Every Monday morning, team members in the Philadelphia and Princeton offices gather together via video-conference to discuss firm news and upcoming events and projects. Since 2003, founding partner Allan Kehrt, FAIA, has delivered his Monday Morning Musings, weekly slices of personal insight into the design profession, to the firm. To comment on any of his posts, send an email to us. We look forward to hearing from you. |
| August 25, 2008 Manpower The era of abundant skilled workers throughout the world, particularly in the United States, is fast coming to an end. Beginning right about now the number of skilled workers of all types is dwindling and the shortage will escalate to a crisis within the next five years or so. It is partly due to demographics with 46 million baby boomers retiring over the next 20 years who are not being replaced by an upcoming generation. The problem is exacerbated as well by a change in U.S. immigration policies that have reduced the historical influx of talent from around the globe. The issue is already beginning to affect the profession of architecture. Even in the "slowdown" we are experiencing now, it seems many firms are finding it hard to fill positions, and the use of outsourcing is continuing to grow. Outsourcing started out as a way some firms used to reduce their costs, but it is now becoming a way in which they can fill a need for talent that no longer seems to be available. It is estimated that by 2015 there may be a shortage of as many as 14 million skilled workers in the United States, and some of those will surely be architects. |
| August 18, 2008 Drywall (encore) Drywall seems a very odd material. It is gypsum (CaSO4-2 (H2O), Hydrated Calcium Sulfate) sandwiched between two layers of paper and has become our substitute for what was once a difficult process involving plaster and craftsmanship. It is the staple of the construction industry because it yields a cheap flat plane relatively quickly and eliminates the need for lath, multiple coats of plaster, and lots of drying time. But even though we may hate it, and try to find substitutes for it, it is ubiquitous and almost inescapable in any project. The United States Gypsum Company invented it back in 1916, under the name Sheetrock, but almost no one used it until World War II when the United States Government, desperate for fast construction methodologies, required its use by contractors. After that, no one wanted to use anything else, and its adoption by builders like William Levitt in the 1940s sealed our fate and gave us a long-term relationship with this odd composite stuff. When it's up, spackled, and painted, it seems a reasonable material. Architects don't generally embrace fake materials, but drywall is different: It isn't fake anything; it just feels like it should be. |
| August 11, 2008 Phillip I spent some time at Phillip Johnson's Glass House last week, which is now a National Trust Historic Site. It was a morning of mixed feelings. The house itself is wonderful, and its siting is extraordinary, so much so that the rest of the buildings that comprise the estate make you question the original genius. There is a studio, an art museum, a sculpture building, and a pavilion that had been designed to become the site's visitor pavilion after Phillip's death. There is also a small structure built of chain-link fence built to honor Frank Gehry, and a number of large freestanding sculptures. The overall impression of the assemblage is eclectic and I found myself wishing for a site plan to put it all together. The problem seems to be with the diverse vocabularies of the buildings, the differing design approaches as well as design quality of each, and how the totality of the site is perceived. There is no question that the Glass House is a classic and worthy of both scrutiny and preservation, but the rest is somewhat muddled, though perhaps a clear reflection of a flamboyant architect who spent his extraordinary career jumping from one thing to another. All in all however, the place is worth a visit; the waiting list for tickets is a year long, so sign up. |
| August 4, 2008 Building There is something about the hammering in of a nail that clarifies what it means to be an architect. It clarifies it through the singular last act of why we do what we do--the building. We all need to build something sometime during our careers, and indeed the earlier in an architect's career, the better. Even so, there are some architects who will never build anything themselves; they will simply sit and direct others. But by living like this, they deny themselves an activity that is essential to their own heart and soul; they diminish themselves as the professionals they purport to be. It is noble to be an architect, but perhaps nobler still is the architect-builder--the individual who can not only design it, but build it as well. The world is grasped more by action than by contemplation and in the doing, in the action, necessary to fulfill the direction of the design drawings, an architect will understand his or her craft in a way that can be found in no other approach. Hammer in a few. |
