wanted things.
    I am your fan, Huy

  • http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com Bob Borson

    Thanks Huy – that is something to think about … I’ll see what I can come up with

    Cheers and thanks for writing

  • Daspohn

    Bob,
    Too many hilarious (though sometimes painful) memories. 
    I probably qualify by now as one of the fossils, but I remember getting seriously marked-down in grade school for “capitalization” because I refused NOT to use all-caps.  
    Round peg. Square hole. 
    A guilty smile to embellish my darkly monochromatic attire.
    -daspohn

  • http://BuildingPros.com/build/1008331 Richard K Smagala

    I believe that architects should become familar with the construction industry. When I was an intern architect and beyond I would be embarassed often by someone in construction saying to me that it wasn’t done the way I had drawn it. After a while I decided not only to learn from contractors and tradesmen but to work in as many areas of construction as I could. I didn’t become an expert in all of them but I did learn how they worked and related to the designs I would be creating. Of course it does take a number of years to do but that why us “old” architects can still be of some use today. By old I mean 55 and up.

  • http://twitter.com/TwinklePancholi Twinkle

    I have my old drafting tools too… everytime I start on autocad, I open my desk drawer, look at my drafting tools longingly and think…”someday… I am gonna design a complete project with those.. someday… but right now, I’m in a hurry… deadlines!! but someday…” and turn back to my autocad screen!!

  • http://twitter.com/TwinklePancholi Twinkle

    or maybe a camera flash!!

  • Liz

    Does it take you twice as long to shovel snow off your sidewalk as it takes your spouse, because you want your property to be safe AND pretty? You might be an architect.

  • Tom Emerson

    Do you ask friends or family to get into the picture just to add scale?

  • DTS

    Bob,
    I realized i’m an architect because i just spent about 30 mins in reading all this comments and actually nodding.
    -DTS

  • Neomark20

    Doug Patt? My cybermentors… Bob and Doug

  • AMR

    Have your friends ever gotten upset at you when you critiqued or made ecstatic comments about buildings and spaces in a movie (while sitting in the theater) ?  AND constantly say “That would never happen in real life.  Concrete just doesn’t explode that easily.  Glass doesn’t break like that.”  during action movies?

    Have you ever been given a blank stare when you realize you have been talking for an hour about the structural detail of an exposed ceiling at the night club?

    Have you had to actively train your mind to think like a normal person when hanging out with a group of “non-architects”?

  • Robert

    Even though everyboody else around you is richer, you always feel cooler than them…

  • Yew Weng Leong

    we are still using ‘em here in my college. i always carry talc powder (for drafting) with me and get stares from friends when i rifle through my bag

  • Anonymous

    Have you ever wondered – “How come the catastrophic gap between how the job was presented to me through the fairy tales I was fed throughout the entire college and how the job is actually done in real life is far greater than, say, the gap between studying classical ballet and a real life job of peeling potatoes in an underwater restaurant kitchen for the rest of your life” – then you’re an architect. 

  • D Azad

    i thought archamy was touching a raw spot..but you rub it in. Yes, i am an architect.

  • Waheeb Gadi

    i did what DTS was doing,,,, 
    i’m a Landscape Architect,,, 

  • Waheeb Gadi

    and also if you were chatting with CAD in the command line as if it was an old chat body or a really close friend,,, same thing with any architectural related software… 

  • Anonymous

    If you say “Ahem, see, I, er.. actually, have more of an artistic mind” when chatting with engineers, and if you say “Ahem, see, I, er… actually, have more of an engineering mind” when chatting with artists, you might be an architect.

  • Dreaming to be a developer

    Do you write “an” when you are supposed to write “a”?
    You might be an architect.

  • http://www.designfreedominc.com/ Cathy Svercl, RA

    i have a request for a new blog posting!  what is the first thing you hear after introducing yourself as an architect?

    “my brother designed his own house…”

    “my nephew is taking a drafting course…”

    and as MRL said “I wanted to be an architect, but…”

    thanks, Bob, i enjoy your posts.

  • ArchStudent

    Have you spent more money on Balsa wood in the past year than on food?
    ….You might be an architect

  • UIUCArch

    Do you drink more coffee than you do water?
    …You might be an architect

  • cnp56

    100% with you on shutters and newspaper articles!

  • cnp56

    Do you know what these terms mean: LEROY, KROY, ZIPATONE, ROTRING, ADJUSTABLE TRIANGLE, ERASING SHIELD, …
    … You are an OLD architect

  • riya

    this was really…..ummm….good u know as i was starting to believe it…HUH..!!what a waste of time???

  • riya

    do u waste time on such things as above???

    ……u MIGHT BE AN architect

  • Anonymous

    unfortunately being cool doesn’t pay your bills! Doesnt pay your childs education! and doesnt take your family on a vacation! I love architecture but being cool has nothing to do with why i enjoy it. It is an enjoyable profession  but trying to feel superior is downright nonsensical as youve invented nothing new. You’re just another architect among the many thousands struggling out there. Now being Jean Nouvel, Calatrava, Niyemeyer or Siza, that might be cool :D

  • BlackjackArchitect

    Do you have in depth conversations about lines?

    … You might be an architect

  • Dreamhouse

    If you have spent a few days daydreaming design solutions for a dear rich friend’s new bachelor pad, but ultimately declined because reality finally dawned that  third-party liability was a deal breaker, then you may be an experienced architect.

  • Tomhhasdf

    Hahaha

  • MJ

    You say, “I am more on the analytical side, but I like to use my creative side too”. . .you might be an architect. 

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