Sunday, May 31, 2015

SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ARCHITECT


It is not unusual to begin a conversation with a complete stranger. The conversation can be brief or extended, and can take place anywhere – on an airplane; while standing in line; at a family gathering with relatives you haven’t seen in a decade.

After the usual pleasantries (weather, this line is interminable, how are we related?, etc.), it is not unusual for the conversation to turn to what we do for a living. Almost inevitably, when I express that I am an architect, the response is: “I always wanted to be an architect, or, “I wanted to be an architect when I was little”. Or, “ I seriously considered being an architect, but……....” It’s uncanny.

When I was little I wanted to live on a farm and ride horses all day and have my mother take care of my children (this is still something I want to do). Everyone dreams of a future, and it seems almost every little girl wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, or a doctor or a teacher. I recently had a conversation with someone I didn’t know, and discovered this person is a veterinarian. I thought ‘that would be a really cool job’. It was at that moment that I understood the response, and the raised eyebrows and inquisitive look I typically get when I express that I am an architect.


It is really cool being an architect. We see the results of your work in 3-dimensions, meet interesting people we would never have contact with, and explore beyond the boundaries of what we know. Many of us like to travel, and sketch.
Little boat in Yarra Harbor, Victoria
Lady Elliot Island, Queensland
Lighthouses: 1860 (foreground), 1992 (background)


Coral, Lady Elliot Island

Fraser Island, Queensland

The world on a stormy day in Lennox Head, NSW