What Does Ashley Do All Day?
Sometimes people are curious about what an architect actually does. The people who think they know are surprised when they hear the truth.
And, while this profession can come in MANY different forms, there are an increasing number of one-person architecture companies like Meldrum Design. So here’s a quick (and aesthetically pleasing) breakdown of what I (and many other architects) do all day…
Working from Home
This summer we built an office in our daylight basement. It’s tiny (82 square feet, 9.1 square meters) and it’s my little haven.
Here’s a photo of me and my only coworker, Sunny, in my office. You guys, it’s not done yet (it’s not even tidied up!) and I’m in my comfy clothes (aka. work uniform) so I can’t believe I’m showing you this photo. It was taken right now, as I write this. Yep, my monitor stand is a shipping box. Très chic.
Working from home is a gosh darn dream. Especially in an office like this where I’m surrounded by beautiful things that make me happy and/or inspire me. One day I’ll give you a tour of my office. But suffice it to say, I love the “commute” and not having to pack a lunch. A home office means flexibility in your day. It’s pretty sweet.
But it’s not all rosy. Working from home is mentally challenging, separating work life and home life is almost impossible. I make special efforts to “shut down” work for at least one day a week. For me, work is integral to life. Clients are friends. Creativity comes at random times. Projects don’t stop because I’m out of town. But having a home office exacerbates all that. It’s important to set boundaries. And as I continue to define my own boundaries, working from home gets better and better.
Day To Day
What does my daily grind look like, you ask? Why say it when I can show it? In a pie chart!
This is the average distribution of my week. Some people think I design pretty buildings all day. NOPE. Turns out running a design business requires a lot of unpaid hours & a lot of non-design work, who knew?!
Administration Tasks
Emails, estimates & contracts, time management & planning. Non-billable.
Design Documents
Turning pretty Floor Plans into pretty Elevations, Sections, Site Plans, and more! Billable.
Meetings
With clients, contractors, subcontractors, material distributors, etc. Billable.
Project Management
Emails and phone calls with clients, contractors, etc. Billable.
Travel
In my car or in a plane or on a bus, to job sites and potential clients all over the place. Sometimes with my pup. :) Billable & non-billable.
Networking/ Business Development
Building science forums (I love learning about buildings), local business mixers, one-on-one meetings, etc. Non-billable.
Schematic Design
Designing pretty Floor Plans. Yay! Billable.
Blog/ Marketing
Writing this little diddy. Working on my website. Non-billable.
Volunteering
Serving on committees and in organizations. Environmental Advisory Committee, Village Enhancement Committee, Sustainability Initiative, you get the point. Non-billable.
Permit/ Construction Documents
Adding all the notes and details to my pretty Design Documents. Most architecture companies spend a lot more time on these than I do. It’s part of my business model to keep the plans simple. Instead of sheets and sheets of detail drawings, I get the contractor involved very early in the process and we talk through how the building will be assembled. Then I make myself available to the contractor throughout construction to answer questions, brainstorm ideas, and supply detail drawings as necessary. Billable.
*A note about time tracking: these are the hours I am consciously “at work”, this does not include the other hours of the day I’m falling asleep thinking about a client’s floor plan or answering texts while feeding the pup.
I have to admit, I’ve never looked at this way before; it was so interesting putting this together.
And now I have a question for YOU:
What do you want to learn about? What can I help you figure out? I need blog ideas people! Email me at Ashley@MeldrumDesign.com. Or if you’re getting this in your inbox, just hit reply!