I’ve been practicing architecture for 25 years (actually closer to 26 now). I started a YAF (young architects forum) and am no longer a “young” architect by that standard. Next year I’ll turn 50 years old and am told that is when things begin. I can’t wait…I think.
So cue the nostalgic soothing music…nah, let’s cut to the chase. Here is a photo of me in second-year design studio and another of me today.
then and now
student……….running my own practice
using a desk my mother gave me in 1979…..using a desk my sister bought me in 1989
campus computers only………smart-phone
love architecture…………….love architecture
shirt untucked…………….shirt untucked
bolder colors……………..quite happy with black
Coca-Cola………………….Coke Zero
ink on cold-press illustration board………….Vectorworks/BIM
ruining brain cells with Zap-a-Gap (look it up)…………………what?
real teachers …………………..real clients
my money……..their money
signing student loan forms………………..signing proposals and change orders
name on apartment lease………………..name on mortgage
clueless about architecture ………………clueless about architecture
hadn’t yet met Amy (later than year)………..approaching 25 yrs with Amy
bumwad (I said it) and masking tape…………….bumwad and masking tape
20/20 vision……………..reading glasses and fading fast
idealistic………………….optimistic
curious theorist…………skeptical theorist
eager……………..asking questions
learning…………………..still learning
please read my friends’ perspectives for this #Architalks blog post.
Bob Borson – Life of An Architect (@bobborson)
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/then-and-now-architectural-design-or-accounting/
Matthew Stanfield – FiELD9: architecture (@FiELD9arch)
Where It All Went Right
Marica McKeel – Studio MM (@ArchitectMM)
From Then to Now…Residential Architect
Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet (@Jeff_Echols)
Well, How Did I Get Here
Mark R. LePage – EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect)
The Biggest Surprise of My Life as an Architect
Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Then & Now…and the middle
Nicholas Renard – Renard Architecture (@dig-arch)
15 Years of Architecture
Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
then and now: #architalks
Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Then-Now: A Schematic Stor
Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
then and now
Stephen Ramos – BUILDINGS ARE COOL (@sramos_BAC)
Big Ass Buildings
brady ernst – Soapbox Architect (@bradyernstAIA)
Pens & Fizzy Drinks: Or How to Set Measurable Career Goals
Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
How did I get here?
Michael LaValley – Evolving Architect (@archivalley)
Reflection on My Wonderful, Unexpected Career
Emily Grandstaff-Rice – Emily Grandstaff-Rice FAIA (@egrfaia)
Being the light in darkness
Jarod Hall – di’velept (@divelept)
The Joys of Being an Architect
Anthony Richardson – That Architecture Student (@thatarchstudent)
Then and Now
Kyu Young Kim – Palo Alto Design Studio (@sokokyu)
Career Path: Follow Your Heart
Nisha Kandiah – TCDS (@SKRIBBLES_INC)
Then & Now : Still Chasing the Dream
Jim Mehaffey – Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey)
The Reluctant Code Guru
Tim Ung – Journey of an Architect (@timothy_ung)
10 Lessons Learned from a Young Architect
Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
#Architalks 22 – Then and now
think | architect 
You might add: Narcissist then-narcissist now. Don’t be peeved. A non-narcissist architect is probably not any good anyway. It is the one trait that runs thru people with practices of any and every size. Only a few of us are really “corporate” types. Just sayin’…
I guess if it’s between narcissist and corporate type, I’ll take your description. I don’t do well with corporate types.
A lovely, straightforward way of comparing then with now! And yet another wife mentioned!
Thanks Mark. No, only one wife. I met Amy later in the year in which the first picture was taken – 1988. We dated through college and married in 1992. Perhaps I didn’t write that clearly.
Great list of things that have changed over the years of your practice. It is interesting to see how much some things have changed while others stay more or less the same.