If you have ever wondered what Delegated Design and Design Assist mean and how the distinction between the two could impact you and your liability and responsibility then this is a good resource of information as we break it down and discuss it in fairly simple terms.

Ep 145: Delegated Design

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 interesting and amazing story behind these objects that might contribute to their coolness in a meaningful way. Today Andrew and I each selected three items and we are going to share with you some amazing stories …  Welcome to EP 144: Objects of Design

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Today we are going to share with you something we feel is meaningful to us and why, maybe, it should be meaningful to you. Rather than making this a list of things we like – and by extension – things we think you should like as well, we are going to dig a bit deeper and talk about the story behind each item we discuss today. In a sense, it’s that story that should make today’s podcast interesting … just that fact that WE think it’s interesting probably isn’t good enough, so we are stepping up our game.

The rules are simple – Andrew and I were each tasked with identifying a handful of items that we think are worthy of being labeled “Objects of Design” and we are going to present them in an alternating fashion. We are going to be keeping score because, at the end, I want my list to be better than Andrew’s list.



Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier (image credit here) CC by SA 3.0 Deed

Villa Savoye jump to 

I am starting my list today with a building – one that architects, fans of architecture, and French people should all be familiar with … Villa Savoye, a modernist villa designed by Charles-Edouart Jeanneret-Gris, better known as “Le Corbusier” and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret located just outside Paris, France in the town of Poissey. It was built out of reinforced concrete between 1928 and 1931. The villa was designed for Pierre and Eugenie Savoye as a country home but the reality is that they barely lived there, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

I visited this building in the Fall of 1990 after having become quite familiar with the work as a result architectural history classes and quite honestly, even though it was not the popular still of architecture at the time, I really enjoyed Le Corbusier’s work, not so much some of his ideas on Urban planning.

But to really get to the interesting part of this particular project, we have to go back to 1927 when the League of Nations rejected the modern building that Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret proposed for its headquarters. To say Le Corbusier was disappointed would be an understatement and this moment became a jumping off point that led to Le Corbusier forming the International Congresses of Modern Architecture in 1928. Another Swiss from Zurich, Siegfried Giedion, who was trained

Ep144: Objects of Design

The episode "Architectural Drawings: Excessive or Essential" will focus on drawings and the question that first comes to mind is to talk about what we draw, why we draw it, and who we draw it for and why that impacts all other considerations

EP 143: Architectural Drawings: Excessive or Essential

In Episode 142: When I Grow Up, Andrew and I discuss how things take place that divert you from your expected path as you move through your career. It's a natural evolution to move into new roles and responsibilities that break the idea you have for yourself when you decided to chart your future.

Ep 142: When I Grow Up

As the end of the 2023 season comes to an end, Life of an Architect looks at Fan Favorite Episodes, the Blog posts, and the graphics created to support the topics.

Ep 141: 2023 Yearapalooza

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 as we discuss "Communicating Through Drawings"

Ep 140: Communicating Through Drawings

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 - but that’s why we’re here. Now in its 14th consecutive year, Welcome to Episode 139 Holiday Gift Guide for Architects 2023!

Ep 139: Holiday Gift Guide for Architects

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?

Ep 138: Is Architecture School Broken pt. 2

The architectural education system hasn't been around for that long, yet it has it's issues and concerns. So that leads us to ask the question... Is Architecture School Broken? Join us for Part One of the conversation in Episode 137. We discuss the short history of arch edu, some common concerns with the system, and the shortcomings of the studio-based learning environments.

Ep 137: Is Architecture School Broken pt. 1

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 EP 136: Leadership vs. Management

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Today we are talking about the nuanced distinction between leadership and management. In the circles I travel in, these terms are often used interchangeably, yet they encompass distinctive sets of skills, values, and priorities. We set today’s topic up for discussion during episode 134: Management 101 when attempting to answer the question “Do you have any pointers for architects who are transitioning into management roles.” I felt that we needed to clarify the difference between management and leadership to focus our conversation but recognized that there was a lot to unpack and discuss not only what sets leadership and management apart but also how their collaboration can propel an organization to the success they no doubt aim to achieve.

Since I like to do a little research and preparation for each show, I went back into the Life of an Architect archives to see what I had written or discussed in the past where Leadership and Management were concerned.

August 2013 - Leadership versus Management - the first time I pointedly thought on this subject.

July 2014 – Leadership - I was one of three people who presented a day-long symposium on the topic and where most of my initial research was started.

March 2017 – Attitude Reflects Leadership – anecdotal observation of how your behavior matters and how it impacts and influences others.

July 2020 - Ep 054: Leadership – had my sister on the show because she’s quite literally the most qualified person I’ve ever met to discuss what it means to be a leader (possibly read some of the topics/questions we covered)

September 2023 – Ep 134 Management 101 - discussing what it means to transition into management and how that is different from simply being good at your previous job.

In the very first post, I ended with a quote I found, and it has unintentionally become the foundation upon which most of my thoughts on leadership have been built. It was a quote from Margaret Thatcher, and I found it when researching a new role that I was transitioning into. It is:

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

If you have to tell people you’re the leader, you aren’t. “Leadership” and “Management” are inextricably linked to one another, but management is a role you are hired into while leadership is thrust upon you by others.

I went back through all of these remarkably insightful posts and episodes to organize today’s

Ep 136: Leadership vs. Management

It was podcast Episode 130: Employee Evaluations, and Andrew and I were discussing the process and criteria used to assess and measure an individual employee’s performance when we made the point that there would be value in creating a process where upward evaluations could be implemented, one that allowed the employee to share their thoughts and opinions on what mattered to them from their managers, from their team leads, even their employers. We decided to have that discussion to do just that …Welcome to EP 135: Employee Takeover

Ep 135: Employee Takeover

Today we are talking about firm management – but at a fairly introductory level so that we can focus on a broad range of considerations that are applicable to a broader range of individuals who are transitioning into management roles.

Ep 134: Management 101

Management transition, Where to start a design, the Role of Artificial Intelligence in architecture,  and What Cocktail Should Architects drink ... We answer your questions today on Ep 133: Ask the Show. Fall 2023

Ep 133: Ask the Show Fall 2023

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? How much will this cost? We covered some issues in Part 1, and now we will finish the monumental task of summarizing what it's like to start architecture school.

Ep 132: Starting Architecture School Part 2

So you are thinking about starting architecture school or looking to study architecture. Well, no matter your situation; we’ve got you covered today with all the introductory info in Episode 131: Starting Architecture School Part 1.

Ep 131: Starting Architecture School Part 1

In this episode we discuss the role that structured and organized employee evaluations have a valuable role to play in the process of evaluating the role that employees fill in any office environment

Ep 130: Employee Evaluations

Historically, modern trends in the AEC industry do not provide for buildings with a longer life span.  In 'Built to Last' we will discuss ways to improve the lifespan of buildings through mitigating various aspects of impact on the built environment.

Ep 129: Built to Last

Focus is a subject matter that warrants revisited attention from each of us as it is something that is in a constant state of change and in need of improvement.

Ep 128: Focus

Do architects have a responsibility to acknowledge the time, place and style of architecture they design? How does form based zoning figure into this? Context and Design are the topics we are exploring in today's episode.

Ep 127: Context and Design

Almost 4 years to the day and 100 episodes later, Andrew and I are going to go through an architectural bucket list of people places, and things. I don’t know what Andrew has in mind but I’m feeling that my list will inspire you and change your life…

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