Tangents by Out of Architecture – Details, episodes & analysis

Adrian Maldonado, Career Advisor at Out of Architecture, is a seasoned professional with a background in architecture who made a successful transition into the field of UX design. With a passion for design and a knack for problem-solving, Adrian brings a unique perspective to his role as a lead UX designer. He is dedicated to helping individuals navigate career transitions, leveraging his experience to guide others towards fulfilling and meaningful professional paths.

Highlights:

• The importance of networking and strategic planning in transitioning from architecture to UX design.
• The value of transferable skills and the impact of attitude and work ethic in career transitions.
• The role of perseverance and grit in overcoming challenges and achieving professional growth.
• The exploration of design principles, problem-solving approaches, and human-centered perspectives offers valuable insights for aspiring UX designers.

Learn more about Adrian here: https://www.outofarchitecture.com/bio-adrian-maldonado

In this episode, Jacki Schaefer shares her journey in architecture, highlighting the challenges faced during her career, the importance of job security, and the impact of curiosity on personal and professional growth. She discusses the value of architecture education in developing critical thinking skills and self-awareness. Jacki emphasizes the need for individuals to align their career choices with their values and passions for long-term fulfilment.

Key insights include reflections on the architecture industry, the significance of finding one's identity beyond a profession, and the transformational power of self-exploration and authenticity in career decisions.

Highlights:

• The importance of job security and the need for individuals to explore diverse career paths within and outside the architecture industry.
• Architecture education instills critical thinking and self-reflection skills that can transcend the profession and benefit personal growth.
• Curiosity is a powerful driver for success, enabling individuals to seek opportunities aligned with their values and interests.
• Finding one's identity beyond a specific profession is crucial for long-term career satisfaction and personal fulfillment.
• Networking and seeking diverse experiences contribute to self-discovery and lead to a deeper understanding of individual goals and aspirations.

Learn more about Jacki here: https://www.outofarchitecture.com/bio-jacki-schaefer

Jeffrey Yoo Warren, is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and crafter whose work explores themes of cultural heritage, identity, and community. Jeffrey shares his unique journey from studying architecture to finding his calling in artistic practices deeply rooted in historical research and traditional craftsmanship.

Through his residency at the Library of Congress, Jeffrey talks about the reconstruction of early Asian American communities and neighbourhoods, creating immersive virtual and physical models that invite viewers to experience and connect with these often-overlooked histories. 

He also shares his passion for woodworking, papermaking, and learning traditional Korean crafts, allowing him to forge a tangible link with his ancestral roots and cultural inheritance.

Highlights:

• Embracing the personal and specific aspects of one's identity and cultural background can lead to a deeper, more meaningful artistic practice, challenging the concept of universality as a design goal.
• Finding joy and fulfilment in the creative process is essential, and recognizing when work no longer aligns with one's passions is a valuable lesson.
• Collaboration and building community connections, especially within diasporic or underrepresented groups, can foster a profound sense of belonging and inspire new ideas.
• Trusting one's instincts and exploring seemingly tangential interests can uncover unexpected paths to self-discovery and artistic expression.
• Preserving and reviving traditional crafts and practices can serve as a powerful means of reconnecting with cultural heritage and transmitting ancestral knowledge.

Guest Bio:
Jeffrey Yoo Warren (he/him) is a Korean American artist educator, illustrator, community scientist and researcher in Providence, RI, whose recent work combines ancestral craft practices and creative work with diasporic memory through virtual collaborative worldbuilding. He has spent years creating collaborative community science projects which decenter dominant culture in environmental knowledge production. Jeff is an educator with Movement Education Outdoors and AS220, and part of the New Old art collective with Aisha Jandosova, hosting art-making and storytelling events with older adults; he is also the 2023 Innovator in Residence at the Library of Congress for my ongoing project Seeing Lost Enclaves: Relational reconstructions of erased historic neighborhoods of color.
His current artistic practice investigates how people build identity and strength through their interactions with artifacts and histories, and the ways that objects can tell stories that people can be part of in the present.

Our guest today, Lauren Kimball, Experience Design Director @ Edelman, shares her journey from architecture to advertising. She emphasizes the importance of being honest and open in client meetings and offers advice for architecture students looking to explore alternative career paths. Lauren also discusses her platform, Find by Design, which showcases black designers across various disciplines. Through her experiences, she highlights the power of collaboration and the value of pursuing work that you are passionate about.

Highlights:

• Architecture students have an amazing foundation in human-centered design thinking that is applicable across industries.
• Having a diverse range of experiences, saying yes to new opportunities, and working on passion projects outside of work can open new career doors.
• The advertising industry moves at a much faster pace than architecture which allows for more experimentation and learning.
• Being honest about what you do and don't know builds trust - it's ok to say you'll find the answer and get back to people.
• Hire people smarter than you and find partners who complement your skills rather than trying to do everything

Guest Bio:

Lauren’s experience has been rooted in design since the beginning. Having started her career in sports and entertainment architecture, her world has blended digital and physical to tell brand stories in impactful ways. She has made a career developing teams across the many facets of the design process, including consumer research, experience design, creative technology, and production. She's led interdisciplinary creatives through the design of sprawling music festivals, Olympic master plans, and digital shopping experiences, all to help clients understand their why, and how that translates to an effective design solution. In 2023, Lauren launched FIND By DESIGN, a space created to make it easier to find and support Black designers. The carefully curated directory allows anyone to find talented designers across the graphics and illustration industries, and the platform has already expanded to the UK + Ireland.
www.findbydesign.org

William Dodge shares his unique career journey, from applying to architecture school multiple times, working as a janitor, and eventually becoming a managing principal at a major architecture firm.He discusses his approach to architecture - creating community-focused spaces rather than just facilitating buildings. William talks about starting his own practice, Public, to do great work with wonderful people while getting paid his value. He also runs a public art firm called A Gang of Three. Throughout the conversation, William offers advice on being fearless, hustling, and doing your best work with what you have. He emphasizes the importance of authenticity, resilience, and creating situations where everyone wins rather than winners/losers.

Highlights:

• Architects often become facilitators of buildings rather than builders of community-focused spaces.
• Take jobs and risks - you immediately fail by not trying. Rejection is not the end.
• Find how your unique skills and talents can provide value, even if you're not the best at one particular thing.
• Do what you love, work with great people, make a difference - you should be able to do these without sacrificing pay.
• Life is too short to work for "assholes." Build a culture where people are valued and encouraged to eventually move on.
• Show up, be yourself, do your best work - this attracts the right clients and opportunities.

• Alluvial Decoder
  The award-winning project William discusses. Built for $50k
  https://www.agangofthree.com/howwework
• Documentary on Vernon Pratt (Jake’s artist Grandfather)
  https://www.pbs.org/video/all-the-possibilities-zuvjrs/
• Gwen Jorgenson (Unlikely Olympic gold medalist that William mentioned)
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Jorgensen

Guest Bio:
William H. Dodge is a multidisciplinary designer, design strategist and conceptual artist based in North Carolina (USA). He is Founder and Design Principal of p-u-b-l-i-c, Co-founder of A Gang of three (public art), and Founder and Director of The Vernon Pratt Project (art non-profit). He has both led and collaborated on projects at nearly every scale and has served as a key advisor to some of the world’s premier design firms. He regularly serves as a visiting critic and guest lecturer on the subjects of art, architecture, design, technology, and innovation at various institutions internationally.

Our guest today, Jill Shah, Production Designer at Future Colossal, shares how she capitalizes on her abilities as a generalist, asserts herself to create opportunities, and harnesses the power of storytelling in design.

Highlights:

• Leverage spatial design skills from architecture in experience design by focusing on technology integration and storytelling instead of just function.
• As a generalist, talk confidently about your broad skillset and give examples of how you've tackled challenging, multidisciplinary projects.
• Be assertive in asking for opportunities to expand your role and prove yourself; people appreciate self-starters.
• Storytelling is key in experience design - use lighting, sound, sequence etc. to evoke emotions.
• Documentation is critical but often neglected - market your work by taking time to create a "package" about each project.

Guest Bio:
Jill is a New York-based experiential artist and creative technologist who leverages algorithms to (new)ance our physical environments. Driven by her passion for more humanized nuances in an increasingly mechanized world, her work allows users to touch, feel and ponder over the role that algorithms and technological advancements can play in pushing ‘craft’ to newer boundaries.
Jill received her MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design and since then has served as an Experiential Production Designer at Future Colossal, an award-winning innovation lab that designs and executes memorable interactive spaces. Motivated by the belief that skills and knowledge must be accessible, she is also a passionate educator who has taught design classes and facilitated several technical workshops at the New School.
https://jillshahh.com/

In this episode, I spoke with Ozzie Gonzalez, Principal and Owner of P3 Consulting, (people, planet, profit) about his fascinating journey from architecture into environmental consulting. Ozzie has applied his architecture skills to help companies develop sustainability policies and embed social responsibility into their work.  

We discuss how Ozzie got started in green building, and expanded into broader corporate strategy during the recession. He shared great insights on working with clients ready for bold change and bringing more creativity into consulting.

I appreciated Ozzie’s perspective on creating rich human experiences through his work. It was wonderful to hear how he lives out his values while guiding organizations to address problems in new ways.

Highlights:

• Ozzie was drawn to architecture as a way to create better human habitats after studying environmental science. He was especially interested in sustainability from the start of his career.
• He started by doing green building consulting for architecture firms before transitioning into teaching sustainability courses during the 2008 recession.
• Ozzie helped develop sustainability policies and standards for global manufacturing companies, allowing him to have impact beyond individual buildings.
• He looks for companies talking boldly about sustainability goals but struggling to meet them as potential clients.
• Ozzie aims to bring creativity into his consulting process through music, art, and playful activities to spark innovation.
• His goal now is helping people have the fullest human experience possible through his work.

Guest Bio:
Ozzie is an artist, a problem solver, and a change agent. Trained as an Environmental Scientist and as an Architect, Ozzie has spent his 25-year career journey dedicated to advancing the practice of sustainable and equitable development in communities throughout the US and Latin America. Using his background in the performing arts, Ozzie utilizes story, music, and narrative style to humanize even the most technical subject matter and capture the imaginations of clients and audiences alike.Ozzie has worked in the construction and design industry throughout his career. He has been involved in sustainable design projects, equitable contracting, and now owns his own consulting practice dedicated to helping clients implement strategies to confront the challenges posed by changes in technology, policy, and culture. In addition to running his own consulting practice—P3 Consulting—Ozzie serves as the Board President for Trimet, Portland’s regional transportation authority.

And if you're in Portland, Oregon, you can find Ozzie at the Trio Club on Tuesdays leading open mics and playing music!

Our guest today, Benjamin Llewellyn joins me to share his winding journey from graduating with an architecture degree to becoming a freelance illustrator and background artist for animated television shows. Though architecture and illustration seem different, Benjamin finds his architectural background gives him an edge in creating realistic environments and backgrounds. He enjoys the constant variety and creativity of freelance work.
 
See Ben's work here: https://www.vagabondsketchbook.com

Highlights:

• Benjamin's journey from architecture school to working odd jobs before breaking into animation
• Building a portfolio and networking to make connections in new industries
• The Challenges and Rewards of Freelancing
• The Art of Background Design in Animation
• The Power of Storytelling in Design
• Embracing your inner "weirdo" rather than a traditional career path

Check out OOA's other podcast Redlines

Guest Bio:
Ben Llewellyn is an architecturally-focused concept artist and background designer with an knack for balancing utility and fantasy.

Our guest, Charlie Edmonds, Co-Founder of Future Architects Front, calls for collective action to address exploitative practices and envisions a world where architecture prioritizes social needs over capital interests.

Charlie is the co-founder of Future Architects Front (FAF), a grassroots organization working to address issues like unpaid overtime, low fees, and poor construction quality in the architecture industry.

Charlie discusses how he and co-founder Priti became frustrated with the exploitative conditions in architecture and started FAF to advocate for wider political and economic shifts to prioritize social and ecological needs over capital interests.

He shares how FAF takes a systems view to trace architecture's problems back to neoliberal policies, and says the Covid pandemic helped reveal many of these flawed structures. Charlie believes organizing labor collectively is key to creating change, and worker unions have historically been powerful forces in achieving better conditions.

Highlights:

• The architecture industry has endemic issues like unpaid overtime, low fees, and poor construction quality.
• These problems can be traced back to neoliberal policies that prioritized profits over social needs.
• The pandemic exposed many flaws in work practices and productivity beliefs.
• Collective labor organizing through unions is a powerful way to create societal change.
• Architectural skills like visualization can be useful tools for political and social justice campaigns.
• Solidarity is a crucial concept in driving collective action and working towards a more equitable and sustainable future.

Further Reading/Info:

• Future Architects Front (FAF)
• Death to the Calling by Marisa Cortwright 
• All Design Is Political, Not All Politics Is Design by Leijia Hanrahan
• The Funambulist Magazine
• The Architecture Lobby
• Architectural Workers United

Guest Bio:

Charlie is a London-based designer and writer working across the fields of architecture, climate transition, and political economy. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where he co-founded Future Architects Front with Priti Mohandas. Charlie is a systems designer at CIVIC SQUARE in Birmingham where he works to demonstrate the necessity for a devolved urban climate transition.Through FAF and CIVIC SQUARE, Charlie’s work seeks to establish emergent forms of anti-capitalist organising situated within the (re)production of the built environment.

We're taking a break from Tangents this week for the holidays so we wanted to share with you the latest episode from Redlines, Out of Architecture's podcast where we dive deeper into the core issues that plague the design profession, and evaluate how they result in everyday conflict, discomfort, and workplace turmoil.

You'll hear from Chris (not his real name) and how he faced a series of traumatic and unfair experiences over the course of his architecture career. Despite his lifelong passion for architecture, Chris dealt with difficult bosses, excessive overwork, sexual harassment, lack of appreciation, and ultimately wrongful dismissal. His story highlights the need for positive change in architecture's problematic power dynamics, management issues, and lack of work-life balance.

Find out more about Redlines here
Or listen to the rest of Tangents here