Entering Architectural Practice

421 Pages·2020·59.407 MB·English

by  James Tait

EntEring
ArchitEcturAl
PrActicE
Entering Architectural Practice is a practical and honest
guide for architecture students, entering the world of
architectural practice.
There is often a disconnection between what you are
taught in architecture school and the actual practice of
architecture in the workplace. As both a practising architect
and architecture school tutor, the author has frst-hand
experience of this disconnection and so helps students
bridge this divide between academia and practice.
Focused on providing industry insight, dispelling myths,
and above all providing a combination of reality and hope to
students of architecture entering the workplace, the book
is beautifully and richly illustrated, providing a compelling
visual story alongside the invaluable information it imparts.
Serious but enjoyable, thoroughly researched but highly
approachable, this book is simply essential reading for
every individual about to embark on a career in practice.
James tait is an Architect, Author and Educator. James
has led a range of high-profle projects at some of the best
architectural practices in the UK. He is also author of The
Architecture Concept Book; a contributing writer to the
Architects’ Journal; and a Studio Tutor at the Mackintosh
School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art.
ii introduction
EntEring
ArchitEcturAl
PrActicE
JAMES TAiT
between anticipation and reality iii
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2021 James Tait
The right of James Tait to be identifed as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tait, James (Architect) author.
Title: Entering architectural practice / James Tait.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2021. | includes
bibliographical references and index.
identifers: LCCN 2020031969 (print) | LCCN 2020031970 (ebook) |
iSBN 9780367365134 (hardback) | iSBN 9780367365141 (paperback) |
iSBN 9780429346569 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Architecture–Vocational guidance.
Classifcation: LCC NA1995 .T35 2021 (print) | LCC NA1995 (ebook) |
DDC 720.23–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031969
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031970
iSBN: 978-0-367-36513-4 (hbk)
iSBN: 978-0-367-36514-1 (pbk)
iSBN: 978-0-429-34656-9 (ebk)
Designed and typeset by Alex Lazarou
CONTENTS
0
intrODuctiOn
0.1 Between Anticipation And Reality 1
0.2 The Reality 13
0.3 The Writer 31
1
trAnSitiOning
1.0 Transition: The Choice is Yours 35
→ technical Advice note 01 Terminology 50
1.1 Choosing A Practice 53
→ interview A Fernanda Canales 69
1.2 Labour, Authorship, And You 79
→ technical Advice note 02 Typical Day 92
1.3 Working Conditions 95
→ interview B Jonathan Sergison
(Sergison Bates) 113
1.4 Play Your Position 121
1.5 Designing Your Career 141
2
DESigning
2.0 Designing in Practice 157
2.1 Future 167
v
→ technical Advice note 03 Surveying 184
→ interview c Kengo Kuma 186
2.2 Ethics 197
2.3 Constraints 211
→ technical Advice note 04 Materials 226
→ interview D Špela Videcˇnik (OFiS Arhitekti) 228
2.4 Technicals 237
→ technical Advice note 05 Scale 256
2.5 Time 259
3
cOMMunicAting
3.0 Communication 275
→ technical Advice note 06 Lineweights 284
3.1 Tools 287
→ interview E Jane Hall (Assemble) 307
3.2 Speech 317
→ technical Advice note 07 Emails 330
3.3 Others 333
→ interview F Alberto Campo Baeza 349
3.4 internal 357
3.5 Public 375
4
cOncluSiOn
4.0 Anticipating The Reality 393
index 409
vi contents
introduction
0.1
BETWEEN
ANTiCiPATiON
AND REALiTY
“What you do here is nothing
compared to designing real buildings in
practice”, uttered my studio tutor toward
the end of a design tutorial.
↓
This comment lingered and grew. i wanted to know
about the realities of being a real architect in practice – a
question which evaded me throughout architecture school.
Obfuscated in professional practice lectures referencing
dry contracts, text-heavy codes of conduct, and outmoded
methods of working. Hinted at from pieced-together
anecdotes or overheard conversations from those in
practice we engaged with once, maybe twice a week.
Or collected from the few skewed representations of
architects in popular culture. i had no experience of it. No
reference point that wasn’t too dry, anecdotal, or idealised.
i did have Content. Rem Koolhaas’ 2004 book displayed
architecture intertwined with the technological limitations,
global politics, offce dynamics, local regulations, economic
concerns, popular culture, societal shifts, and environmental
conditions that infuence it. Content also hinted at the
production of architecture. How it was practised. Tensions
with clients, long working hours, wasted projects,
calamitous events, rampant egos, and bureaucratic
interventions. This was invaluable insight, but i was sure it
wouldn’t be my reality. This was 1% architecture, atypical
projects by globetrotting architects at the peak of mid-
2000s ‘starchitecture’. What about the 99%, everyday
buildings by everyday architects? Me? Koolhaas had left the
door ajar but i still couldn’t open it.
My fnal year thesis project won multiple student awards.
2 introduction
WhEn BuilDingS AttAcK
in Content, an irreverent glimpse of the realities of architectural practice.
Hyperbuilding, Thailand. 2004. OMA and &&&.
Content (Taschen Publishers), 2004 by OMA/AMO, Rem Koolhaas and
&&& / Simon Brown and Jon Link (graphic designers).
between anticipation and reality 3