Bob Borson, FAIA | Apr 8, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 148: Meetings are a Waste of Time

You check the time and realize that you have four minutes before your next meeting. Maybe it’s an internal meeting, maybe clients are coming in. Is it in person or online? Depending on how you answer those questions, time to start scrambling so that you are where you need to be and have the information required to make this meeting a good use of your time. But guess what? I promise that you will end up waiting on someone (maybe you are that someone). Either way, you aren’t getting that time back and you haven’t even started yet. Welcome to Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 148: Meetings are a Waste of Time.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Apr 5, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 147: How To Draw Like An Architect

How good do you need to be at drawing if you want to become an architect? What if you can't draw? Can you still become an architect? These are questions I hear a lot, especially from people my age who became accountants and consultants. Is there an easy answer to these questions? Of course there is, but that doesn’t mean the answer is easy. Welcome to Life of an Architect Episode 147: Draw Like an Architect!

Bob Borson, FAIA | Mar 18, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 146: Ask the Show Spring 2024

We get asked a lot of good questions here on the show. They come up in the comment section, they are sent into our email inboxes, and some slide into our DM’s. Sometimes we reach out and ask people what they would like us to discuss, which is what’s happening on this episode. We started with 10 questions and made our way through seven of them before we hit our time limit. One of these days I think a fireside chat done in real time would be an interesting way to work through these questions. In the meantime, welcome to episode 146: Ask the Show Spring 2024!

Bob Borson, FAIA | Feb 26, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 145: Delegated Design

In the architecture and construction industry, delegated design refers to the process where certain design responsibilities are transferred from architects to contractors during the construction phase. This collaboration is considered crucial in ensuring that the project progresses smoothly from design to implementation.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Feb 13, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 144: 6 Design Objects With Amazing Backstories

From a design standpoint, some things are just cooler than other things. And these things don’t need to be justified to anyone, because people either understand it or they don’t. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an amazing story behind these objects that might contribute to their coolness in a meaningful way.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Jan 29, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 143: Architectural Drawings - Excessive or Essential?

In this episode of Life of an Architect, we are focusing on drawings. The question that first comes to mind is to talk about what we draw, why we draw it, who we draw it for, and why that impacts all other considerations. With all of that on the table for consideration, the real conversation is centered around how much we draw, and why the answer to that question is complicated. Welcome to episode 143: Architectural Drawings: Excessive or Essential.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Jan 15, 2024

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 142: When I Grow Up

Astronaut, fireman, ballerina, pilot, builder, dump truck driver – these are all things that children consider as a profession, even before they know the word “profession.” For a lot of architects (but not all), they decide they want to be an architect pretty early in their childhood development. How does that work out? What does it look like? And does it change as you move through the process? Andrew and I are going to make it personal in this episode. Welcome to EP 142: When I Grow Up.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Dec 18, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 141: Yearapalooza

It's December 2023, and Andrew and I find ourselves in front of the microphone for the final time until 2024. It is the annual state of the state address where we look back at all the interesting bits and pieces covered over the last 12 months while providing a sneak peak at the adventures to come in 2024. Welcome to EP 141: 2023 Yearapalooza!

Bob Borson, FAIA | Dec 11, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 140: Communicating Through Drawings

Architecture is a visual craft. From the end product where people move through, in and about, to the beginning as students when we spend years in school learning to use different forms of medium to help explain our ideas. Drawings have always played a role in the process of study and discussion of what we do and why we do it. Today we are going to look at the different forms of drawing and talk about when they are used and how we align these different drawing types and the messages they convey.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Nov 27, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 139: 2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Architects

It’s almost that gift-giving time of the year, and if you have an architect in your life, you know that getting them a gift is potentially the most agonizing experience possible. That’s why we’re here. Now in its 14th consecutive year, welcome to Episode 139 Holiday Gift Guide for Architects 2023!

Andrew Hawkins, AIA | Nov 13, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 138: Is Architecture School Broken? (Part 2)

Are students graduating from architecture school prepared for the profession? Is the educational system aligned with the workplace? What is the best software to teach students? Can we all just get along? We started this exploration of the idea that architecture school may need some modifications in Episode 137. The system needs to change to provide the skills, knowledge, and pathways for the future of the profession, but what else may need to be addressed? What does all of this mean to students, architects, and the public at large? Welcome to Episode 138: Is Architecture School Broken?

Andrew Hawkins, AIA | Nov 1, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 137: Is Architecture School Broken?

Life in college for architecture students is remarkably predictable. For those of us who have been through it, as unique or different as you think your experience was, you eventually come to realize that, at their core, architecture school programs are almost fundamentally the same in their format. Is this a bad thing? Are there changes that we should be discussing? Welcome to Episode 137: Is Architecture School Broken?

Bob Borson, FAIA | Oct 17, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 136: Leadership vs. Management

What is the difference between leadership and management? There is definitely some overlap, but the key distinction lies in… wait, you thought I was going to tell you in the opening? It’s going to take some time to talk through those distinctions before we get there. Welcome to life of an Architect episode 136: Leadership vs. Management.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Oct 2, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 135: Employee Takeover

Bob Borson, FAIA, and Andrew Hawkins, AIA, discuss the potential benefits of creating an upward evaluation process for employees, where staff members can share their thoughts and opinions on what mattered to them from their managers, from their team leads, even their employers.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Sep 5, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 133: Ask the Show, Fall 2023

Bob Borson, FAIA, and Andrew Hawkins, AIA, answer listeners' burning questions in episode 133 of the Life of an Architect podcast.

Andrew Hawkins, AIA | Aug 21, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 132: Starting Architecture School, Part 2

You have made the decision where to study architecture. You’ve chosen the architecture school and your degree path. So now what? How much work is this going to be?

Andrew Hawkins, AIA | Aug 7, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 131: Starting Architecture School, Part 1

So you are thinking about starting architecture school or looking to study architecture. What are your options for schools? Are you just weeks away from starting your first semester of college architecture school? What’s it going to be like? How hard is it? What am I going to do? What’s with all these acronyms? Well, no matter your situation we’ve got you covered today with all the introductory info in Episode 131: Starting Architecture School Part 1.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Jul 27, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 130: Employee Evaluations

Performance appraisal, performance review – call them what you will, but we all know what they are. Most likely you have received them. Chances are that you might even have given one before. What sort of role do employee evaluations play? Are they helpful? Do you dread receiving yours?

Bob Borson, FAIA | Jul 10, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 129: Built to last - Improving the lifespan of buildings by mitigating impact

The Pantheon, 125 A.D. The Tower of Hercules, 117 A.D. Nanchan Temple, 782 A.D. The Hagia Sofia, 537 A.D. All of these structures were built centuries ago but still stand in use today. Do modern-era buildings get created in such a way that allows for them to last for this long? Of course not. But why is that? What can we do to improve the longevity of our buildings?

Bob Borson, FAIA | Jun 26, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 128: Staying focused in a world of distractions

When you hear the word “focus” what comes to mind? Is it the ability to see clearly? Maybe you think of the ability to pay particular attention to the task at hand. Possibly the Ariana Grande song from 2015. Well, it’s definitely not that. What are we talking about again? Oh yeah, Welcome to EP 128: Focus.

Bob Borson, FAIA | Jun 12, 2023

Life of an Architect Podcast Ep. 127: Context and Design

The architectural theory of contextual architecture—often referred to as “contextualism”—asserts that built items should be in response to the literal and abstract components in the environment in which it is built. In 1988, Architect Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley denounced this philosophy, stating “contextualism has been used as an excuse for mediocrity, for a dumb servility to the familiar”, whereas Rem Koolhaas was more to the point and simply said, “F*!k context”. Sound exciting? Welcome to episode 127: Context and Design.