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On-Line Course w/ MA Torres-MacDonald TA, Layne Scott
course material
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2010
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Posts
I felt like Mr. Nguyen had a very similar interest to mine current interest in wanting to further his understanding of building and connection. Personally, I am a very tactile learner, and what I do with my hands not only is committed to memory better, but I gain a more complete understanding of the entirety of the situation. I believe why Mr. Nguyen has been able to be so successful is because what he draws and designs he has already built with his hands, or at minimum has seen ample opportunity arise out of these building situations. I think what is most valuable about a design build education is the greater understanding of connection. When we draw and work in 2D, and even 3D digital models, we so often miss or underestimate the importance of these details.
ReplyDeleteAfter listening to Mr. Nguyen’s and hearing how he has gotten to the point at where he is today, owning his own firm as a design build, I think the build portion of his career is the most meaningful. Due to the fact that he and his firm are a design build they have a better understanding of how things go together as well as knowing the most quick and efficient way to build. In part to this, his designs take in to consideration the people building his drawings and whether or not it is actually feasible and economical. As I think of my future in architecture I think this key of having an in-depth understanding of building and constructing is crucial to becoming a good architect and producing good architecture.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adrianna and Kenny in all cases. It is absolutely necessary for all architects to fully understand how the buildings they design come together. Without this full understanding, the ethical architect is not doing his/her job to provide a feasible product to their clients. It is surprising that design-build is just now starting to become largely popular because of the great effect it seems to have on the design world. It definitely seems to divide the world of architecture into separate categories that help projects become more specialized to clients needs.
ReplyDeleteI think that the way Mr. Nguyen has formatted his company to a way that allows him to maximize profit. He has created a system where he can design and then turn profit by building his design the way he wants it built. I intend on taking the same approach he has taken in that, but I would also like to own the land. For example, I want to buy property design and build then lease it creating a constant income!
ReplyDeleteUpon listening to Mr. Nguyen's presentation on how his firm became what it is today, I feel that it further solidifies my hopes and goals for my future. A design-build firm, though being smaller, I feel allows the architect to have such a larger impact on every aspect of the design because they have to take into account all the construction aspects as well. Being able to understand how a building is put together from the smallest of details to the biggest components is a necessity and by being hands on early in his career, Mr.Nguyen has shown how much of a positive impact it has made later in his career. I hope to eventually be in as successful of a position in my career one day.
ReplyDeleteRecently I have spoken to a few successful residential architects and listened to their lectures. One thing that has been the most inspiring is that they have been able to develop their own style, no matter how unique it may be, and be successful with it. It is comforting to know that you don’t have to build the standard cookie cutter house and that as long as you produce a live able space and listen to the client, they will allow you to freely express yourself as an architect. Another interesting thing that I recently learned about these residential architects is that they don’t have to go running after jobs. Mr. Nguyen said that everyone just comes to him based on his reputation. In one of the lectures for this course it was said that one out of every ten jobs sought is earned. I guess if ten out of ten jobs come to your door and ask you to do the job that kind of changes that statistic a little bit. That must also mean that a lot of time that is usually dedicated to marketing and competitions goes straight into production, and reduces the overall overhead for the business.
ReplyDeleteIn regards specifically to MC2 architects, I am fascinated with their approach to design build. Mr. Nguyen made a good point it is sometimes quicker to just do something, rather than explaining how to do it and then waiting for them to complete the job. I have a feeling that there are less RFIs and confusion during the construction process when members of the design team are standing right next to you.
Overall, I am glad to have heard from the perspective of another style of firm, and it is helping me decide what type of architect I want to be in my life and realize the pros and cons of each size and style of firm.
I found MC2's success despite being a relatively small firm both interesting and inspiring. The fact that Mr. Nguyen has little intention to grow his workforce in numbers, yet still has a steady flow of clients and constantly completes many aesthetically beautiful jobs in this area of the country, in a time of economic downturn, is something very positive to look forward to in my future career as an architect. It shows that with great design success and client recommendation, there is work out there that can be brought to you (Mr. Nguyen said all of his clients come to him) even if you are a small firm.
ReplyDeleteI think a design build firm is one of the best a client could look for. Not only can the firm present their designs but stand 100% behind the construction of their projects more than a firm that contracts out for the construction phase of a project. Furthermore the employees of a such a firm are given the ability to learn the whole process instead of just the design side. Doing this allows them to do their design jobs better with the understanding of not only how things go together but the order in which they will be built. Finally it is very inspiring that Mr. Nguyen's firm have become successful in such an area while remaining at such a small size.
ReplyDeleteI think a design build firm would make the design part more successful in that you would have a better understanding of materials and the way they react and connect to other materials, making the the building more efficient and beautiful. I think being directly involved with the construction helps to create relationships with people who you would want to work with. I would like to work in a firm like this to help strengthen my knowledge of construction.
ReplyDeleteIn reading all of your comments, I'm personally very inspired by your reception of this presentation. I consider myself a preservationist, but I like to refer to myself as a contemporary preservationist. Their work challenges context in a diffent way. If you look at the Johnson house and consider the fault line as a marker of place and history of site, then their tectonic response is completely appropriate for the context. It offers another way of exploring the limitations of traditional historical settings.
ReplyDeleteListening to Mr. Nguyen discuss the way he runs his firm through the design build process and the experience he has gained through his years practicing this way further increased desire to want that specific type of firm. The most meaningful aspect of it all to me was how he would use his crews to provide the build aspect of some projects but on others he would only provide the design aspect. In doing this he left it completely up to the client’s discretion and would allow them to shop around for other contractors to see if they could get a better deal, to me this allowed him to still generate revenue from a desired project with the possibility of generating even more by keeping his “build” part of the firm competitive.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of working for a design-build firm because it would give me a better understanding of how a building is put together. I have always enjoyed working in the construction field because I want to know how a building is constructed, a design-build firm may be the right fit for me.
ReplyDeleteIn your interview, you talked alot about how much the construction side of Design Build takes. I was wondering if you could elaborate, because typically in a regular architecture firm Construction administration is still a very important part of the architects job. How does this differ from what you do?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the most meaningful use of the experience that we were able to learn about last week was that by being a design build firm the understanding of how to make the best possible drawing that gives itself to the most accurate bidding possible and understanding of what exactly it is going to take to build the project. I believe that this is the mark of a good drawing. Also when he mentioned whether or not they build their own projects is based more on an efficiency reasoning that anything else. With the example he gave, it would be much easier to just make your own sandwich then sit their and explain to someone else exactly how you like it and exactly what and how much of something you want on it. But if you wanted to make lets say 100 sandwiches than it would be more efficient to write out the instructions once and let someone else do it while they supervise or even get started on a new project. I believe that their business plan and style lets them have a very enjoyable firm where they build what they want but have no hold backs about letting big projects be built by big construction firms. I also like how they want to keep it small so they can keep real control over what is going on and make sure that everything they do is up to the par that they hold themselves too.
ReplyDeleteListening to Mr. Nguyen’s presentation further instilled the importance for an architect having a broad knowledge base in both the architecture and construction realms. His hands on experience is probably a large part of what makes his firm so successful. A solution to the issue that the Johnson house brought up could not have been executed or at least not as well as MC2 did without the knowledge and experience of set a design build firm. Mr. Nguyen’s talk was also very helpful in understanding how a design build firm functions. I have thought about my future career in architecture, but design build was never something I looked at too closely. Mr. Nguyen’s presentation definitely spurred an interest.
ReplyDeleteI would first of all like to thank you for coming in and speaking to our class. After hearing this lecture I view the organization of a design-build firm as probably one of the best solutions to many of the problems facing an architect. Having an in-house team to collaborate with is a definite benefit towards many of the issues that one would face. It also not only aids the architect in many of his decisions, but also reduces the pricing for the client as well as bringing in a greater percentage of the profit to the firm itself. Within all of the interviewer's lectures that have been presented, which have sometimes been complementing and conflicting, but in both cases bring up valid points to consider within the profession and bring a greater understanding to the overall field of architecture.
ReplyDeleteI was particularly interested in this interview for many reasons. I thought Mr. Nguyen’s incite on two fields, although strongly related, gave a broader perspective to the profession. Also, the story of how his firm came to be and where they are now is a great one. I felt that he was very straightforward on what is reasonable as a goal or preconceived direction on where to go as a student into the ‘real world’. There is definitely something to be said about getting your hands dirty and being in the field before drawing these things in plans. It would seem to me to be a great advantage, but as Mr. Nguyen stated it may just be step off the path of becoming an architect. If what you want to do is be an architect than start by working in a company that does just that. Maybe the thing to do is to focus on being a part of a firm that stresses intern development, site visits, and contractor relationships.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to learn first hand the strategies employed by a successful design build firm. I also enjoyed the “other side” of the spectrum that he represented as an architect standing beside a contractor. After hearing what Mr. Nguyen had to say, I truly believe that a strong design build firm can be a powerful competitor in the architectural realm.
ReplyDeleteLike Adrianna, I am also a very tactile person and the fact of being able to work with my hands helps me understand how things work and how they are put together. This can be very helpful when it comes to designing because we can foresee any problems and we can design things in way that they can build. Another thing is that by being design-built we built everything EXACTLY as we designed it without having to encounter any conflicts of interest.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very exciting interview for me. I have long admired the work of MC2 and being able to hear him explain his projects was fascinating. My passion is in residential architecture and I was very interested in how he got to where he is by starting on the construction side. I think that design/build is definately the way to go in projects that are as detailed as his. No one understands the connections within a building as well as the designer. His work is unique, stunning and clean. The path he has taken is something that I find very interesting and will definately keep in mind as I move forward in my own career.
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