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.
Frustration
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.
An architect can architect architecture?
January 15, 2014
Guest blogger Alicia Liebel Berg shares her thoughts on Kayne West’s visit to Harvard.
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.
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?
How NOT to talk about BIM: losing control of the message
October 8, 2013
Two upcoming seminars on BIM reveal some problems we have in the architectural community.
You’re just a lowly BIM Manager and you’ve got no goals
September 24, 2013
I wish I had been there when he said to my friend that all I ever wanted to be was a BIM Manager. What a misunderstanding of me and the role of a BIM Manager.
Generation Y isn’t Unhappy, we’re just really Stressed
September 16, 2013
I’m failing to prioritize today. Instead of doing what I planned to do, I am trying to better explain the maelstrom that is Generation Y. Hopefully this will bring some clarity and insight. And yes, I realize the irony of writing this article and the article’s conclusion. Implementation is harder than understanding.
Guest Blogger Kristian Bursell: Nasty ArchiCAD Models
September 16, 2013
Guest Blogger Kristian Bursell shares his thoughts on free ArchiCAD content from manufacturers.
Guest Blogger Willard Williams: Designers Masquerading as Architects
August 19, 2013
Designers masquerading as architects is a topic within the profession that bothers me deeply. I have had numerous co-workers (architectural educated/trained designers) publicly call themselves architects at cocktail parties, around their peers, to the general public… One even went so far as to be published being referred to as an architect in printed media. I contemplated calling the California Architects Board and filing a complaint against him as he was working
Guest Blogger Shivang Rajvir: 3 Responses to Technology
June 24, 2013
The days and nights we used to spend creating drawings by hand during the early days of college are still fresh in my mind. It was then that this question first hit my mind hard, and it is still with me today. “Why do we use computers?” Since my college days (i.e.2002-2003), there have been innumerable arguments regarding this, with senior faculty members, students, professionals, and even with CAD and
Happy Valentine’s Day: One Simple Diagram
February 13, 2013
It should be obvious by now that I love making charts, graphs, and diagrams. As a Valentine’s Day present, I give to you a reproduction of a mood chart that lived on the Banks’ family refrigerator for many months last winter. My wife and I found it quite helpful. A little back story: the winter of 2011/2012 was a stressful time in my household. My wife was finishing her first
1984 was a long time ago
December 11, 2012
I read a lot of things that annoy me. It’s hard not to. Thanks Twitter. You’re really helping me out. Sometimes I get smart and stop following people who write too much that frustrates me. I’m also doing my best to just unfollow people who only tweet boring stuff. On an overly personal note I also went through and unfriended about 30% of my Facebook friends recently because seriously do
Guess What? Your EVERYTHING has already changed
November 11, 2012
I’m going to start this post with a hypothetical encounter. Here’s an imaginary e-mail exchange I often have: Dear Mr. Banks, ArchiCAD is driving me crazy. I want to keep working like we did when I first got out of school. But the computer is MAKING me do things I don’t want to… Help! Fix it and tell me what I need to do to get back to the good
Pantheon of Workmonsters
October 28, 2012
In a world of shoegnomes, there are workmonsters… Much like I came up with the realization that I was a shoegnome years before I started my company and blog, the concept of workmonsters has been floating around in my head for a long time. What are workmonsters? They are a special breed of coworkers. I have a feeling that you already understand. This is just a small sampling of archetypes.
A lot safer, a lot more secure…
August 31, 2012
Over the past week you might have noticed some strangeness on the blog. Especially if you visited on Monday or tried to share some posts on Facebook, LinkedIN, etc. Let me assure you, I haven’t changed the blog to start pushing off-brand, Canadian Pharma. Fortunately that’s over now. After two wasted days, plenty of anger, help from my brother, my wife, and some paid professionals, AND a complete review of
Redlines vs Pinklines
June 25, 2012
Redlines We all know what Redlines are. Either digitally or by hand, someone is reviewing a set of drawings and marking them up to be corrected. Redlines are a critical part of the chain of command. A younger staff member can do a set of drawings or model a building and the project architect or some other experienced coworker will review them. Mistakes are caught, corrections are made, and beautiful,
New User Trouble
May 7, 2012
Mr. New User, Don’t forget that you still need to produce printed documents I find many new users get obsessed with modeling and don’t want to hear about the 2D world. This is both great and a disaster. I love to see people excited about modeling, about leaving the world of flatcad for good. But… We need to produce legible prints in a timely manner. If you ignore dimensions, notes,
BIM Dream Team
April 8, 2012
Hopefully the era of firms trying to fix their BIM credentials through misplaced hiring practices is nearing its end. But probably not.
Want to Annoy a BIM manager? Ignore the Template.
December 11, 2011
As a CAD / BIM manager, there is one vein of questioning that I just hate. It’s not so much the actual question, which is a variation of: “Why isn’t this working right?” It’s the answer that angers me: “Because you’re not following the template.“ These questions drive me crazy. I’m a tactful person, so I’m typically nice about it, probably too nice. But I just want to scream sometimes:
Not every firm is ready for BIM. (Ten reasons) Your firm might have trouble implementing BIM if…
October 11, 2011
Not everyone owns a cellphone Not everyone in the firm has their own computer You sign out conference rooms by hand using a clipboard Your boss has his secretary printout e-mails for him You have hand drafters who never ‘got’ CAD Your boss thinks computers are a fad or something to humor the younger staff Too many coworkers aren’t on Facebook, have never heard of Google+, and only know about
This IS Crunch Time
August 31, 2011
“I’m laid back at lunchtime, but I’m aggressive at crunch time. Let’s get it.” – Jacob “Crunch Time” Mann Many firms out there have figured out how to stabilize in this down economy. The hard layoffs and continued reduction of hours are over (note I didn’t say BEING on reduced hours is over). Many owners are now thinking that their firms will survive. Times will still be tough for a
I upgrade, you upgrade, we all upgrade
May 8, 2011
Or at least you better. No one should be running ArchiCAD 6.5 on Windows 2000. It just doesn’t make sense. And it is a huge loss of value and wasted effort. No one should have to deal with plotmaker ever again. Ever. There is just no acceptable argument as to why someone would still want to use it. A few weeks ago, my brother Mike sent me a link to
Thanks CNBC, way to get your facts right
May 2, 2011
Nice interview with Christopher “Kit” Johnson AIA, LEED AP, CNU of Texas firm, Architecture 365, Inc. If only Amanda Drury could have mentioned ArchiCAD (which is what Chris used) instead of arbitrarily name dropping Revit and Autodesk a few times. It’s a short interview. Watch it and read a bit more about it on the official Graphisoft Blog.
Backup! Seriously. Backup.
February 13, 2011
How often do you back up your files? Daily? You better. Anything longer is a wrong answer. Here’s Part One of why: My brother is in IT; when I was younger he excitedly told me about a new server he’d installed. It had 7 drives in parallel. You could rip one out of the server while it was on and no data was lost. It needed to be set up
Aligning 3D Textures on Slabs
December 31, 2010
Aligning 3D textures in ArchiCAD should be easier. It needs to be done in 3D and this can be tricky if you don’t have a node in the right place to snap to. Sometimes I’ll make a temporary object or one that will stay invisible to have a point to click to if the texture starts in a weird spot, or if I want a lot of textures to all
Digging Tunnels through Mountains
November 8, 2010
A former colleague of mine, who was in the process of starting her own one-person firm, told me “I never liked drafting, I’m hoping to get someone else to do that.”