Senior Project Reflection: Mark Cavagnero Associates Architects
Eli Morrison Schwartz
Anthony Bryce Grubbs
May 4th - May 22nd, 2015
For the last three weeks, we have talked, listened, learned, explored, researched, and lived the life of a 21st Century architect. While there have been moments where we were overwhelmed with the amount of detail or work in front of us, there have been others where the creativity and opportunity make architecture seem like the most interesting career around. We have taken tours of construction sites, job sites, and potential project sites, sat in on meetings with educational boards, school boards, and client companies to Cavagnero's firm. We have examined models and prototypes, projects and plans. We have interviewed associates, partners and clients, asking them about their careers as well as their outlook on the effect of technology, and various other "new age" techniques that have made their jobs that much easier than they were say 10 years ago. What has become a burden to some careers, technology has become a significant part of Cavagnero's firm, and his ability to excel where others cannot. While many of the other Architecture firms around the country have much of the same technology and tools that cavagnero possesses, his use of the technology is what sets him apart. In an interview with one of the associates in the firm, we asked how the dramatic changes in technology have impacted his work, and the overall production of the office. he responded by addressing Cavagnero's most important philosophy for any of the architects in the building; "the most important aspect to becoming a successful architect, is to become a generalist". A generalist as the associate described, is someone who can work all aspects of the job, someone who is valuable in every position, no matter the project, the location the circumstances. He proceeded to discuss how technology has made that process both easier and more difficult. While the multitude of applications and programs is helpful and useful, that rate at which technology is changing is far to fast for programmers and such to keep up with. "the new stuff comes out, and I have barely become competent with the 'old' programming software". In any case, it will be interesting to see how Cavagnero's as well as the other Architecture firms around the country react to the rapid improvement in technology. Though many see technology as an enhancement to today's world, not everyone has the same positive reaction.
Aside from technology, we explored the physical and structural aspects of the career. Many of our friends asked us "what do you do everyday," with the assumption that we sat in the office and built models, all day long. Much of our appreciation for the job was bound on the hinges of human interaction and relation. Much of our time was spent in meetings and in small conferences where clients expressed their concerns and interests about various spaces, sites, and possible amendments to their respective projects. We listened as Cavagnero's team worked with the clients to find a solution, an alternate plan, or a new idea. The back and forth dialogue between customer and architect challenged us to see the proposed problem from both sides. While the architect is looking to appease their client's needs, the client often has an image(s) in mind of what type of structure or building that they would like. Many assume that these meetings are progressive with regard to the greater progress of the project, yet when the client arrives with all new concerns, and possible ideas for their project, the process starts over once again, the ideas recycled, and the previous work, obsolete. It is difficult to understand the relationship between the architect and the client because while there is often a lot of mutual frustration between the two, Cavagnero's workers cannot become unproductive and inefficient so as to threaten loosing the project. The client on the other hand understand that the architect has a lot of work to do with regard to the process, and has to manage a multitude of different pieces. they both understand and want the same outcome, an efficient, sustainable, aesthetically-pleasing, completed structure. The final destination is always exciting and relieving, it is the road to there that creates the struggles.
The two of us experienced moments when we felt as though architecture may be repetitive and boring, too much work, without enough reward. We were burdened by the somewhat monotonous work that many of the colleagues seemed to be enthralled by. But what we realized was that being an architect has so many different angles to it, that becoming bored with it means that you aren't being creative with it. As its' core, the career is one that aids the surrounding community. By building structures and locations, schools and museums, you are essentially building that habitat for those around you to live in, and become involved with. The level of appreciation that some of the clients expressed was astonishing, as many of them could not have been more excited or happier to have a firm as highly regarded as Cavagnero's working on their project. We have learned how important it is to consider all the possibilities, options, and techniques when designing and constructing a building. While it is often much more difficult than anyone want's to admit, including all positions and perspectives is something that Cavagnero's firm has excelled at, and a quality that has set them apart from the single minded, mono-tracked firms throughout the nation. What makes a civic project truly a civic project is the participation and incorporation of the people's interests and ideas. Cavagnero Associates Architects has demonstrated the importance of making a project "public" and the power that architects have with regard to changing the way people perceive a neighborhood, understand a culture, and feel about their community. We experienced the value of getting to know a community and an area where a potential project could be created. The importance of getting to know the people, the habits and the aspect of that community that are most important to its people.
Anthony Bryce Grubbs
May 4th - May 22nd, 2015
For the last three weeks, we have talked, listened, learned, explored, researched, and lived the life of a 21st Century architect. While there have been moments where we were overwhelmed with the amount of detail or work in front of us, there have been others where the creativity and opportunity make architecture seem like the most interesting career around. We have taken tours of construction sites, job sites, and potential project sites, sat in on meetings with educational boards, school boards, and client companies to Cavagnero's firm. We have examined models and prototypes, projects and plans. We have interviewed associates, partners and clients, asking them about their careers as well as their outlook on the effect of technology, and various other "new age" techniques that have made their jobs that much easier than they were say 10 years ago. What has become a burden to some careers, technology has become a significant part of Cavagnero's firm, and his ability to excel where others cannot. While many of the other Architecture firms around the country have much of the same technology and tools that cavagnero possesses, his use of the technology is what sets him apart. In an interview with one of the associates in the firm, we asked how the dramatic changes in technology have impacted his work, and the overall production of the office. he responded by addressing Cavagnero's most important philosophy for any of the architects in the building; "the most important aspect to becoming a successful architect, is to become a generalist". A generalist as the associate described, is someone who can work all aspects of the job, someone who is valuable in every position, no matter the project, the location the circumstances. He proceeded to discuss how technology has made that process both easier and more difficult. While the multitude of applications and programs is helpful and useful, that rate at which technology is changing is far to fast for programmers and such to keep up with. "the new stuff comes out, and I have barely become competent with the 'old' programming software". In any case, it will be interesting to see how Cavagnero's as well as the other Architecture firms around the country react to the rapid improvement in technology. Though many see technology as an enhancement to today's world, not everyone has the same positive reaction.
Aside from technology, we explored the physical and structural aspects of the career. Many of our friends asked us "what do you do everyday," with the assumption that we sat in the office and built models, all day long. Much of our appreciation for the job was bound on the hinges of human interaction and relation. Much of our time was spent in meetings and in small conferences where clients expressed their concerns and interests about various spaces, sites, and possible amendments to their respective projects. We listened as Cavagnero's team worked with the clients to find a solution, an alternate plan, or a new idea. The back and forth dialogue between customer and architect challenged us to see the proposed problem from both sides. While the architect is looking to appease their client's needs, the client often has an image(s) in mind of what type of structure or building that they would like. Many assume that these meetings are progressive with regard to the greater progress of the project, yet when the client arrives with all new concerns, and possible ideas for their project, the process starts over once again, the ideas recycled, and the previous work, obsolete. It is difficult to understand the relationship between the architect and the client because while there is often a lot of mutual frustration between the two, Cavagnero's workers cannot become unproductive and inefficient so as to threaten loosing the project. The client on the other hand understand that the architect has a lot of work to do with regard to the process, and has to manage a multitude of different pieces. they both understand and want the same outcome, an efficient, sustainable, aesthetically-pleasing, completed structure. The final destination is always exciting and relieving, it is the road to there that creates the struggles.
The two of us experienced moments when we felt as though architecture may be repetitive and boring, too much work, without enough reward. We were burdened by the somewhat monotonous work that many of the colleagues seemed to be enthralled by. But what we realized was that being an architect has so many different angles to it, that becoming bored with it means that you aren't being creative with it. As its' core, the career is one that aids the surrounding community. By building structures and locations, schools and museums, you are essentially building that habitat for those around you to live in, and become involved with. The level of appreciation that some of the clients expressed was astonishing, as many of them could not have been more excited or happier to have a firm as highly regarded as Cavagnero's working on their project. We have learned how important it is to consider all the possibilities, options, and techniques when designing and constructing a building. While it is often much more difficult than anyone want's to admit, including all positions and perspectives is something that Cavagnero's firm has excelled at, and a quality that has set them apart from the single minded, mono-tracked firms throughout the nation. What makes a civic project truly a civic project is the participation and incorporation of the people's interests and ideas. Cavagnero Associates Architects has demonstrated the importance of making a project "public" and the power that architects have with regard to changing the way people perceive a neighborhood, understand a culture, and feel about their community. We experienced the value of getting to know a community and an area where a potential project could be created. The importance of getting to know the people, the habits and the aspect of that community that are most important to its people.