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»I'm worried that this would turn into me ignoring my family at home because I brought my laptop home and doing poor work because they are constantly distracting me. If I can just find a peaceful, quiet, distraction free space to work for three focused hours - I can produce 2x the amount of work that I normally produce in a whole typical distraction filled day in the office. Also, I'm a millennial, but I don't drink the whole multi-tasking cup of tea.
»Is it that we are sacrificing ourselves for our clients? Do we have such a strong passion for what we do and the spaces that we create that we are forgeting to celebrate ourselves?
»Agree that our pasion for Design should certainly be expressed and charished in our own workspaces. But more importantly the space should function and fit how we work like a pair of handmade Italian shoes.
»I am trying to understand how you want to simply the process and the emphasis on "our" ideas. Could you clarify more on some exact initiatives and ideas?
Could we think of simplifying the process more as opening the process up? Let us show the public how we work, what we do, how building are built, and let the public input on the process in an open-source manner? Many other process that have embraced open-source (computer programming, fabrication, car manufacturing) are seeing a boost of interest in those fields. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg is starting to learn code (an indirect result of programs like Linux crowdsourcing knowledge).
Better yet, with the popularity of Reality TV should the AIA make a TV series that features the various events and meetings that happen in "A day in the life of an Architect"?
»This article from Andrew Maynard on archdaily illustrates your point perfectly: http://www.archdaily.com/234633/worklifework-balance/
As Maynard say in the article, Architecture is currently nothing more than a "contemporary exploited labor force", and despite the prestige of the profession we are often the lowest paid on the job site. Maynard offers some insight on how we can improve the situation for the profession. I am a greenhorn to the profession, but it seems to like even if one firm took a stand and says "We want to provide fair work hours to our employees", then what stops another firm from continuing the exploitation practice and taking work from them?
What is the best course of action for architecture to take? Does the profession need a regulation board that determines fair work hours, do we as a profession do we say enough is enough to the client and potentially lose work, or is there another solution to this problem?
»I could not agree more with your point and there are huge potentials for architecture to expand it's range, but there is a very real problem that the public does not see architects as problem solvers. Our profession from a societal standpoint is viewed as making the building "look pretty" and hence clients may not give us the chance to design systems and products that are traditionally left to engineers. How do we convince a client that is working on an infrastructural project to spend the extra money on an architect, a profession that has no specialized knowledge in that specific field and traditional would only provide the "aesthetics"?
It seems to me that architects need to think more like computer programmers and mad scientists where we have our own labs to test full-scale models of our ideas and build knowledge banks. Instead of waiting for the perfect client to hand us the job, we need to get down and dirty to build some of these ideas ourselves.
»Very good point. If the management feel they can not trust an employee to do the work. With out having to look over your shoulder.
»I already posted this elsewhere, but I think this article makes a great "business case" for promoting employee health and balance: http://www.alternet.org/visions/154518/why_we_have_to_go_back_to_a_40-hour_work_week_to_keep_our_sanity?page=entire
»I agree with this totally. I find that my work quality and productivity plummet after a certain amount of time, which means that I both don't spend time with family/friends AND I produce that same amount of work that I would have if I had just left and gotten some sleep.
I always intuitively knew this to be the case. But I ran across this article the other day that further convinced me:
http://www.alternet.org/visions/154518/why_we_have_to_go_back_to_a_40-hour_work_week_to_keep_our_sanity?page=entire
»When advocating for healthy, sustainable environments to clients, the premise often is that there are benefits to this approach that may not be captured through traditional measures. In the workplace, where hours are long, deadlines tight, and margins thin, how do we capture the value of a healthy and energized workplace in a way that strengthens the business model of architecture and design firms?
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