Drawing an Interaction #22

            I really miss the atmosphere of an Architectural firm. Deadlines, deadlines, and more deadlines, codes, procedures, computer aided drawings, conservations with Civil, Structural, Electrical Engineers. Trying to make sure that they have the updated drawings and we have their drawings so that everything matches and we are ready for submittal to the city. I sit there with the Architect asking how the firm was able to handle the the economic downfall and manage to stay afloat. How much things have changed and what the future looks like. Our discussion took about 45 minutes and throughout that time we were interrupted about 5 times. Which showed me that the company is doing quite well.
             I learn that the firm has done quite well despite the economy because of the contracts which they had in place before the economy had its downfall. All the funds were allocated and the projects were well on their way to the beginning stages. Very few companies had this kind of opportunity and many of them had to shut down because of the lack of work. Many of the office managers were now doing the work of the drafters and going through the process themselves rather than over seeing these steps.
             Many things are beginning to change and they are trying to implement more of a "green" design in many of their projects. Before people were afraid of the cost when creating the plans for a building but now they are beginning to see the benefits in the long run. Not to mention the incentives the government gives the owners. Which leads to the changes in the codes and details that go into the buildings, and is better for someone to be Lead certified to better understand the codes and all that a drawing would need to entail so that it can pass through with minimal red lines and changes. I am informed that the industry is beginning to pick up slowly and that having a background in sustainable design is a plus with the up coming future. People are slowly beginning to buy property and make the changes and so there will be jobs in the future.
            I find it always very interesting to speak with someone that has been an Architect for quite awhile. They always start their stories off by when I was younger we had to draft by hand. One mistake always lead to starting a whole new page. Which I totally understand because when I was going to school I was one of the last groups of students that they required to do manual drafting, and I had my share of those "starting over" pages. They are always very passionate when they speak about the design and how they pay close attention to detail. Which is always needed because if you do not you can design something that may not pass inspection. There is so much that goes into creating a new building and they are a part of it all.