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Journal No. 43:
Staying Safe and Sane While Working Alone
PDF version of SPP Journal 43
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Letter from the Chair

The Small Project Practitioners Advisory Group is pleased to present Journal No. 43, Staying Safe and Sane While Working Alone. Our topic addresses issues relevant to the majority of architects in the United States. A recent AIA firm survey reveals that over 50 percent of all AIA members belong to firms of 2-1/2 staff or less. While I am not certain how a firm can measure for this half-person, Working Alone is something most small-project practitioners have experienced, and many have survived, happy to share their stories. Included in this issue are many precious nuggets of wisdom, tried and forged in the furnace of the free market we all live in. Margine Biswas's notes on the rewards of being on your own remind us all why we chose to practice on our own. Robert Aho shares his checklist of things to consider on your own, which is full of hard-earned wisdom. Jim Cline's take on the dangers of unreliable clients, and his suggestion that we all should learn how to "smell" them in advance is sure to save a fledgling practice from early ruin. And as if these individual lessons were not enough, Deb Pierce has compiled the collective wisdom from numerous Boston area practitioners into a bullet list organized around the things each liked about being alone, their hardest parts, and concludes with a set of recommendations for those considering a similar vocation.

It is with great pleasure that we present this 43rd issue of the SPP Journal as a continuation of our effort to further advance the practice of small-project architecture. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and challenge you to consider sharing your insights in a future volume of the SPP Journal.

—Kevin Harris, AIA
2008 Chair, AIA Small Project Practitioners Advisory Group

Features

On Sanity and the Quest for Stability
by Robert Aho, AIA
Okay, the first thing to do when questioning your sanity is to take assessment of the situation. What is real and what is just an emotion? The second thing to do is to make a plan that will solve all the problems. Read the full article.

Embracing Change
by Margine Biswas, AIA
Although getting the next project may be the greatest challenge for a young firm, the rewards of being on your own are immeasurable. It will give you the freedom to be creative, meet great people, and spend time with family and friends. Read the full article.

Sole Practitioners: Think Big… Work Small…Feel Good!
by David W. Carter, AIA
For the practitioner in solo practice, where creative integration happens in one head, with one set of hands, limited by one daily schedule, there are particular joys and challenges. To show how the joys can assist with the challenges, I offer some perspectives and some practical suggestions. Read the full article.

Thoughts of a Sole Practitioner on Working Alone
by James B. Cline, AIA
I was once offered a principalship at a small firm, which I ultimately turned down. The business consultant we were working with said that the word “principal” was just another way to say “working your butt off.” I think sole proprietorship means the same thing, only more so. Read the full article.

Sole Practitioner’s Survival Guide
by Bud Dietrich, AIA, ALA, NCARB
The most fundamental aspect to working from home is to actually work from home, which takes discipline and routine. Otherwise the day is lost to the countless distractions we all encounter. Read the full article.

Small Firm Pros, Cons, and Pointers
by Deborah Pierce, AIA
The author posed three questions to a number of colleagues in the Boston area, all of whom have consciously chosen to work solo, sometimes hiring short-term or part-time staff on an as-needed basis, for at least 10 years. Read the full article.

A Candid Response to a Common Intern Quandary
by Lee J. Poechman, AIA
The author responds to An Intern Perspective: What Drives the Next Generation of Architects by Robin Lourie, Assoc. AIA, who asked, "What makes an architecture intern stay in the field of architecture when more lucrative and satisfying opportunities present themselves elsewhere?” Read the full article.

Recent Thoughts on Sanity
by U. Sean Vance, AIA
For a time, I thought about the glorious beauty and praise the “master architect” must have felt, commanding ideas and people through the intertwined revelations of their imagination. How would I aspire to client relationships that were built from letters of love and wonder of the greatness of architectural thought? Read the full article.

Working Alone—On Efficiency
by Louis B. Smith, AIA
When every hat in the firm belongs to you, it is not possible to generate an economy of scale. There are no specialized crews to assign to specific tasks. So how can you be profitable if you do not have an economy of scale? The simple answer is to do less.
Read the full article.