With this evolution of the building industry, marked by significant cultural, economic and technological shifts, the role of architects gains a multidisciplinary dimension that allows them to pursue a broader range of career opportunities. New production techniques, computational design, innovative organizational structures and the amalgamation of industries through technology are bringing forth an array of new, exciting job profiles.

We have compiled a list of 5 open career opportunities in firms that combine different disciplines, allow architects to shepherd projects from inception to completion, and gain insights into the business side of the profession.

Industrial Design Intern at BIG IDEAS

BIG’s incubator, called BIG IDEAS, is the place where the firm develops innovative ideas, design prototypes, products and new materials for the AEC industry. Here they work on products and designs that push the envelope and come up with original solutions that broaden the scope of the architectural practice.

BIG IDEAS is looking for an industrial design intern studying in the field of production design, industrial design and furniture design to collaborate with designers and architects in Copenhagen. To be considered, you must be a current student for the duration of the internship, have at least 2 years of design school behind you, and have relevant work experience. Candidates should have advanced knowledge and experience with Rhino, Solid Works (or similar 3D software), V-ray, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. Knowledge and experience with prototyping is a bonus.

Link to job ad

Design Applications Manager at Perkins+Will Global

One of the leading architecture offices in the United States, Perkins + Will, experiments with new technologies to improve healthcare design. The firm is at the forefront of the efforts to integrate technology and architecture.

This position requires experience in all phases of the architectural design process, high-level of proficiency leveraging Revit in the architectural production process, and working knowledge of design visualization, VR, computational design and environmental analysis applications. Among other responsibilities, applicants will be expected to represent and coordinate with the firm-wide Digital Practice group to promote local adoption of new technologies, including Virtual & Augmented Reality, Computational Design, Digital Fabrication, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence & Internet of Things, workflows and practices.

Link to job ad

Architect for Innovative Timber Building at Menges Scheffler Architects

Those experienced working with innovative uses of timber in architecture should check out Menges Scheffler Architects, led by Achim Menges, one of the leading figures in computational design and material exploration. Menges is also Director of ICD Institute for Computational Design and Construction in Stuttgart.

The firm is looking for an architect for an innovative building project with a novel timber shell structure. Responsibilities include leading the architectural design of the project from schematic design to construction within an interdisciplinary team of consulting engineers, ICD researchers and the timber manufacturer. This is a project-based job related to building an innovative timber building in a prominent city location in Germany, and will last approx. one year ((with longer term employment perspective).

Link to job ad

Project Architect at WeWork

WeWork is redefining space as a service by offering co-working and, as of recently, co-living spaces for a generation of young entrepreneurs.

The firm is currently in search of a Project Architect who is proficient and highly experienced with all phases of the design and construction process from schematic design through the bid process and construction administration. The candidate is expected to ensure efficient and quality design projects, by collaborating with all teams on the execution of WeWork standards, goals and brand ideals. You would work collaboratively with internal and external team members, determine and organize functional requirements, provide programming and space planning, and code analysis with minimal direction. Candidates should have 4+ years practical experience in high end hospitality, residential, commercial or retail architectural design. They should also be proficient in the following programs: Revit, all things Google, CAD, SketchUp, and MS Office.

Link to job ad 

Senior Project Management at AE3 Partners

AE3 Partners is a 26-person architecture and construction management practice headquartered in San Francisco. They work on projects as a prime, joint venture partner, or as a member of larger team. This could be a great opportunity to work on design-build projects with a vertically integrated process.

The idea candidate will report directly to the firm owners and be involved in key decision-making processes. You have to be a licensed architect in California with a Bachelors or Masters in architecture, and have advanced skills with Revit Building Design Suite and AutoCAD. Ideal candidates should also have great writing skills and the ability to assist principals and business development team with technical writing for presentations, RFP responses, and other business correspondence.

Link to job ad

Have you worked in any of these firms? Let us know about your career opportunities and experiences.

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To companies who wish to advertise their job positions here:

Please contact us at media@archipreneur.com

The post Jobs in the Digital Era: New Career Opportunities in the Building Industry appeared first on Archipreneur.

We first introduced The Starter Home* by the Office of Jonathan Tate to you in the article “Tall, Green, and Global: 10 of the Most Innovative Architecture Projects of 2016” and want to take a closer look at the building and the housing program of which it is the first example.

Starter Home* is an opportunistic urban housing program created to develop affordable living, entry-level homes for the speculative market that prioritizes: contemporary design that is site based and not prototypical; programmatic diversity to address a range of buyers, from first-timers to downsizers; densification through infill of overlooked odd or irregular vacant land; right-sizing as a means of addressing both environmental concerns and to insure affordability; in increasingly gentrifying historic core neighborhoods, a product that enables household economic diversity in rapidly gentrifying historic urban cores; and to do this without subsidization.

The Starter Home* program is fundamentally about using inventive land strategies coupled with design to develop homeownership opportunities in urban neighborhoods that, due to upward economic pressures, are no longer assessable to large parts of the population. The starter home moniker is important in that it clearly associates the program with a quintessential, albeit fading, component of the American housing market. Conventionally understood as monotonous, mass produced, greenfield development, this program takes a decidedly opposite approach of architectural particularity and urban integration to achieve similar aims. And, unlike its namesake, it relies wholly on design to set the development agenda, create access to land and generate the product. Without architecture, in this context, there would be no development.

The program is financed and operated by a working collaboration between developer, builder and architect. It is conceived as being applicable to many, if not all, cities. The first test sites are in New Orleans. Through a thorough analysis of land availability and market pressures, it was determined that there were opportunities with land that was too small or undesirable — odd lots — to attract first-wave developers. The design of the home works within and expressive of the restrictive conditions of the site, resulting in fitting yet peculiar new housing types for the City.

The first completed home under this program, No. 1, is located at 3106 St. Thomas St. in the Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans. The site was situated between industrial warehouses and historic homes dating back to the beginnings of the neighborhood — a common condition in the fringes adjacent the River. The site is a remnant parcel long thought to be the rear yard of an adjacent home and measured only 16 ½ by 55 feet. With as-of-right setbacks, the footprint was limited to 10 ½ by 45 feet. The site was further complicated by being in a full control historic district with strict guidelines for scale and massing. The program for this initial house, one bedroom, one and a half baths with an office space, was tailored towards an individual or couple that, as a category, have found it increasingly difficult to locate available housing in this neighborhood.

The formal solution for the 975 square foot home was to use a staggered sectional composition that allowed the rooms to layer farther from the street giving an impression of a much smaller home. As a way to economize space, the side yard setback was used for entry and rear yard circulation, by way of an elevated deck, which was sandwiched between the home and adjacent warehouse CMU wall. The result is a narrow and tall structure that, through manipulation of the roof plane, is disguised from the street, read essentially as a low, one-story roof line, while the remainder of the home climbed up to the allowable building height.

Future Starter Homes* will continue to explore land-use, programmatic and spatial variations that position them as alternatives to the regimens of the normative speculative housing marketplace and we at Archipreneur are looking forward to the results!

Location:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Project Data:

• Architect: OJT (Office of Jonathan Tate)
• Research and Design Team: Robert Baddour, Travis Bost, Rebecca X. Fitzgerald, Sabeen Hasan, Lauren Hickman, Kristian Mizes, Charles Rutledge and Jonathan Tate
• Structural engineer: John C. Bose Consulting Engineers
• Development Partner: Charles Rutledge
• Planning/Construction: 2015
• Residential units: 1
• Storeys: 3
• Floor area: 44 sqm (472 SF)
• Living space: 90.5 sqm (975 SF)

The post Affordable Living on Overlooked Land: The Starter Home* by OJT appeared first on Archipreneur.

However, some architecture firms are utilizing their high profiles, international success and the influx of talented, young designers to establish in-house research divisions and incubators that support the development of new ideas in the AEC industry. The following five companies are consistent in pushing the envelope and helping architecture adopt some of the latest technologies:

Our top 5 most innovative architecture firms list:

#1 BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group

One of the most renowned architecture firms in the world, BIG, is a great example of architects keeping step with pop culture and new business trends. Both their design and company culture reveals a nimbleness and experimental attitude that allow them to explore different avenues for practicing architecture. BIG’s founder, Bjarke Ingels, is a rare example of an archipreneur attuned to the latest media trends and business strategies. He embraces social media, invests in new enterprises, and implements innovation in his projects.

Recently, BIG teamed up with aerospace organization Rumlaboratorium, the Danish Technical University and artists from realities:united to launch a Kickstarter campaign to design a prototype of a unique steam-ring generator that would be part of the “cleanest power plant in the world.” The initiative shows a readiness to invent and extend their involvement in the construction process to engineering. In 2014, they launched a new division within the company and called it BIG Ideas, which was intended to act as a research and development lab where the firm could create products and new building materials. Several other independent projects are currently underway, many of which are focused on finding new engineering solutions to be incorporated into BIG’s projects.

#2 SHoP Architects

SHoP Architects and SHoP Construction (SC), collectively known as SHoP, are among New York’s 10 largest architecture firms. What makes them stand out among other mainstream architecture firms is their interest in addressing the gap between real estate development, architecture and engineering. A hybrid business model allows them to function as a combination of a real estate development firm, a think tank, and a one-stop shop for clients.

Five people with individual backgrounds in design, construction, business, marketing and development founded the firm in 1996. The team was led by Gregg Pasquarelli, who had previously worked as an investment banker on Wall Street. They first experimented with trading fees for equity on their Porter House project, and went on to develop several other projects, as well as their own, and collaborating with other architects.

SHoP is a trailblazer when it comes to redefining the way architecture is practiced. They are rethinking the role of architects in the project development process and looking for ways to get more autonomy, better pay, and innovative design projects off the ground, all while cutting construction costs through smart fabrication.

#3 Perkins + Will

Perkins + Will is one of the United States’ leading architecture firms in healthcare design, delivering buildings that focus on better patient experience and high performance. Their new in-house Innovation Incubator program aims to “foster, through micro-grants of money and time, a culture of innovation, creativity and experimentation by supporting small research projects proposed by individuals.” So far the program has awarded more than 150 groups of participants with the most innovative proposals.

The firm also formed 10 laboratories this year, which are focused on sustainability issues, resilience, the human experience, the design process, and mobility. Their annual design competition encourages talented designers to experiment. Design solutions selected through the contest are often further developed through the Innovation Incubator system.

#4 NBBJ

One of the first architecture offices to fully embrace Virtual Reality (VR), Seattle-based NBBJ, developed its self-contained venture Visual Vocal to build a VR platform integrated into the firm’s design process. By using VR, NBBJ hopes to speed up collaboration and communication between designers and allow them to make decisions based on client feedback. The new productivity tool will allow architects to build VR versions of 3D models that can be explored on a smartphone.

Together with mobile and cloud-based solutions, VR is expected to replace conventional communication such as email. The team, led by John San Giovanni and Sean House, raised $500,000 for Visual Vocal, which will be developed as a tool not only for architecture but also for other industries. Future plans for these platforms include solutions for working in the aerospace industry, product design, and biotech.

#5 HOK

Recently, HOK partnered with the Biomimcry Guild in order to foster bio-inspired innovation in the field of architecture. The partnership began in 2004 and the two companies have collaborated on several projects since, including HOK’s proposal for the “City of the Future” competition in 2008.

“We believe biomimicry will not only help us significantly reduce the environmental impact of our projects, but also has the potential to help define a whole new sustainable standard for our profession,” said HOK Sustainable Design Director, Mary Ann Lazarus, “Because biomimicry addresses critical environmental issues at the habitat scale, it gives us lessons on how to achieve significant results even restorative outcomes at all scales.”

HOK is also a great example of an architecture firm embracing new media tools, as one of the most active users of social media in the architectural industry. The firm launched Life at HOK in 2008 as a supplementary resource to the company’s main site. It is an employee-authored blog, dedicated to showing the processes behind their projects and office culture. HOK employees from around the country post different types of content, such as links to YouTube videos, Facebook profiles and Flickr images. The site aggregates several social media platforms and encourages feedback and interaction with and between its users.

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These five most innovative architecture firms are consistently showing a readiness to adopt new design and communication tools, design strategies, and business models. This attitude allows them to remain flexible and absorb various cultural and technological shifts instead of simply trying to keep up with the world. Which other architecture firms do you find innovative?

The post 5 of the Most Innovative Architecture Firms appeared first on Archipreneur.

#1 – Develop Your Own Project

As an architect, you are getting paid for your planning services. But it’s often the client who controls the process and tells you what to design. What if you were able to eliminate the client role entirely and become your own general contractor for the design and building process?

You can … by developing your own project!

What advice can we give new Archipreneurs? Start to learn the process of real estate development and design your own buildings. Of course, for any first project there will be financial barriers that are not so easy to negotiate, but many well-known architects have managed that.

Jonathan Segal is a great example of someone who practices and teaches the “Architect as Developer” principle, which recognizes that in developing your own project, you are in complete control to create city environments tailored to your own ideas. As an added bonus, being your own boss will give you greater financial satisfaction.

Read more about other successful firms here.

#2 – Combine Architecture With “X”

Arguably, combining disciplines produces the greatest innovations. Apple, for example, combined technology with design to create a new customer experience for using devices.

The skills you have learned in your architectural training are essential for creating ideas, designing buildings and solving complex problems. Just imagine how you might be able to combine those skills with another subject area you love and build your business from that combination!

The URBANAUTS, for example, have combined architecture with hospitality in their own business venture. In Vienna, they cleverly assessed the architectural situation, taking particular note of the numerous empty street level shops. Aware of the potential, they revamped these empty spaces and turned them into hotel rooms, designed with the growing market of urban travelers seeking authentic local experiences in mind.

#3 – Start A Blog

A blog is one of the most effective tools you can use to gain an audience. Over time, if encouraged to interact, your audience will develop into a community. If you are an expert in a particular field, you can even teach your community by providing high quality content and expert knowledge.

Your audience will give you feedback, support you and share your content with others. If you provide a service or product, your audience will likely be your first buyers. Check out Enoch Sears over at businessofarchitecture.com. He created a blog focusing on the business and success of small firm architects.

It is so easy to set up a blog today and start writing! Just get started with Bluehost and their 1-click automated WordPress installation. If you need an aesthetic and responsive WordPress theme, I would highly recommend Studiopress.

#4 – Build a Product

The best thing about being an Archipreneur is the free reign it gives your creativity. We all have something to offer to the world. Digital products, webinars and coaching services are all ways to create passive income streams and free you from the 9-5.

A really awesome example is a young architect, Pat Flynn, who created the website greenexamacademy.com while he was studying for the LEED AP Exam. He wanted to share his knowledge with everyone who was going through the same process. After getting laid off from his job, he decided to create a how-to product that helped people to pass the LEED AP Exam.

The product was successful and helped him to create his first passive income stream. This marked the founding of his smartpassiveincome.com venture, which today generates 100K+/month!

#5 – Find Your Niche

A lot of architectural firms would probably be able to design an office building. And many already have. The competition for designing offices is quite high. But specializing in a niche will improve the chances for your firm to stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps you have a certain passion within the field of architecture?

Maybe you’re a specialist in planning certain types of buildings?

Or perhaps you have a gift for teaching and can offer special consulting services?

It’s essential that you address the needs and problems of your audience and potential clients. Build a service or product around your niche and dig deep.

A great example is Marica McKeel with her Studio MM. She focuses on contemporary residential designs in the New York City area. She has built an impressive portfolio and is an expert blogger in her field. Passion will always outperform competition.

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I hope you have enjoyed these ideas and tips on starting out as an Archipreneur and building the business of your dreams. This is where I’d like the Archipreneurs already out there to “butt-in” and share their knowledge and ideas, especially when it comes to architectural entrepreneurship and setting up a business in general.

It doesn’t matter if you just have a quick resource to share, or a full Archipreneur business strategy. The most important thing is that you share with your community!

No topic is off limits, and please do feel free to post links below, too. I look forward to reading all your archipreneurial ideas!

When you’re done, I’d be very happy if you’d SHARE this post, below!

The post 5 Ideas to Start Out as an Archipreneur appeared first on Archipreneur.