J. Robert (Bob) Wainner

I think Andrew just wants younger people to know they can find a niche eventually even if they don’t have ”powerhouse” skills in all areas, and roaming a bit at the start can help in understanding oneself. So I guess I am in the middle where I think we should try to both find our way with who we are, but also address any weak places. For examp…[Read more]

Yes I was trying to say I have puzzled over the same things but decided for so many services and products, the examples that puzzle me might just have what someone else wants that we can’t perceive or that we value less. But that odd success also gets some form of rejection where another makes a sale. All of us are in that kind of boat (various…[Read more]

I think quite a few don’t have additional tests but the ones I am familiar with ALL want some record of experience and references (even if not a letter itself). Just like applying to jobs, it’s something you may have to just put up with, so get it streamlined to be as little burden as possible.

We expect some bad in any craft or profession but hope that licensing will weed them out, or the marketplace. I think the answer is just that like bad dentists, vets, etc. a few make it through and maybe a school wasn’t that strong 20 years ago or a state didn’t even have an exam requirement. On the other hand, the person may be sharp enough to…[Read more]

“…any design idea is ‘automatically’ good and not questioned regarding practicality.”

Is what you cite more a characteristic of high budget top visibility (sort of corporate image etc.) type work versus mid-range type? Or committees doing the approvals and waving something on to the next stage of details, not seasoned real estate and con…[Read more]

I’d look carefully at what you’d actually GET. For example, the 2 employees may not stay or may not work that well with you. If you kept the current business name, but the person with that name departs, won’t you be explaining the switchover to a lot of former clients? And if you rename it, won’t you be starting new just as if you opened a fresh…[Read more]

Sorry for garbled sentences in the middle there – time needed for edits not long enough LOL

The future is a natural concern for those at the gateway, in the middle, and even in Bob’s (and my) lane who won’t be directly affected but still care about the field.

As far as encouraging or discouraging young people, maybe the issue is whether what we foresee it in terms of their chances of doing classic design work (perhaps with over-emphasis…[Read more]

Wouldn’t it be a problem something like collaborations on google drive or dropbox? These can get messy though, lol but so can an individual left to oneself. I think the key is having a clear folder for each project, then subfolders (used with some discipline) holding background info (client notes, maps etc.), preliminary designs, design…[Read more]

I think back to the original issue, however you hand over the results, the process is basically to start from the FFLs, analyze where the places are around the perimeter or edges of natural areas that you have to match or want to save, then work on the most critical surfaces (pedestrian entries, approaches), next the the moderately critical…[Read more]

Learn some desktop publishing (a few years ago it was QuarkXpress, now maybe InDesign) and you may be able to get on a late shift at a magazine or similar place. Other graphics possibilities may exist like website support on a freelance basis for small companies who don’t want to manage their own, and that can benefit you as a side skill to LA. It…[Read more]

Wow, I goofed up – I meant for this to go into the “internship” topic, if a moderator wants to move it….

Here is something maybe a little to the side but I stumbled onto. These are suggested characteristics for architects to have and I think would be the same for LA’s, considering them both as designers in the environment. And besides being traits to look for being going into the field(s), they would apply to having what it takes to stay and grow in…[Read more]

I was originally interested in private residential and small scale social spaces (urban mini parks etc.) but was open minded and just soaked in the education and hoped for the best. I assumed I would be in some medium sized office and eventually feel secure enough to work for myself (not necessarily build a multi-person business). As it turned…[Read more]

“going out there and finding a place to be productive regardless of what the sign says” is right on….except that convincing someone to let you participate depends on some kind of credentials. So, I think LA will need to have credibility with other professionals or whoever forms teams of people to work in those promising future areas. But the…[Read more]

Note: 2006 to 2016 were the recession years. And if that is projected forward, it might yield Bob’s 2016-2026 numbers. Could such further sliding be warped by the grimmer past? (I’d be interested in how architects fared and are predicted to do along these same time frames).

It’s strange if true. I’m sort of finding (nothing scientific) that more people seem to know what we are and can do. But I agree I don’t think all that many positions are available in large swaths of the country, and invisibility will whittle away at the numbers over time as fewer young people get inspired to enter the field. I wonder if the…[Read more]

I also check by relatively often and harbor a thought or two now and then for possible topics. But what I think happened, is that when it was last active, the blog suffered somewhat (as everything nowadays) from disgressing into the poison of politics and/or climate change, even on other topics or the leanings of the participants just surfaced…[Read more]