“What it’s like to be and work with an architect” … that’s the unofficial tagline for LifeofanArchitect.com – my little experiment I started just over 4 years ago. I chose those ten words off the top of my head because I thought they got right to the point of what you might find “content-wise” here on this site. Part of the process I go through when choosing what I am going to write about is generally influenced by what I happen to be doing at that moment. There isn’t an editorial calendar and I don’t plan ahead (but you probably could tell that). There is a goal to make my job as an architect more transparent in an effort to help people understand what it is that I actually do … how do I spend my day?
One way that I accomplish this is by using the social media platform “Instagram” to illustrate certain moments of my day – which can range from what I feel is quite exciting to mind-numbingly boring … sort of like talking to a structural engineer at a cocktail party. [shudder]
One of the extra-curricular activities I spend my time on is working with the Texas Society of Architects (TxA) – the state level component of the American Institute of Architects – as their Chair of Digital Communications. [Hmmmm … wonder how I go that job?] At any rate, one of the activities we are about to kick off is on Instagram, my favorite social media platform – particularly for architects. Let’s face it, architects take cool pictures, at least most of them do and if you are an architect, you should play along with us.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Take a picture from your desk – it can be of your desk, a view from your desk, a thing from your desk, etc.
Step 2: Post that picture to your Instagram account. If you don’t have one, take the plunge with me here and sign up. There’s going to be all sorts of cool things we are going to do this year.
Step 3: Add the hashtags #frommydesk and #TexasArchitects If you don’t know, adding a # in front of a word instantly makes that word searchable. This means you can click on any word that has a hashtag in front of it and all the pictures that have that hashtag will come up for viewing. Depending on the level of participation, we might even curate some of the pictures into an article on the Texas Society of Architects website.
Step 4: Follow txarchitects on Instagram (you can follow me as well if you aren’t already). Just so you know, there will probably be prizes at some point.
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For fun, I thought I would look back at a block of photos that I’ve posted to my Instagram feed that would have worked well with the #frommydesk hashtag. These photos are in chronological order starting December 1st, 2011 and include all sorts of things. I also think the word “desk” can be somewhat loosely defined … sometimes it’s my desk at the office, sometimes at the house, a concrete slab on a job site – there’s even a bar tabletop included in this series.
December 1st, 2011
“good times – not taking calls – deadline approaching – music playing“
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February 9th, 2012
“poor Cubebot … wrong place, wrong time“
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May 13th, 2012
“This is what I’m doing … what are you doing?”
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June 5th, 2011
“this is my “magazines to read later” pile… I’m starting to worry about my desk collapsing”
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June 7th, 2012
“I don’t remember taking a class that taught this when I was in architecture school”
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June 13th, 2012
“moved a drawing set from my desk and these pens fell out from the pages” #ridiculous
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October 18th, 2012
“so what’s the architects preferred consumption sequence with these M&M’s?”
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October 26th, 2012
“This is what my office did for lunch” #beer and napkin #sketches
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October 31st, 2012
“the moon is looking good from my desk” #architect #startingearly
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March 28th, 2013
“Commercial Pre-Construction meeting this morning and I brought a pink cup” #really
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May 1st, 2013
“a little job site math … all you need is a fat pen and some concrete” #construction
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August 10th, 2013
“concept assembly sketch for a modern house I will feature on LoaA” #vegetativeroof
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August 23rd, 2013
“and so it begins … #design #sketch #architect” #architecture
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September 5th, 2013
“this morning’s version of BIM – #sketching is still faster for me, old habits die hard”
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October 29th, 2013
“Research for a presentation … on “Awesomeness””
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November 5th, 2013
“FYI – sketching with a black pen is always more fun than sketching with a red pen”
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November 19th, 2013
“Quick sketch for Thursday’s annual “What to get an Architect for Christmas””
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November 26th, 2013
“Down and dirty layout concept sketches for our new office”
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December 5th, 2013
“Traveling and working … realized that I have a sofa doodle? on my project notes” #sketch
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January 26th, 2014
“Typical Sunday afternoon – except this design sketch is for me” (photo by @mborson) #architecture #sketch #design #architect
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I know there are a lot of Instagrammers out there, I hope you will participate in our hashtag event. Just remember to use the hashtags #frommydesk and #TexasArchitects (no spaces between words).
Writing this #frommydesk,
