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In my previous post, “Hope From Haiti”, I described some intriguing ways that popular technology was being used to help the post-earthquake rescue efforts. My suggestion was that readily available technologies, put to use for fundraising and information swapping in Haiti, could be similarly applied to the rescue of lost architectural jobs here.

I have already discovered an online opportunity that in a simple way serves to confirm my assertion. It addresses the long-term needs of the citizens of Haiti while allowing designers to engage in problem-solving and idea-exploration; an ideal situation for today’s underworked architects.

HAITI EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER

 
The web-based group Spontaneous Architecture is sponsoring, as part of their ongoing monthly series, a mini-competition simply titled, “February 2010: Haiti“.

The competition identifies a handful of Port-au-Prince sites including the National Place and other nearby collapsed institutions. The issue is posed; “People talk about emergency shelter. What about emergency institutions” such as medical, judicial, economic and educational? It is a very open-ended program, in that, “responses can be strategic, organizational, institutional, and/or architectural.”

The challenge to this grand program however is in its presentation. Design concepts are to be submitted as a single 8 1/2″ x 11″ image along with a $5 entry fee. Competition entrants will also serve as the jury via online voting! The entry fees will be split between Haiti-directed charity and the winning designer. The full competition details are located here, but let it suffice to say this is an example of things to come; where a non-client entity initiates the design program, where architects compete and collaborate online, and where costs to participate approach zero and where a larger cultural/social body is served.

As architects we need to be operating in the brave new online world – through our own blogs and other social media platforms – and capitalize on opportunities as they arise. Please look into this Spontaneous Architecture competition and share your thoughts with us here.

Filed under: Case Studies by collier1960
Tags: « competition - Haiti - rebuilding - Spontaneous Architecture »
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I have recently written about the 41,000 architectural jobs lost in the first three quarters of 2009, as determined by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Having held one of those lost positions, this number really struck me – my personal story of architectural unemployment had been playing out in thousands of homes across the nation. Fortunately I ended ’09 with a great new job; but I also gained a renewed sense of professional purpose for this blog.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to use online tools and social networks to help restore some of those architectural jobs. Feel free to ask, “how could that be done?” I’m asking that question too, and discussing it with others. Though still searching, I am finding hope in a most unlikely situation – the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. There we see powerful and effective use of technology to fund the rescue and to promote the restoration of the Haitian people.

Keep in mind; these technological gains are apart from the generosity of entertainment celebrities who have offered their talents in the Hope for Haiti Now Telethon and a host of other venues. They are also distinct from the tens of millions offered by corporations and the even greater totals pledged by the US government and other nations. Beyond these traditional mass means of relief, technology has allowed the individual concerned citizen to give and to effect change directly.

As of Friday, January 22nd (ten days after the quake) the American Red Cross had raised the most money of the agencies involved. Approximately $3,000,000 (30%) of the Red Cross donations came in $10 increments through their popular “text ‘Haiti’ to 90999″ campaign. These texted funds tower over amounts similarly given after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 or hurricane Katrina in 2005 – evidence that mobile-text giving has emerged as potent means of fund-raising.

Another technology-based aspect of the Haiti earthquake aftermath is a digital message board hosted by the New York Times where loved ones have posted photos and details of missing family members. I suppose the site serves primarily as a notification system whereby relief workers on the ground in can identify and provide status updates of the people pictured. The site has another far-reaching purpose. It serves to shift our understanding of the story, to help us process it in on a more human scale; to hope and pray for the rescue of that specific smiling face rather than a generic anonymous victim. It provides names and context as a focus for our compassion.

Of course, the scope and intensity of the Haiti earthquake overpower our day-to-day concerns, even those of deep and prolonged unemployment. The magnitude of human suffering in Haiti quickly puts our professional struggles into perspective. We should however take note of the new uses of technology and seek to apply their funding and networking capabilities to the needs in our own field.

Thank you for caring. Please share you thoughts and ideas.

Filed under: Case Studies, General Reference by collier1960
Tags: « 90999 - American Red Cross - Haiti - Hurricane Katrina - text »
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Intending to sound light-heartedly optimistic, I’ve been using the phrase, “What happened in ’09, stays in ’09”. For me personally this includes a lay-off, half a year looking for a replacement position, and having to relocate out-of-state to secure work; all the while remarking, “I haven’t seen anything like this in the quarter century I’ve been an Architect.”

I know I’m not the only one.

Some troubling numbers have crossed my screen lately (and you’ve probably seen them via my Tweets @collier1960). These numbers include #1; the position of the architectural profession on a recent list of hardest hit job sectors, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Top-Nine List) .

Another disconcerting number is 41,000; the total of U.S. architectural jobs lost in the first three quarters of 2009.

Then there’s the number 17.8, which is the percentage of architectural unemployment corresponding to the thousands of lost jobs.

Another percentage number, 13.4, is the anticipated decline in U.S. construction activity in 2010, according to the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast.

And there is similar poor news in Britain, according to the Architects Journal .

Happy New Year

 Well, enough is enough, right? It’s time for a new beginning. Let us use the idiosyncrasies of the Gregorian calendar – by which we call this a New Year – and set about to make some positive change.

• If you are unemployed or underemployed, what are you going to do differently this year?
• If you are working on your own, how are you planning to overcome in 2010?
• If you own or manage a firm, same question…

 Please share your resolutions to make the coming 12 months better than the last 12.

Filed under: General Reference by collier1960
Tags: « 2009 - 2010 - architect - New Year »
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As a blogging resolution for the New Year, I state here publicly that Building Content will feature a new post weekly, offering relevant content to the architectural blogging community. I understand that inconsistency in timing or in quality is unacceptable in a professional blog. Building Content will not be marked by either in the coming year.

 After all, I want my fellow architects to enjoy coming to this place, and to benefit from it.

 If you have any specific questions you need answered or topics you would like addressed regarding the best use of a professional blog, please let me know.

Filed under: General Reference by collier1960
Tags: « blog - New Year - resolution »
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One of the oft-repeated bits of advice shared on line, especially when it comes to blogging, is to be authentic.

• From a branding point of view, “To truly be yourself means to have no competition.”
• From a coaching standpoint; “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
• From a writing position; “Write what you know!”

The call to authenticity is not new to the Internet. We’ve been encouraged to embrace and proclaim our individuality all our lives, from Mr. Rodgers to Dr. Pepper. And long before that was the Shakespearean adage;

 “to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Because the Internet was suspected early as being populated by unsavory scammers, schemers and predators, and because even those with good intent start out online as unsubstantiated, we bloggers need to strive for transparency. This work can be subtle at times. Honestly, it is perhaps easier to misrepresent oneself online than it is to be whole, accurate and true – hence the repeated calls to be authentic.

•   Α  &  Ω   •

I’ve said all that to say this – my authentic self is more than merely my brand, “Architect and Author.” I am these things specifically as a follower of Christ, as a new man created in His image. The scriptures identify Jesus as the builder and maker of all things and as the author and finisher of our faith. It is my calling to reflect these specific aspects of His nature – when I design and write professionally I intentionally do so to honor God and to serve others.

There is a wonderful line in the movie Chariots of Fire, when Eric Liddell explains to his missionary-minded sister about his calling as a world class runner, “God has made me for a purpose, for China; but He has also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.” In that vein I believe God has made me to express his creativity, and to share in His pleaseure through designing and writing. Architect and Author.

That is who I am, authentically. To downplay it would be untrue to myself and to my God. To embrace and proclaim it moves me toward the goal of being “not… false to any man.”

Have you thought through your calling, your mission, your purpose? I encourage you to do so and integrate the unique individual who you truly are into all you do online. And please, as always, feel free to comment here.

Filed under: Uncategorized by collier1960
Tags: « architect - authentic - author - Chariots of Fire - Christ - Shakespeare »
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I trust my heroes at VSBA will not mind the architectural play-on-words this title offers. I think they’ll not; they are clever communicators. For others, please let me explain.

Learning from Las Vegas - Cover Art

Learning from Las Vegas is the title of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott-Brown’s seminal work. In the early seventies, Venturi, Scott Brown and their associates heralded a profound shift in the understanding of buildings; not unlike the current shift in our understanding of media and communication embodied by the Blogworld Expo 2009 in Nevada.

Again, fellow architects, we are Learning from Las Vegas.  

In this second example of great advice from the Blogworld Expo, I present a gem from Irene Koehler, the social media coach at Almost Savvy. She tracked down the inimitable Chris Brogan who granted this brief interview answering the question, “How can having a blog help me or my business? ” (view video)

Now, for those of you who aren’t yet immersed in the new media, this interview with Chris Brogan is equivalent to meeting a young Robert Venturi while his theory and design were changing the way the profession thought about buildings. (If you don’t understand this reference, ask an elder architect about the Vanna Venturi House.)

Seriously, as an architectural practitioner wandering around the edges of blog production, watch this video and see if Chris Brogan’s sage advice nudges you forward. Our culture is undergoing a profound communication shift, and with it, the means of business promotion is transforming too.  It is a unique time. Learn from it and begin reaching your future clients by means of your own professional blog.

Please post your comments here. If you have specific questions, feel free to contact me (or Irene or Chris for that matter) and start moving forward on your professional blog.

Filed under: Case Studies, Social Media by collier1960
Tags: « blog - Blogworld Expo - Chris Brogan - Irene Koehler - Las Vegas - Robert Venturi »
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Although the focus of this blog is to provide content and coaching to new and emerging architectural bloggers, I’d like to shift back from that niche for a moment and look at what good may come from successful blogging in general.

Image by Jerry Renolds

As I had hoped, great stories and lessons are surfacing on Twitter from last week’s Blogworld Expo ‘09 in Las Vegas. The value for us is in gleaning inspiration and insight from these accounts and applying them to our work. Among the other gems I’ve found is a list of twenty bloggers who have leveraged their online influence beyond the virtual realm. Michael Dunlop compiled the list and gives the story behind each success. You likely know of several of these people. All of them have moved beyond their initial blogging ventures to greater goals and greater good.

Michael himself holds the 21st position on the list. Barely out of his teens, this UK lad has already parlayed his blogging success to independent wealth, status as a leader in his field and even a hit television show. Who knows what he’ll accomplish when he finally hits his stride! Michael now coaches multitudes and offers a free seven day e-course on how to creat a profitable blog.

Follow the link and read his list. Hopefully it will inspire you to see your blog as a means to greater things. Creativity and passion brought you to architecture – pour the same into your blog. Provide for your readers and grow your audience. Who knows what good may come?

Filed under: Case Studies, General Reference by collier1960
Tags: « 21 - Blogworld Expo - Las Vegas - Michael Dunlap - Twitter »
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From time to time I have the opportunity to contribute to the blog at UPworld, a unique online community for designers, builders and real estate professionals. As UPworld grew they chose to move to an invitation only model. Recently when tweeting a reference to a blog I’d posted there, a friend pointed out the simple truth – without access to the site she couldn’t get to my post. I’ve come up with a fix, in the form of this offer:

If any of my readers here at Building Content would like to join this global network of industry specialists, please contact me. I would be pleased to have you join and become part of my UPworld network. We can move from the traditional writer-audience relationship to a more dynamic paradigm within an industry-specific community.

Please leave a comment or email me at collier1960@hotmail.com.

Filed under: Resources, Social Media by collier1960
Tags: « blog - invitation - network - UPworld »
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One of the exciting aspects of the New Media, and I’m speaking of professional blogging specifically, is that it is still evolving, still emerging. As I write this, much of the leadership of this growing field is still gathered in Las Vegas for Blogworld Expo 2009, the one-of-a-kind event “for all new media”.

It’s been interesting to monitor Twitter as some of the big names I’ve been following Tweet about the awesome presentation they are attending, or about the mentor they ran into, or the peers they finally got to enjoy dinner with. I picture typical convention interactions – except everyone is in their slippers and bathrobe.

Do I wish I was there? Sure. Not Vegas particularly, but the Expo itself, yes – meeting and exchanging with the field’s leaders and shapers. There have been many annual AIA, CSI, and ULI conventions that I’d hoped to attend but didn’t. However, I believe the difference between those conferences and Blogworld Expo 2009 is the nature of the industries they represent. The former are established groups, founded on bricks and mortar, essentially seeking to adapt to the changing world. The field of blogging is, by its nature, actually leading some of the change.  

Blogging appeared as, and will always be, a cottage industry. It consists of independent thinkers (yes, sometimes clothed in robe and slippers) presenting their ideas and building consensus through a de-centralized media. The centralized, conglomerated media that grew alongside the AIA and other construction industry associations late in the industrial age is giving way to the New Media.

Professional blogging is our media, global in reach, but focused in audience. The established industries, especially those based in the physical realm of construction, will adapt to the New or they will become marginalized. We, as architect-bloggers, can lead in thought and in consensus building, helping to shape the change in our field – and to profit from its adaptation.

Filed under: Social Media by collier1960
Tags: « AIA - Blogworld Expo - CSI - Las Vegas - Twitter - ULI »
2 Comments »

From my observations, Architects as a group are not Internet savvy. But this isn’t all bad – until recently the Internet itself was not savvy. Even today, much of its marketing should not be mimicked, lest an otherwise reputable firm come across as a snake oil distributor or a used car dealership. You should be available on the web for future clients to find – but only in a manner that enhances your practice.

As a fellow practitioner, I understand that there are plenty of reasons for you to not be on the cutting edge of Internet marketing. Architects have to keep up with sustainability trends, BIM technologies, ever developing codes, regulations and specification formats; all while surviving in a global economic recession. If pressed, you would conclude that mastering the Internet just isn’t critical to your mission.

Fortunately, in its current state, the Internet doesn’t require you to master it to successfully employ it. The marketing, networking and information-exchange power of the Internet can be harnessed simply and effectively through blogging.  

Who has the budget or time or patience to launch professional blog? Perhaps you do!

The cost to start blogging is low (as international marketing ventures go) and the time commitment is manageable. Best of all, there are consultants who can coach you through your site set-up and content development. The consultant is an expert in all things blog-related. For example, there are ways to write your posts that make them attractive to Google (and therefore easy to find by your information-seeking potential clients) via the art and science of Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Facsinating stuff – but now you know all you need to know about SEO! Wasn’t that easy?

Personally, for the creation of your blog or for any strategy, management or writing help, I recommend the team at Writers Elite, under the direction of Robin Hale, a recognized expert in this savvy side of the Internet.

Filed under: Resources by collier1960
Tags: « BIM - blog - Robin Hale - SEO »
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