Hey, what is up nation?
In this session we're going to talk about what an architect does.
I feel like I shouldn't have to make this video but, unfortunately I do. There
is an architecture association that I'm a part of, called the AIA the American
Institute of Architects, that I feel like this is really their job, but I don't
feel like maybe they're not doing a good enough job at what they're doing because
a lot of people don't really understand what an architect does. And I think the
general public thinks that architects are actually engineers or that the same
thing. And they're not. And I just want to really briefly touch on what an
architect does, what their role is and if you want to be one what that looks like.
All right, so first I'm gonna say I think there's a few different kinds of
architects. I'm gonna pick three and architects can be sort of anywhere
within that realm, and obviously there's more, but I think primarily there are
three: there's design architects, which I would consider myself, there are
technical architects who are really good at understanding how things go together,
like building details, all the systems that go into a building and the
technical aspects of a building, and then business architects - people who are
really good at understanding how a business is operated, but may not be that
that well tuned when it comes to designing or the technical aspects. So if
you're thinking about hiring an architect or you want to become an
architect just keep that in your mind, that there's not just one track that you
have to be. So the primary role of an architect is what I would call a
"conductor of buildings". I think when I think of music and I think of a conductor,
the conductor knows what all of the instruments should be playing, but may
not know how to play every single instrument in the symphony or whatever
the band or whatever it is. And that's really what an architect does: they focus
on how they can assemble all these instruments together to make something
that really makes a lot of sense. Now an architect, I would say, is a
jack-of-all-trades in a lot of ways. It's important for an architect to know a lot
about the HVAC, the plumbing, the electrical, the details,
like how the Assembly's carpentry, tilework.
Basically all of the trades literally jack-of-all-trades is the architects job
on top of understanding code, understanding how a project is
going through, coordinating with a client, making sure that they understand the
process and what is happening, and serves as a middleman between the client
and the contractor. To sort of, like break things down, so that everybody is
on the same page. So there's parts of engineering that an architect does, but
the architect doesn't necessarily do the structural engineering for the building.
Architects are able to do that, but I would say that most architects unless
they're more towards that technical side that I was talking about, don't do that
because it's a liability. They'll hire someone else and they do that with
pretty much everything that they do. They hire sub consultants that then advise
them on what they should do. And that so a structural engineer, a civil engineer,
mechanical engineer - those type of engineers and architects will we'll hire
to be a part of their team and then the architect becomes the
conductor, making sure that all of those parts of the team makes sense, so it's
the architects you have to understand everything that is going into a building
and make it work essentially. And make it beautiful. That's really, I think,
what the architect does, it's the architects job to make sure that all of
these things coming together, make sense for what the client wants in terms of an
aesthetic appearance. And then when construction starts to make sure that
the contractor whoever's building the project is adhering to what the
architect is drawn. The "design intent" is what it's called.
So the drawings communicate the design intent to the contractor and then the
contractor is supposed to build to that design intent, but lots of things get
missed in drawings or maybe can get overlooked, is maybe a better way to put
it and it's thearchitect's job to be on site, to be able to point out different
things maybe the architect is looking at. I mean,
how many times have you read a book, a whole page of or a hope let's say a
whole chapter of a book and you don't remember all the details. Is essentially
what happens when a contractor takes it on a job. It's their job to understand
all that stuff, but sometimes things get missed so the architect is there to say
"hey, this is really important, we need to make sure this gets hit". So, or this this
certain requirement gets met. So, that's really I think the best way to describe
what an architect does, is do the design, make sure that everything makes
sense from a functional and programmatic point of view and then to coordinate all
the sub consultants that are putting their stuff inside the building, all the
things that make the building work, make sure that that can be incorporated and
doesn't detract from the beauty of the architecture and really make sure that it works.
So hopefully has helped, shed some light on what an architect does for you.
If you like this video, please don't forget to like, subscribe and share
this video with your friends. And as always, happy hacking!
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