TenOne20 Townhouses Interview
March 7, 2026
In this video I discuss my Architect as Developer journey with the furniture stager of my townhouse project.
Being an Architect
EntreArchitect Episode 550: Jared Banks – Your Business Journey as a Small Firm Architect
March 1, 2024
I’m now a three-peat guest on the EntreArchitect Podcast. Check out my latest interview with Mark R. LePage.
Being an architect is the opposite of being a blogger
September 16, 2022
Being an architect and a blogger sometimes works well together. But they are also polar opposites.
Problems with Authority
September 9, 2022
I thought I was always a good boy, but it turns out I have a huge problem with authority.
The process of Working with an Architect
August 27, 2022
My daughters and I made a short video that explains the basics of working with an architect to build or remodel a home.
Quantum Superposition: Schrödinger’s Architect
March 1, 2017
You are probably familiar with Schrödinger’s Cat. But what about Schrödinger’s Architect? Both are absurd creatures suffering from an uncertain fate.
Two Burned Projects
January 18, 2017
Last spring I put out proposals to two clients who needed help because of fire damage. One will soon be under construction; I don’t know about the other.
Private Moments with (the work of) Rem Koolhaas
January 11, 2017
I’ve only visited two buildings designed by Rem Koolhaas-or two that I can think of. One was easy and comfortable to reach, the other was a challenge.
I feel Guilty because it’s Fun and Easy
September 8, 2016
My design process stresses me out. Not because it doesn’t work. No. It’s because it does and it makes me feel guilty.
A pretty girl, a model, and an architecture student
February 11, 2016
The story of this basswood model is the beginnings of more than just my freelance architecture career.
How many Architects had I met prior to applying to Architecture School?
January 28, 2016
I probably should have talked to a few more architects before applying to architecture school. But honestly that thought never even crossed my mind.
The Digital Transformation of CRAN
August 25, 2015
Like many people, my involvement with CRAN started by checking the box when renewing my AIA membership.
Here We Go Again
August 18, 2015
Jon recalls the transition from hand drafting to CAD and sees some frightening similarities to our current struggle with the shift from CAD to BIM.
Redefine what Design means to Us
July 30, 2015
I had to change my thinking on my position in my firm and in my profession if I was going to stay in the field of architecture and grow as an architect.
Hidden Patterns: Learning from Street Fighter
July 20, 2015
If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you played Street Fighter more than once. And like me, you didn’t appreciate the amazing design of the game.
Architects Are Irrelevant, So You Better Hire An Architect
July 16, 2015
The architect is the great generalist of the project team. The architect knows a good deal about every other discipline on the team.
The Proper Design of Design Criteria
June 28, 2015
Design criteria is the content that your organization creates to convey the design intent for your concept to the consulting architects and engineers that are hired to design individual locations for your chain concept around the region, country or world.
8th Annual CRAN Symposium: September 19-23, 2015 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
June 17, 2015
The AIA CRAN Symposium for 2015 has been announced. I’m super excited to be on the list of speakers. Plus I get to visit Minnesota! Will I see you there?
Husband, Mom and Architect
December 11, 2014
What’s it like being both a dad and an architect? I’m not really sure. But I do know what it’s like to be a husband, mom and architect.
AIA San Francisco is better than you local AIA Chapter
October 14, 2014
AIA San Francisco is better than you local AIA Chapter. But that’s only half the post. The rest is about 99% Invisible and the Radiotopia Kickstarter Campaign.
Unconscious BIM and Ugly BIM
June 12, 2014
Some lessons from being too busy to write: remembering shortcuts by forgetting that I had forgotten them and suffering through the ugly BIM phase.
One day I will teach this architecture class: Sketching without Sketching
May 15, 2014
If I get the opportunity to teach a studio or lecture class in an architecture school I know EXACTLY what I’d do. I even know the title of the class.
You graduated from Architecture School and want to be called Architect
May 5, 2014
Yes I’m going to talk about who gets to be called an architect, but unfortunately that’s just the symptom of a bigger issue.
#internmistakes – A Monument to a Former President
March 13, 2014
#internmistakes is surprisingly underused on Twitter. Maybe my adventures in this article about being a lazy intern will change that.
Goodbye Intern. Hello Architect in Training
March 12, 2014
I think we should all call interns Architects in Training. But you’re an intern who doesn’t want to get licensed? Then you’re a design or floor plan wizard.
Shoegnome’s Architecture Registration Examination Advice
February 26, 2014
I’ve given this Architecture Registration Examination advice in person, over the phone, and via e-mail numerous times. It’s time I shared it formally.
Another Architecture website with images of architects sketching
February 13, 2014
What does an architect look like when working? Architecture websites with images of architects sketching paint a pretty clear (and misleading) picture.
The House my Master’s Degree Built: my path to becoming a licensed architect
January 29, 2014
Another great guest post by Alicia Liebel Berg. Great and a little depressing…we really need to fix our profession.
Learning from Train Wrecks – AIA CRAN Chronicle looking for submissions
January 17, 2014
We are looking for items for our next CRAN newsletter issue: Learning from Train Wrecks. Do you have a story about a project that went wrong? A client you let go? Something you forgot to include in your drawings? Missed the deadline by a mile? We want to hear from you!
Why are we hanging Architects for the illegal actions of a homeowner?
January 9, 2014
This article about the illegal actions of a homeowner and the subsequent house fire is just one more example of the decreasing stature of architects.
Want to call yourself an Architect? Just get licensed
December 12, 2013
Over the past few months we’ve all been talking about people calling themselves architects. This is a very sensitive subject for so many reasons.
The Scorpion and the Toad: being a freelance architect
December 5, 2013
I love the story of the Scorpion and the Toad. I sympathize with both animals. I am both animals.
My license says I’m an architect. Why do I still feel like an intern?
November 22, 2013
Oh the first world problems I have. Being a young architect can be a hard slog. Does a license change anything? Or is it just a worldview I lack?
Bigger Pond, Bigger Fish: how high school taught me to fight
November 8, 2013
No one gives a shit about you. Not until you give them a reason to. The pond is so big. The fish are so plentiful. The Internet connects all the fish, and all the ponds. And many of the fish are so hungry. Hungrier than others who haven’t faced defeat. Because defeat either ends us or makes us angry. And anger means it’s time to fight more.