Week 3 Readings (Perkins/ Lepik)

The paired readings for this week’s discussion focus a lot of attention on the integrity of a designer within a community practice and specifically the operations of a firm.  ‘Chapter 22: Talent is Not Enough’ by Shel Perkins was an extremely insightful read, written for the audience of emerging designers his writing embraces the social format of the architectural trade. His perspective of operational formatting within an office was for the integrity orientation for someone such as myself that has not yet received this experience.  This configuring of social hierarchy within the architectural field is how Perkins explains never a cookie cutter structure, Architecture firms have a cultural philosophy unlike any other profession; as this reading was also paired with ‘Building On Society’ by Andres Lepik, Its evident that the cultural philosophy of architecture in light of unfortunate global occurrences has started to focus attention back to communities in need.

Collaboration functions at multiple scales, and these reading are evidence of such. Collaboration functions within the office format in the social interactions between designers/interns/ and principles as well as contacted offerings with outside engineers and construction firms. Perkins describes the process of the inner office hierarchy as not the typical top down approach but more so principals and leaders serve as a facilitator and a catalyst. The reason for this embraced philosophy might correlate with the level of risk a design team might be willing to take. True innovation requires creative risk, and this creative risk should be implemented in every level of the field including the social structural of firm.

With risk comes innovation, in the design field innovation and technology work in a symbiosis with ideas and concepts. Ultimately new innovations will eventually evolve to being new standards. Lepik references many contemporary instances of community outreach from designers who showed integrity for providing underprivileged communities with access to properly designed infrastructure that will potentially enhance pride and lifestyle . Most of these communities Lepik described were communities in desperate need of infrastructure, these are opportunities for designers to embrace these localities and design for their prescribed needs. Through these opportunities designers have moments of showing that we are more than just skilled professionals but that we are human and design with empathy and social structures.

 

 

3 questions for an architecture firm

1.       What was the pinnacle moment of achievement for your firm.  how did you gain this success.

2.       What is your office philosophy, how do you collaborate within the firm.

3.       How did you emerge as an established firm and how do you see potential growth of the firm 20 years now.