How much drafting does a fully licensed architect do? What is something you learned in the industry that you hadn’t been taught in school? Are you as condescending to your employees as your redlines let on? All this and potentially other hateful questions on today’s episode as Andrew and I answer discuss the questions submitted by the listeners. Welcome to episode 108: Ask the Show – Fall Edition.

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Today’s show consists of questions that were submitted through my Instagram account – well, technically speaking, I asked people to submit questions, and we choose about 10 or so interesting ones that we thought we could effectively handle when only allotting ourselves about 5 minutes to answer.  If you submitted a question and we didn’t answer it here, it’s probably because your question is either a topic that we plan on really focusing on in a later episode, was too complicated and specific to you that nobody else would really be invested in the answer, or it didn’t make sense – mostly because it wasn’t in the form of an actual question. In addition, we keep questions that were submitted for previous Ask the Show episodes and consider them as well – so some of these questions date back to episode 64.

Should we be more realistic about true practice in school or keep up the romantic ideals? jump to 3:13

Question submitted by @allisonharris – Allison Harris

Bob: If I can only choose between these two options, I would choose romantic ideals – mostly because I believe that you go to school to learn how to learn and for architects, this manifests itself in critical thinking. I know that is not the point of Allison’s question – it most likely has to do with making sure that architecture students come out of school equipped with the knowledge they need to not only be successful but to contribute in a meaningful way.

For most of the roles that are possible, as far as careers in architecture go, most people do not go into school, nor do they come out of school with any real understanding of what those roles are or the part they play in the process. Andrew and I spent some time talking about the educational process and debating the merits of having the first year of an architectural education be more of a primer that introduces architecture students to the entire gamut of what traditionally exists in our industry. This might then allow students to choose a more focused path while in undergraduate school that allows them to zero in on the things that suit their interests and skill sets rather than potentially preparing them to perform a role that they are not suited to perform.

Andrew: I think there needs to be a precise balance between the two options. After a few years in academia, I have changed my thoughts on this question, and they continue to evolve. I think the issue is that most schools seem to push to one option or the other when in my opinion, the sweet spot is in the middle ground. Architecture school is about learning how to think about architecture in a way that involves a process of critical evaluation and thought. That is a skill that you will utilize for the rest of your life in the profession. Yet, there is not enough information provided about the actual work that happens within the profession. I think some of this is just academia. Many of your professors, to be bluntly honest, may not know how the profession operates currently. Many have either been out of practice for many years or some never were in the practice at all. So the push to insert more of the “profession” into the curriculum is not always easy or possible.

I hate to ride the middle ground here, but in reality, you need to learn the process of creating and thinking about architecture and also be made aware of the possibilities and operations of the practice. It is not an easy balance. I am still trying to find that balance in all the st...