Category: VA

Architect as … Convention Goer

After a successful Architecture Exchange 2016 I have a lot to think about how an architecture firm should operate and how it should serve it’s staff and its clients.

I’m sitting in my hotel room in the Richmond Marriott writing this post and thinking back on the past two days of the Architecture Exchange East conference (but on by AIA Virginia and serving the Region of the Virginias).

The Empty stage and a screen showing a slide welcoming the attendees to ArchEx2016
The stage before the General Session of ArchEx 2016 started

This has been a great conference: I was energized Thursday morning by Rosa Sheng‘s keynote address on Equity in Architecture. She addressed many topics that hit close to home for me. She talked about how the study of the missing 32% was really just a “Canary in the Coal Mine” to indicate the issues that were facing the profession of architecture. She talked a lot about her own experiences and I felt a connection when she mentioned that at one point she was thinking about us leaving the profession when she had her daughter. While I don’t yet have children the reasons she mentioned are very similar to the issues I’ve been dealing with the past year or so – a need to be able to engage at hours outside of core working hours, a need for health accommodations, a need for architects to fight for their worth and negotiate on salary and benefits. She also talked about the value of engaging and enriching work – something I feel like I’ve been lacking for a while.

A slide indicating 5 ways to affect change - 1. Make Connections 2. Embrace Technology 3. Seek, Be, Cultivate Members 4. We are the Champions 5. Build your tribe
5 ways to affect change

All of this set the tone for the rest of the conference for me. I saw similar themes in this afternoon’s presentation by Carolyn Rickard-Brideau about the Well Standard and Salutogenic Design and how this new certification (currently only for offices) will help to make Architecture that heals us, instead of hurts us. In 2015 I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, I’ve been working with my doctor as well as a nutritionist to lose weight, be more active and overcome this disease. One of the biggest factors for me in this diseas has and continues to be work. The stress and long hours of my job have played havoc with my blood sugar. The time demands of the job and meetings have made it hard to schedule doctor’s appointments on a regular basis, and when I am able to, there’s a ton of stress that goes with it. When I changed jobs this summer it was with the express purpose of minimizing stress and increasing my ability to get physical activity. Being able to work in an environment that was designed to minimize stress and encourage activity It would be a big step forward in combating a health issue that many Americans face. Tying this point into the earlier keynote, I might not need the flexibility I do right now if my work environment was Salutogenic instead of Pathogenic.

A slide showing 5 ways to hack and affect change - A. Get Curiouser B. What's Next C. Defy Tradition D. Get Scrappy E. Fail Fast, Fail Often
How to “Hack” Architecture

The capstone on the weekend was a closing Keynote by Mickey Jacob, FAIA who talked about elevating our role in leadership. One of the points that stuck home to me was that he mentioned that he is a “digital tourist” and not a “digital native.” This made me realize that the issue at heart right now in architecture is one of “Physical Natives” versus “Digital Natives”. Architects in my generation are digital natives, we look to technology to solve our problems. We time shift our entertainment and expect to be able to do the same with our work. We expect our work to embrace the new technological opportunites that we have already accepted. But the thought and practice leaders are physical natives. They may be skilled at software based design and work practice, but they remember a time before the technological revolution. To them face to face work in the physical realm is sacrosanct. They cannot imagine that any digital solution will be as good as the physical, if not a better solution. Yes, they may have accepted CAD as the new way to draft, but BIM is still just a step too far into digital magic. And, while that is an overexaggeration (there are some young people who are luddites and will only sketch by hand and there are well seasoned professionals that are technophiles and tweet with the best of them) this typifies why we have the issues we are having. Why we are facing the lack of equity and why the demand for it is so jarring to some. We are demanding that the architecture profession catch up to the rest of the business culture. We are having our own culture clash.

So where does that leave me? Well, I’m not making any commitments, but if I do stay in architecture, it means that my 10 year plan needs to think about how best to find a firm or make my own that embraces the “startup” culture and committement to its staff as the future and an investment and not just resources to be spent on acquiring more profits.

Fairfax Circle

There has been a number of posts recently online decrying planning moves by Fairfax City that have been seen as anti-pedestrian and pro-vehicle. I believe that Fairfax Circle is the perfect place for Fairfax to make some planning changes that can be both car and pedestrian friendly.

Undated Historic View of Fairfax Circle, Fairfax, Virginia.

[Image via The Library of Virginia.]

There has been a number of posts recently online decrying planning moves by Fairfax City that have been seen as anti-pedestrian and pro-vehicle. I believe that Fairfax Circle is the perfect place for Fairfax to make some planning changes that can be both car and pedestrian friendly.

As a driver in Northern Virginia I have long been confused by the not-quite circle at the intersections of routes 29 and 50. This confluence of roads is counter intuitive and dangerous for a number of reasons.

  • This is the point where routes 29 and 50 merge in doing so their names also change. This creates a confusing situation where the roads leading into the circle are (clockwise from the North) Lee Highway (route 29), Arlington Boulevard (route 50), Old Lee Highway, and Lee Highway (routes 29 & 50).
  • This circle has a series of lights, which effective kills any chance of it being a true traffic circle. This also makes merging into the circle difficult, because given the light cycle the circle may be filled with stopped cars which often create their own lanes.
  • Route 50 travels through the center of the circle, but there are no left turns allowed and the signage indicating this is quite confusing. Drivers who wish to turn left onto Lee Highway or Old Lee Highway have to first turn right and then proceed through the circle, stopping at the light at route 50, from which they just turned off.
  • To add to the confusion, left turns from Old Lee highway or Lee Highway onto Route 50 are allowed and encouraged.
  • Lastly, like much of the landscaping in Fairfax, the planted portions of the circle are useless. Until recently there were no protected pedestrian crossings into the circle, and once in the circle there are no benches or any public amenities to act as a public draw.

At least the pedestrian access issue has been solved. After some mysterious construction, pedestrian crossing signals have been installed on the right hand turn lanes onto and off from route 50. This is a literal step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go to make this circle something useable and safe.

This circle is near the border of Fairfax County and Fairfax City and could be treated as a celebrated entry into Fairfax City; this could be achieved by restoring this to a real roundabout, with lights regulating pedestrian crossings and entry into and out of the circle and creating a park-like center with a statue or fountain similar to many of the DC circles. If the traffic along route 50 needs a direct access to the other side of the circle a below grade ramp could be installed; there is already precedent for this treatment in Fairfax County. The intersection of Fairfax County Parkway and route 29 has a multi-tiered intersection with an express bypass for traffic along route 29. I personally do not believe that an underpass would be necessary. During rush hour traffic crawls through the circle, and at all other times of the day, the local 35 mile per hour speed limit should be easy to maintain in a properly timed and lighted DC style circle.

A real circle here would solve many of the problems highlighted above. This new traffic pattern would be easier for drivers, safer for pedestrians and the break in the continuity of route 50 would help emphasize the change from Fairfax County to fairfax City. In addition, the shopping centers surrounding this circle attract a decent number of pedestrians, a park-like circle would provide them with some easily accessible green space.