{"id":512,"date":"2014-08-21T00:59:48","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T04:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/modarchitect.net\/Archive\/?p=512"},"modified":"2014-08-21T13:22:05","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T17:22:05","slug":"it-all-comes-together-exciting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modarchitect.net\/Archive\/it-all-comes-together-exciting\/","title":{"rendered":"This is Exciting! It All Comes Together"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is the second in a series of posts called #Architalks, organized by\u00a0<\/span>Bob Borson at Life of an Architect<\/a>\u00a0. #Architalks is a group of architects writing blog posts around a single theme or subject and posting them all at the same time. Last month we took on some common questions about our profession<\/a>. \u00a0This time\u00a0we write on the theme THIS IS EXCITING. \u00a0I hope you enjoy this as well as the other #architalks posts. Be sure to check out all the links below.<\/span><\/address>\n
\"Thew<\/a>

Deck for Friends – Photo by Sarah Thew – Carolina Blue Design Group<\/p><\/div>\n

Projects are just fun. \u00a0As a whole, they have a clear\u00a0beginning, middle and end. \u00a0This is true no matter how messy one\u00a0gets along they way. \u00a0It is\u00a0not just full-blown architectural projects that are like this. Even\u00a0(deceptively) simple\u00a0weekend warrior DIY work around the house can be clearly dissected and laid out for closer inspection. Consider this;\u00a0the\u00a0IDEA is\u00a0the beginning. The\u00a0PREPARATION, maybe some procrastination, WORK, EVALUATION, RE-WORK and REFINEMENT are all degrees of the middle. \u00a0There can be\u00a0more\u00a0procrastination in there too; disguised as research, extra trips to the hardware store, or excess evaluation or re-evaluation while enjoying adult beverages. \u00a0The end, of course is when work is COMPLETE and there is a use, appreciation or function that happens because of all the work that went into the project at hand. \u00a0Time to store the tools and stand back to\u00a0admire what you have done before the project slowly fades into part of the comfortable routine.<\/p>\n

\"design<\/a>

Home Design Sketches<\/p><\/div>\n

There is an exciting moment for\u00a0any project when\u00a0the idea and all the work gets to a point where it all comes together. \u00a0That moment is usually\u00a0elusive and plagued fits, starts, roadblocks, malfunctions, contingencies, delays, distractions, priority re-alignments and any host of other factors allowed through the universal constant of Murphy’s Law<\/a>. \u00a0This is what makes the\u00a0moment\u00a0so exciting. \u00a0It is a momentum point of no return. \u00a0It is when the end is within reach. \u00a0It is when the work becomes like a song; a song so rehearsed and so heartfelt that it seems to spring from your voice or flow from your instruments as if you were not even there – an autonomous and natural force. The project takes a life of its own. \u00a0The idea gives birth to the work and the two become one in the completion.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Fletcher Town Hall – Photo by Patrick Sullivan – Hendersonville Times News<\/p><\/div>\n

There is a magic in that exciting moment that happens on architectural design projects that I have found unmatched and paramount to the similar excitement in other work. \u00a0Working various types of puzzles and getting to that all-coming-together moment seems to be the closest in comparison. \u00a0But WOW! How sweet it is to pour over a design, adjust, imagine, envision, extrude, refine and finally get to that\u00a0place where the flow is right. The spacial adjacencies are in harmony. The massing is proportionally sound. The volumes begin to effortlessly interlock with a structural system. The client’s guardian angels begin to sing over my\u00a0work station. Sunlight shines onto the drawings…OK WAIT…taking the “magic” part a bit too far here…But REALLY, it get’s that exciting.<\/p>\n

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\"IMG_3179\"<\/a>

Working Past Roadblocks<\/p><\/div>\n

Three years into our\u00a0business plan for Modus Operandi Design,or MOD, it feels like that exciting moment is near for this\u00a0startup project. \u00a0Through\u00a0the success and sustained practice, there have also been frustrating moments. \u00a0That is no surprise. \u00a0Perhaps the most frustrating element is the whole reason the American Institute of Architects (AIA) initiated repositioning<\/a> – a deficit in awareness of the value that\u00a0architects provide\u00a0for their clients and people living, working and playing in buildings. \u00a0The magic\u00a0moment for the MOD startup project, and I imagine any startup firm,\u00a0is\u00a0when the sum of all the exciting moments on all the projects to date reach critical mass. \u00a0There will be one\u00a0project to tip the balance.\u00a0One who’s excited owners have\u00a0shared that breakthrough moment\u00a0with the team.\u00a0 One that marks the momentous point of no return. \u00a0Although, it cannot just happen with the project alone or the owner by their self. MANY\u00a0years of experience, testing, building and learning leads to a professional\u00a0practice that makes that moment, that project, that client relationship possible. \u00a0Reaching that level in such a great profession\u00a0–\u00a0THIS is exciting!<\/p>\n

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Thank you for visiting. See ya again soon. Until then, live nicely!<\/h5>\n
~Jes<\/h5>\n
\u00a0James Edgar Stafford, AIA, NCARB<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n

Read these #Architalks writers to learn what is exciting to them…good stuff guaranteed!\u00a0If there are links that are broken or add up to a 404 error, please check back tomorrow, as we are all new to this and are doing our best to “heard these digital cats.”<\/p>\n

Bob Borson – Life of An Architect\u00a0@bobborson –\u00a0This Is Exciting – The Beginning of the End<\/a><\/p>\n

Marica McKeel – Studio MM\u00a0@ArchitectMM –\u00a0From Dreams to Reality – THIS is Exciting<\/a><\/p>\n

Enoch Sears – Business of Architecture\u00a0@businessofarch –\u00a0\u00a0This Is Exciting: Marketing For Architects That Works<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthew Stanfield – FiELD9: architecture\u00a0@FIELD9arch –\u00a0This, Is Exciting…<\/a><\/p>\n

Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet\u00a0@Jeff_Echols –\u00a0This is Exciting: 5 ‘RE’s’ to Change the Future of Architecture<\/a><\/p>\n

Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect\u00a0@LeeCalisti –\u00a0This Is Exciting :: Start + Finish<\/a><\/p>\n

Oscia Wilson – Boiled Architecture\u00a0@Oscia_Wilson –\u00a0This Is Exciting: They’re Fighting It Out<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark R. LePage – Entrepreneur Architect\u00a0@EntreArchitect –\u00a0EA042: This Is Exciting – Making A Difference At Entrepreneur Architect<\/a><\/p>\n

Evan Troxel – TRXL\u00a0@etroxel –\u00a0This Is Exciting… Because It’s Real<\/a><\/p>\n