Green Design Jim

Artist Opportunity

Artist Opportunity

As I look back on my life I now see a pattern in all my actions. 

From a kid in elementary school up and including today I always plan to free up my time in the future. In the planning, I am seeing the opportunity to be involved in anything that comes up. I want to make space for the opportunity. By starting and finishing homework as soon as it was given freed me up to being with friends later in the week. Studying drafting in my early years of school provided me the ability to get a drafting job right out of high school, beating college graduates for the same job. By developing my imagination especially in the design of communities as part of my childhood games or designing homes from first grade on my abilities were being honed. By working for Robert Marks, Architect right out of high school and doing that for over 10 years made my vision of what architecture could be blossom. He had worked for Rudolph Schindler and Frank Lloyd Wright, keeping all designs in the organic format and thinking out all opportunities. That has inspired and assisted me in my path. The exploring I have done with my wife all over the earth from nature to cities and buildings has expanded my vision and experience.

Motivation

Architects are known for their high level of Ego. It’s their way or not. We need to have confidence but not be delusional. We need a true understanding of what we can do and we need to be realistic. If we lose touch with ourselves how can we help others in their endeavors?

 

It is said a leader should not give reasons for their thoughts or actions until one must. The power of following through with an idea takes courage and fortitude. Knowing what’s in my head and what direction I need to take for me and my clients has a reason. Usually, it would take longer to explain than just doing it. Almost all my clients end up doing what my first concepts are. So why go through the process of explaining, testing actions when they just revert to my gut. Am I that good? No! But I do have great intuition. That has worked for me on the thousands of projects I have been involved with. It works for my life just as well. That is my talent. It does not make me feel any better than others. It does however make me, personally, very effective with my time management and achieving whatever goals are set before me.

 

The Architect Philosopher

I have finished reading multiple books on Stoics going back over 2000 years. I have some thoughts that might apply to others. If you believe in shared purpose and shared missions for those living on earth these thoughts might apply to you. They are just thoughts of the ages.

 

Be active in life. Prepare for the future. This relates to your career, your job, and your personal future. Prepare for setbacks.

Be prepared to face adverse situations. Endure the uncomfortable. Craft your spirit with mental practice. Love new opportunities with a smile.

With adversity comes opportunity. Embrace it. Everything is a teachable moment. Conquer the chance at something new that lifts you up. Make the world a better place.

Follow your moral compass in all choices. Everything experienced in life is an opportunity. Be part of the civic backbone. Deal in honesty. Keep others in your thought and strive to help them. You have it good. There is a right way to live.

JHAI Leadership Hitting the Target

Game planning upfront and following through with it is the first step in the management of a project. This plan needs to stay flexible. It needs to be adjusted as the job and payments come into the office. A change in scope, timing, consultants, slow payments, and government issues all affect the game plan. For an office to succeed you need to keep all these in mind and work accordingly.

The Cost of Architectural Services

Have you heard about you get what you pay for? In many ways it is true. Which Doctor or Lawyer should you hire? There is a time and place for this selection. Who do you trust to make you well or defend your interests? This applies toward all requested services of others whether and professional, a high-end athlete, or a laborer.

 

This is true for Architects as well! Fees are calculated by the energy needed to services a certain request. The more emotion, dramatics, hand-holding, education, number of team members, government restrictions, the bigger or more complex the project the hirer the service fees will be. Keeping the rhythm, and the momentum of the project moving keeps all issues in one’s mind keeping costs under better control. A defined scope that does not change, or even look at changing scope, keeps a project more controlled causing less scope creep. Scope creep is one of the insidious service issues one must keep track of and keep advising the client on. It can be non-stop if the client has not vetted all their issues prior to design. The design process can be used to do the vetting but that will cost more time in professional services. That is just like getting multiple medical interpretations before embarking on a healing path. You end up paying multiple doctors for their opinions.

 

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