Architecture students get real-world experience

by Jonathan Teicher

for the Business Journal

Architect means "master builder." But during the past 500 years, the architect has gone from master builder to arbiter of style to team leader; and from designing cathedrals, castles, mansions, tombs, government buildings, fortifications and public works to managing and coordinating the design of commercial skyscrapers, convenience stores, multifamily housing, residential additions, interiors, even signs and graphics.

Ancient cathedrals were built based on a single diagram, and the architect spent his life on-site, building. But these days, managing, developing, coordinating and producing technical contract documents jointly claim about 75 percent of an architect's time, much of it on the phone or at the computer.

Aesthetic design, the greatest passion of architects, dominates architecture school. The design studio is the focal point of architectural study; it's where architecture students live (many schools have their own cafes, supply stores, and showers). Schools focus on conceptual design because it is essential, and firms can't afford to conceptual design represents perhaps 5 percent of a working architect's billable time.

It's relatively easy to describe what an architecture student does in an accredited professional program like Drury College's Hammons School of Architecture. But what precisely does an architect do? In general, architects translate needs, desires and constraints into buildable proposals, then watch them get built.

Beyond that, it's anyone's guess: Architects may design buildings, renovations and additions, but they also work in planning and urban design, landscaping, interior and furniture design, design/build, building regulation, business and construction management, technical and legal consulting, specification writing ... architects are artists, teachers, builders, writers, leaders, managers, programmers and administrators.

Project architects largely spend their time managing and coordinating teams of specialists. Each specialist architectural designer, computer-aided design operator, carpenter, mason, engineer, building inspector, banker, interior designer, sprinkler installer, security consultant, owner, end user, customer etc. knows more about what he or she individually does than the architect.

But the architect must know enough to: understand, judge and accept, or ask for modifications to, consultant proposals (they don't make those changes themselves); incorporate everyone's requirements in accordance with all relevant codes and laws; communicate them to all relevant parties; coordinate them during technical design so subsystems don't get hopelessly entangled; observe construction and be able to see that things are properly built; and know what steps to take if they're not.

The architect must also incorporate additional long-term judgment the program will be outgrown or prove wrong, the client will move on, the building will be sold. The building will need to transform over time in response to user needs.

Each building system and each technology may need to be upgraded, or replaced independently, so no other system or part of the building is affected. Kitchens may last a dozen years; windows, 30 to 50; but computer systems will substantially change after an average of five years. It is also the architect's responsibility to help each project to build and strengthen the surrounding community.

Architecture studios students take 10 of them at the Hammons School of Architecture, plus one abroad primarily teach conceptual design. But they must also incorporate building and the culture of building, drawing not only on a rigorous series of technical courses, but also on how things really get built.

Communication, coordination and negotiation are crucial to project success, to the execution of professional and fiduciary responsibilities, and to the health, safety and welfare of the public. Of five advanced "vertical" studios (vertical studios mix students from the third and fifth year) at Drury College, two have required content: technology and community.

This semester's technology coordination studio led students to develop a strong design philosophy in realistically using structure, lighting and environmental systems to shape buildings. They then designed a real, buildable project for the Springfield community.

The proposed Phelps Grove fire station near Holland and Grand would be built to eventually accommodate three apparatus bays, three 11-person crews on 24-hour shifts, and also a large community room. The project gave students an opportunity to serve the city of Springfield and Phelps Grove neighborhood, while demonstrating their skills on a project with significant constraints: a tight site, a vital and vocal neighborhood, and strict planning, building, technical and programming requirements. The final review brought together students, design faculty, the city of Springfield, Springfield's professional architecture community, and the Phelps Grove Neighborhood Association.

The proposed new fire station represented a major challenge and a leap forward for the students. The results of their team efforts were extraordinary, in part because they were able to serve the community as professionals. They succeeded in large part because they cared a great deal about the project, the firefighters and the outcome, and, for six weeks, far less about sleep.

Besides, all of us love firehouses!

The city of Springfield was an interested and supportive partner in this feasibility study and studio. Key participants included: David Hall, Chief Hosea Lawrence, David Scheiderer, Phil Noah and Vince Helton, from the Fire Department; Mary Smith and Dave Rognstad, from the Planning Department; Pam Buck-Shay, from the Building Development Services Department; and Tom Beckley, from City Utilities.

The Phelps Grove Firehouse project also called substantially on the professional community: Larry Phillips (Pellham-Phillips-Hagerman) and Jerry Compton (The Wischmeyer Architects) during project development, and accompanied by additional architects for the final review: Tim Rosenbury, Andy Wells and Mike Harned (Butler-Rosenbury); Bob Stockdale (The Wischmeyer Architects); Terry Rowland, president of the Phelps Grove Neighborhood Association (Pellham-Phillips-Hagerman); and Mike Pentecost and David Beach (Pentecost Architects). Professors Jerzy Star-cewski and acting director Bruce E. Moore acted as studio consultants.

(Jonathan Teicher teaches design and theory at the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury College. He will leave Springfield soon to take on the responsibilities of director of Building Community for the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C.)

PHOTO CAPTION:

Drury students, in conjunction with the city of Springfield and area architects and engineers, designed the proposed Phelps Grove fire station.

INSET CAPTION:

The architect must incorporate long-term judgment the program will be outgrown or prove wrong, the client will move on, the building will be sold.