An Architect's Calling Cards
The next time you run into a tongue-tied architect hanging out solo in a corner, one of these handouts may help
Hello. I'm an architect.
I often feel misunderstood. I'm usually cast as the aloof, artistic type, standing alone in the corner of the room, staring out the window at some distance church steeples. I seem to know important and complicated things. I appear cool and collected on the outside, wearing my perfectly tailored black turtleneck sweater in the middle of July. But on the inside? Well, not so much cool and collected. I can be hard to approach. I can be difficult to talk to. And if you do spend some time with me, I can be impossible to understand. I can be esoteric. I can be obtuse. I can be impatient. I have a problem.
So I've started giving out calling cards to people at parties, to break the ice. This way, people will know how to talk to me. These cards are the equivalent to an architect's medical ID tag. In case I've drifted off into my own thoughts and I'm unable (or unwilling) to talk for myself, I can just show you my calling card, and then you'll know I'm severely allergic to small talk.
And we can just skip it and talk about Prague.
I often feel misunderstood. I'm usually cast as the aloof, artistic type, standing alone in the corner of the room, staring out the window at some distance church steeples. I seem to know important and complicated things. I appear cool and collected on the outside, wearing my perfectly tailored black turtleneck sweater in the middle of July. But on the inside? Well, not so much cool and collected. I can be hard to approach. I can be difficult to talk to. And if you do spend some time with me, I can be impossible to understand. I can be esoteric. I can be obtuse. I can be impatient. I have a problem.
So I've started giving out calling cards to people at parties, to break the ice. This way, people will know how to talk to me. These cards are the equivalent to an architect's medical ID tag. In case I've drifted off into my own thoughts and I'm unable (or unwilling) to talk for myself, I can just show you my calling card, and then you'll know I'm severely allergic to small talk.
And we can just skip it and talk about Prague.
Thank gawd for Ikea.
Unless it's hot. Then I wear black.
[Jody shuffles feet uncomfortably.]
OK, this one's not fair, really. Architecture is one of the few professions I can think of where you are expected to have a broad knowledge of multiple fields. Architecture is part art, science, engineering, sociology, economics, politics, ecology, technology, psychology and so on. We can't know everything about all of these fields. We know just a little about everything, by training. This is probably why I'm nervous talking to you. You think I know what I'm talking about. But I don't.
Please, never let an architect choose your dining room chairs. They will be beautiful but uncomfortable and expensive.
Mainly because less takes more time.
I almost couldn't make this graphic. It hurts my head.
Photos used to create these graphics are used with permission under creative commons license. Click individual graphics for photo sources and links.
More by Coffee With an Architect:
12-Step Program for Architecture
A Primer on the Language of Design
Find Your Inner Minimalist
Flash Cards for Architectural Terms
Find Your Architectural Style
Great Architecture Speaks to Us
Photos used to create these graphics are used with permission under creative commons license. Click individual graphics for photo sources and links.
More by Coffee With an Architect:
12-Step Program for Architecture
A Primer on the Language of Design
Find Your Inner Minimalist
Flash Cards for Architectural Terms
Find Your Architectural Style
Great Architecture Speaks to Us