Architecture is one profession where its professionals concentrate more on their time working for others rather than working for their business. Architects would rather spend time being paid by the hour than counting revenues. But considering that the average salary for an architect is $80,000, it’s no wonder they’d instead choose to work by the hour. Still, having your own business can have its benefits. One of which is that you can be your boss.
Creating Your Design
If there is one thing that architects are passionate about, they can make their designs into reality—many architects dream of creating their masterpiece and being known for it. However, because most architects choose to work by the hour and be employees for other firms, this dream rarely happens.
When working for another firm, architects have to work with teams. They have to learn how to become team players. Considering most new architects require experience to climb the ladder, this isn’t a bad thing. However, eventually, these architects lose their passion for the craft. Moments of inspiration sometimes come by. Some architects would like to create something for themselves, but this is usually blocked by teams’ hierarchy, leaving little room for architects to leave a mark in history. But there are some instances where architects do start creating and implementing their designs. Entrepreneurial architect Johnathan Segal did precisely this.
Johnathan Segal is one of the most renowned architects currently in the US. He is both the designer, contractor, and project manager for his clients. There is very little room for compromise as he has fully integrated his passion for his craft into his business. This led him to create his exquisite designs for the houses of his clients. Additionally, his love for innovation has led him to receive his own awards. His passion for his craft pushed him to pursue a business where his love and legacy continue to flourish. However, there is another thing that Johnathan Segal does that is in line with his passion as an architect. That one thing is teaching.
Teaching Others
Architects are born teachers. Architecture isn’t a profession meant to be spent alone. Designs aren’t meant to be sitting in the dark and left forever forgotten; they are intended to be taught to newer architects so they can propagate and master their craft. These designs are meant to advance architectural knowledge to new heights. Johnathan Segal is one of the many architects who aim to teach this.
Architect as Developer is a project made by Johnathan to help teach architects how they can be their own bosses. From introducing new ways to protect metal gutters in roofs of houses to making the right financial decisions for your firms, all of these lessons are taught in Architect as Developer. This project is meant to create a burning passion inside architects to develop their firms instead of working for others, the same way Johnathan did. And through the power of teaching, he continues to integrate his passion into his work, but this time it has a social value. Social value is one of the more exciting ways how architects integrate their passion into their businesses. It can be traced back to one of the greatest architects in history: Leonardo Da Vinci.
Social and Historical Value
One way to integrate passion into a business is to do outstanding works that are still remembered by those that come after you. This is how Leonardo Da Vinci integrated his love for design into the world’s memory.
Businesses are legacies, and legacies are meant to be remembered. By creating great design and art pieces, Leonardo has fully flourished as an architect and an artist. By working hard for his personal growth, he has created works with inherent social and historical value: works that are fully remembered centuries after his time. Much like Leonardo, Frank Gehry, the owner of Gehry’s Technologies, created works that have social and historical value.
Frank Gehry’s work can be found in many industries. His complex works are meant to be remembered, especially in the automobile and aerospace industries. By working his passion into his business, he created works with social and historical values. His passion has led him to be remembered by architects of today. His company has turned to be his real legacy that made his memory eternal.
The integration of passion into one’s work is a dream that every architect has. However, by working for others and not in your own business, you waste your talent and, eventually, your identity. Becoming an architect means to create something that has value, and that value should be traced back to you. This idea is how the architects from this article integrated their passion into their businesses. And why you should do the same thing in your profession.
