HecticArt Wonderful Architecture Work

JHDK said:
Interesting. So there's a straight up creative element to what you do? I just assumed if you were building a pedestrian bridge of course there's going to be obstacles that make its planning unique to where it's being built, but otherwise it's just a bridge. You borrow what everyone else has been doing for centuries in terms of its architecture.

So how creative can you really get? Do they ever ask you personally to create something original? Or is it like youre hired by someone with wild ideas and then you try to figure out if they're possible. Or is it more like you can add artistic or stylistic elements to a framework that has been well established and you know is going to work?
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I think you are confusing the job of the engineer with the architect. The style is the architect. The not falling down part is the engineer.
 
JHDK said:
So there's a straight up creative element to what you do?
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For sure.
JHDK said:
I just assumed if you were building a pedestrian bridge of course there's going to be obstacles that make its planning unique to where it's being built, but otherwise it's just a bridge.
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The bridges that I worked on were part of bigger building projects that connected to other buildings, so they needed to look better than the utility type that just cross a freeway or whatever.
JHDK said:
You borrow what everyone else has been doing for centuries in terms of its architecture.
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Sometimes. There's no reason to reinvent the wheel for every project. Some projects are very straight forward and solve simple needs for clients. They just need a building that functions and meets their budget. Ya get them what they need and ya move on.
JHDK said:
So how creative can you really get?
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Very. It really just depends on how much value the client places on having something that stands out. I work on pretty much everything but residential. The universities, schools, offices, sporting facilities, music venues, and churches usually need something that's special. I'll give them as much cool as I can that meets their needs and stays within their budget.

Every project is different. I've done some really cool stuff that I'm proud of and will show off to my friends, and some that give the owner what they need, but are far from cool. I don't share those with my friends. They can be brutal.
JHDK said:
Do they ever ask you personally to create something original?
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Yes. Most all of what I do is.
JHDK said:
Or is it like youre hired by someone with wild ideas and then you try to figure out if they're possible.
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Usually they don't have wild ideas going in. I'll spend time talking with them about what they need for function, performance, look, budget, and other things. Based on what they tell me, I can get a decent idea of how creative they may be open to. I'll give them a few different options to talk over to get their reactions. I'll take their feedback and start to zero in on what the building will look like after a round or two. You kind of coach them through the process and guide them to where they need to be.
JHDK said:
Or is it more like you can add artistic or stylistic elements to a framework that has been well established and you know is going to work?
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Sometimes. Sometimes we'll do something straight forward like a manufacturing facility. Those are usually big boxes that are pretty typical with a bump on one side for offices and employees space. The box may only have a little extra detail to make it look interesting, but sometimes the bump can have some fun things going on.
 
HecticArt said:
Yes. Most all of what I do is.
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Well first off, thanks for answering all that in detail. I now have a much better idea of what you do......

You figure out ways to build rectangles out of cinder blocks that are either bigger rectangles or smaller rectangles. Yeah, a real Rembrandt over there....

Sorry I can't help myself. Even when you post cool details about how your job is awesome my instinct is to mock Toledo architects. I can try to fight it but it's within the very fiber of my being. Asking me to change this is akin to asking me to fundamentally restructure the makeup of every cell in my body.

But on to this quote because this is the part of your gig that I find the most fascinating. So there is a substantial artistic element of your job. That's very cool. And I know you go over everything with the client and before you start creating your original stuff you know generally what they're looking for. But have you ever created something and then you show it to them and you're all proud of it and they're like what the fuck is this dude this is not at all what we were thinking.... And they make you throw out all those hours of work and start over? I would imagine that is one of the worst parts of your job.

Or maybe that's never happened but if you're batting .1000 but if that's the case I will have a lot of other questions.
 
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Channel98 said:
Are architects to blame for these 51 buildings? Maybe we should take a poll.

The ugliest building in every state and DC | loveexploring.com

From chaotic Postmodern monstrosities and Brutalist concrete nightmares to the country's most ghastly McMansion, these are the most hideous eyesores in America.
www.loveexploring.com www.loveexploring.com
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Thank god none of those are mine!!!!

Some of those are extremely fugly.

It's really subjective and kinda like being a Monday Morning Quarterback.
It's easy to rip on a building after the fact, but there are all kinds of things that get in the way of a good design.


Some of it is the architect for sure, sometimes it's the owner that insists that you do certain things, some of it is the function or budget.
Some of those buildings were cool when they were built, but got dated looking pretty quickly. It's fashion just like anything else.
I went to school right next to #25. It's a beast! It never really functioned well, is a maintenance nightmare, and after at least 40 years of wanting to tear it down, I think the University finally has it scheduled to come down.

If it weren't for owners, budgets, and building codes, we wouldn't have any excuses.
 
JHDK said:
But have you ever created something and then you show it to them and you're all proud of it and they're like what the fuck is this dude this is not at all what we were thinking.... And they make you throw out all those hours of work and start over?
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All the time.
JHDK said:
I would imagine that is one of the worst parts of your job.
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It can be very frustrating for sure. Sometimes they apologize for tanking a design but I always tell them that it's their money and their building. I'm here to give them what they are going to be happy with. (See 98's post above for examples of how this may have played out for other architects.)
JHDK said:
Or maybe that's never happened
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It happens to every architect.
JHDK said:
but if you're batting .1000 but if that's the case I will have a lot of other questions.
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If someone figures out how to hit .1000, I want to know the secret!
 
HecticArt said:
All the time.
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I assume you work for a firm or a company, I don't know what architecture groups are called But have you ever had a client that will just never be happy and they have to be dropped?

Also, and this is completely unrelated, but do you have any idea how to create a shell company that claims to need a building built (but the plans will never actually be approved) in Ohio? Seeing how many times I could make you come up with a new design before you lost your shit would perhaps be the greatest entertainment of my entire life.
 
JHDK said:
I assume you work for a firm or a company,
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I'm with a firm. I'd rather not have an independent practice. I like interacting with others.
JHDK said:
I don't know what architecture groups are called But have you ever had a client that will just never be happy and they have to be dropped?
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I've had some that were hard to get dialed in, and a couple that were close to being dropped, but I've never had to do that.
JHDK said:
Also, and this is completely unrelated, but do you have any idea how to create a shell company that claims to need a building built (but the plans will never actually be approved) in Ohio?
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As long as the checks keep clearing I'll keep designing.
JHDK said:
Seeing how many times I could make you come up with a new design before you lost your shit would perhaps be the greatest entertainment of my entire life.
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Seeing how quickly I can burn through your inheritance would be pretty entertaining for me.
 
HecticArt said:
I've had some that were hard to get dialed in, and a couple that were close to being dropped, but I've never had to do that.
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Oh that's cool! I mean you've been at this for a while now, so that tells me you're basically able to work with even the hardest clients.

HecticArt said:
Seeing how quickly I can burn through your inheritance would be pretty entertaining for me.
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You are salaried and if you have any bonus or salary bump it is definitely not tied to a client who never approves anything.... So if I'm right about that it would be money well spent.

My memory might be a little bit fuzzy but I'm pretty sure my dad told me that the money should be used for either my retirement or to harass internet friends in order to make myself giggle.
 
JHDK said:
So if I'm right about that it would be money well spent.
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I’ll tell ya when I’m spending your retirement.
JHDK said:
My memory might be a little bit fuzzy but I'm pretty sure my dad told me that the money should be used for either my retirement or to harass internet friends in order to make myself giggle.
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:roflmao:

I never wanted to get a boat, but I think I’d use your retirement to get one.
I’d sail it to Florida and sink it in front of you just to see the look on your face.
 
Aaron said:
The Connecticut building at number 40 makes me nervous.
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Yeah, it’s a bit unsettling.

I drove past #26 this summer. I thought it was some sort of a theme-water park or something.
I had to look it up. It’s just a really bad apartment building.
I can’t imagine the developer that thought that there would be enough people interested in living at Hogwarts to make the financials work out. I can’t imagine that that many people actually want to live there. It’s massive.
 
It's ponderously cold, brutal, and unwelcoming, but there's something about it that I kinda like. It's unapologetically modern, sculptural, and bold.
There are some fun spaces inside in the public areas, but I get why it's on the list.
 
In 2010, Teri and I spent time at Bidwell Mansion State Park in Chico. We got to tour the mansion, built in 1865. It was designed by Henry William Cleaveland, one of the 13 architects who founded the American Institute of Architects in 1857. Today the mansion burned down. How sad. Some scenes from the 1934 movie The Thin Man were filmed inside the mansion.

Fire destroys Northern California's Bidwell Mansion, icon of Chico history


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What a shame.
I wasn't familiar with it, but it it was something.
Too bad it's gone.
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