We have a conversation about the process of becoming a licensed architect in the United States and discuss the challenges of taking multiple Architect Registration Exams (ARE), NCARB’s rolling clock policy changes, and the need for change in the profession.
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What’s it really like to work in architecture? The hosts of Archispeak know, and they’re here to share real-life experiences. Since 2012 architects Evan Troxel and Cormac Phalen have been podcasting their brand of real talk on everything from design, tools, and work/life balance to generational differences, mentoring, job hunting, and more. Probing questions, revelatory interviews, and unique insights have grown their audience and become a weekly ritual for students and seasoned professionals alike.
#288 - Birth Control for Engineers
We discuss Evan’s tireless experience of the “sufferfest” that is moving one’s family into a new home, Cormac’s recent experiences with the ACE Mentor program, and we ask the question more people in the profession should be: Would people become architects if the we were honest about what it’s really like to be one?
Read More#287 - 42 Degrees North Latitude
Saying goodbye to a house, spaces that evoke memories and emotion, personal experiences of working (and living) remotely, mentoring emerging professionals, and how the architectural profession has been the model for Elon’s recent email to Twitter employees (except for the severance option).
Read More#286 - Skyhooks Are Rea
We discuss the different types of architectural degrees offered and why one might pick one type over another (To B.Arch or not to B.Arch? That is the question.) based on an #askarchispeak question from a listener, and Cormac toured the Exchange Tower that’s currently under construction in Detroit. It’s being built… differently.
Read More#285 - What the Monterey Design Conference is All Abou
In this episode, we discuss Deborah Berke FAIA’s presentation and James Wines’ interview from the 2022 Monterey Design Conference which recently happened at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in California. We get into the adaptive reuse typology as well as environmental art and architecture.
Read More#284 - Through the Lens of Others
Cormac talks about his recent attendance of a lecture about architectural ornamentation from yesteryear in Detroit while Evan is speaking at the inaugural EntreArchitect Annual Meeting in Austin.
Read More#283 - Injured by Architecture
In this episode, we discuss various mental, psychological, and physical injuries sustained from architectural (or construction) projects.
Read More#282 - Realistic Sandwich
This episode is about communication in our profession. Are you elevating or dumbing down the conversation? Is anybody listening? We also talk about wasting time in “valuable” “meetings”, how when the size of teams grows the lines of communication and complexity grows at a larger rate (Brooks’s Law), and more.
Read More#281 - Little Glasses of Hindsight
It’s a “rantiversary”! We have some fresh follow-up on a 2-year-old episode about a Twitter thread on why one individual was sounding the alarms and contemplating leaving the industry — who then did leave — and hasn’t looked back. The conversation then ties into additional follow-up from a more recent topic about accountability for predatory and toxic educational and workplace environments kindled by the SCI-Arc Basecamp “How to be in an Office” panel discussion.
Read More#280 - We’re So Apathetic
We discuss how Evan’s recent talks about the future of the practice were received by two different audiences: architects and CFO’s. One group is much more excited about where we’re going… can you guess which one?
Read More#279 - An Indictment of the Built Environment
We discuss a recent rant by Thomas Heatherwick about boring architecture, emotional responses to the built environment, the fabric of the city, what community is, cool scars, and more.
Read More#278 - A Lower Rung on the Ladder of Architectural Significance
Evan is delivering a keynote titled ‘Disruptive Technology in Architecture, and You’ at the 2022 AIA Kansas Annual Conference, rural architecture and architects, presentation skills, communication, and more.
Read More#277 - A Quiet Game of Chicken
Following our ‘quiet quitting’ episode we now discuss ‘quiet firing’, the objectification of roles in the profession and the unsustainable nature of this approach by incumbents for the future of the labor force, additional thoughts on other recent episodes and how they tie into this discussion and topic, workaholism, MidJourney AI image creation, and more.
Read More#276 - Quiet Quitting
We discuss the latest news on the #quietquitting trend, the architectural response to the subject, under living and overworking, and more.
Read More#275 - The Waffling is Real
After discussing how there’s no shortage of things to be responsible for when adulting, we answer more listener questions regarding graduate school and licensure while throwing our personal experience into the mix.
Read More#274 - Tyranny of the Green Light
What does the little green status light next to your name signal? In this episode we get into expectations and conditioning, time management, discipline, and saying yes versus no in the always-on work environment.
Read More#273 - Know Anyone Interested?
A conversation about the current state of the architectural job market, a critique of the lackluster listings firms use to “attract talent”, and more.
Read More#272 - Play the Game
We answer questions from an incoming architecture student about, well, all kinds of things. What should one do before beginning an architectural education? In addition to “everything”, what should one pay extra attention to in school? What should one study on their own time? What is the process of getting licensed in multiple states?
Read More#271 - The Upstairs Boat
We discuss some recent adventures in home ownership and compare notes on a list of places we have and haven’t been to from an architectural perspective.
Read More#270 - Exhaustion Brought A Friend
We do a debrief on the AIA National Conference on Architecture in Chicago both as an a attendee and as an exhibitor, what it was like being in the presence of our people again, thoughts about cities and their intersection with “the conference”, health outcomes from the conference (yep), and a quick tour of some Frank Lloyd Wright projects (because when in Rome/Oak Park…).
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