
Things an architect should know - bookofjoe
https://www.readingdesign.org/250-things
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gnode
I feel like this would be improved with hyperlinks for context. Many of the
points seem to cryptically refer to dangers like "the energy embodied in
aluminum" presumably referring to how dangerous aluminium cladding is when on
fire. I'd like to know, for instance, what the context is for "the rate at
which that carpet you specified off-gasses"

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someone_welsh
"embodied energy" means the energy needed to create the material. So that
involved in mining aluminium, refining ore etc, moving it around the world
until it's built into a building.

Carelessly specified new carpets will off-gas VOCs to the detriment of the
local air quality (until there's none left in thecarpet material).

In both cases he's saying that an architect should be aware of the wider
context of their material choices and consequential effect on both the planet
and the building's inhabitants.

~~~
grigjd3
Refining aluminum is a particularly energy intense activity - much more so
than iron.

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thinkingkong
While this is a little... excessive and dare I say a slightly indulgent list,
I think it communicates a concept with merit.

Architecture is creating form which exists in a very complex system. Thats a
concept that we could at least extrapolate and apply to other industries.

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rurban
Most here are not trained architects. Well, I am a trained architect and also
worked as architect for over a decade. That's what we learned at school. That
what was considered important. And much more BTW. Architects are generalists.
Many architects went on to work in engineering, civil engineering, social
studies, informatics/computer science, physics, politics, literature, stage
design, city planning, movies, ... You name it, we did it.

~~~
brenschluss
Architect here. I also have a background in computer science.

What made you switch from architecture to software development?

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galfarragem
Another architect here. I didn't do it yet but I'm really considering a career
change. Why? Less exposition to market cycles. Architecture is a _terrible_
field to be during downturns. I passed through one, I won't repeat the
experience.

~~~
madeuptempacct
I thought it was basically impossible to get a decent architecture job without
being exceptional/connected. That's what turned me off from the field.

~~~
galfarragem
It's not far from reality and it only applies during bull markets. During bear
markets being exceptional/connected might not be enough.

As an anecdote, in 2009 when construction plummeted - downturn is a bit
delayed, investors finish ongoing buildings but don't start new ones - the
company where I was working downsized from 75 to 10 employees in a few months.
In small offices (with smallish projects) was even worse.

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madeuptempacct
What I really want to know is why I can't have a Soviet concrete-block box-
house built in the US for $20,000 yet.

Is it because you are really mostly paying for the land?

But still, building a house still runs at $100,000+. Why though.

Are any of the pre-fab companies taking off?

I want to buy a run-down house, tear it down, and build pre-fab on it for
$20,000, damn it.

Sorry, off-topic, but it seems like such an opportunity area for someone with
some capital.

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irrational
But, how much will the run-down house cost you? In my area there are so many
more buyers than houses available that people are buying shacks for many
hundreds of thousands of dollars.

~~~
madeuptempacct
I am in a fly-over and there are "upcoming" areas - pockets between the city
and the suburbs, within 10 mins of downtown and other "prestigious office
areas" that are almost sure to take off, but total ghetto now. It's not worth
risking $200,000 to build a fancy house there, but it's worth $15,000 land,
$15,000 tear down, and $20,000 pre-fab.

At least, that's my very-limited POV.

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pagade
> The relevant sections of the Code of Hammurabi.

Nice. Like: If a architect (builder) build a house for some one, and does not
construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its
owner, then that architect shall be put to death.

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mcherm
I'm not an architect (well, technically my job title is "Architect", but I'm
not _that_ kind of architect). But I'd be curious to see a list like this for
some other professions, just because it tickles my curiosity.

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bookofjoe
I'm tempted to create one for anesthesiologists (I'm a retired [38 years of
practice] neurosurgical anesthesiologist — I certainly have the time! But I'm
too lazy.

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octernion
do it! i'd love to see one for other fields. maybe just a list of 25 to start
;-)

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pbhjpbhj
I thought the hack went "make us a list of one" with the hope that once
they're over the hump of making a list that inertia will push them to do more.

~~~
bookofjoe
OK, OK... how about 10? Can you live with 10? 'Cause I just made this for you:
[https://www.bookofjoe.com/2018/09/10-things-an-
anesthesiolog...](https://www.bookofjoe.com/2018/09/10-things-an-
anesthesiologist-should-know-1-the-first-thing-to-do-upon-arriving-at-a-code-
blue-is-to-take-your-own-pulse.html)

~~~
pbhjpbhj
#7 will make you laugh!

Why in the hand?

Also, when I was in hospital (diverticular disease) they put the first IV in
my non-dominant arm (at elbow), then the second in my dominant arm .. the
second one ended up staying in much longer. I wonder how often that happens;
whether in some areas [ER?] it might be sufficiently often to warrant
reversing the rule-of-thumb?

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bookofjoe
Re: #7: it's true! Why in the hand? Because if you put it in the antecubital
fossa, you force the patient to keep their arm straight so as not to cause the
IV to infiltrate by bending the elbow — this effectively makes the arm
unusable. By putting the IV in the back of the hand, you enable full use of
that arm. In regards to your hospital experience with the two IVs you had:
it's impossible to predict how long an IV will remain functional. In regards
to which side to place the IV, in the ER you can omit this nicety: as we/they
say, "any port in a storm."

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anoncoward111
Is this meant to be art? Why should an architect know Shakespeare and QWERTY?

Should a welder know about quarks and neutrinos?

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ry_ry
Its clearly not a practical guide.

It was also posted 16 hours ago and sunk without trace, presumably because
nobody wanted to say 'this is stupid' incase it was genius and they appeared
thick.

It is pretty stupid.

~~~
monadgonad
I'm glad it was reposted, because I found it intriguing and inspiring for the
reasons mentioned in the current top comment:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18282678](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18282678)

It may not be _genius_, but I don't think it's stupid, and especially not
because it's an artistic rather than practical guide.

~~~
ry_ry
I dunno, if feels like an invitation to attach contextual meaning to a
selection of random phrases.

You could present this as a list of things ${profession} should know, and
somebody somewhere would find it a refreshing thought experiment.

I would question if those mental gymnastics reflect on the source, or on the
individual who created the meaning?

Without context its just a list of stuff with indeterminate intent - any
artistry is the result of the reader willing it into existence.

~~~
galfarragem
Believe or not, this fits very well as the informal curriculum of my Masters
degree in Architecture and is not random at all.

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dreamcompiler
> How to unclog a Rapidograph

My fingers just started spontaneously doing the unclogging motion when I read
that, and I haven't touched a Rapidograph in 30 years.

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Scarblac
Is there something in there about knowing optimal working conditions for
knowledge workers?

Because the modern office building as designed by current architects isn't it.

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jraines
The architects would likely chafe at this complaint and grumble something
about interior designers, client budgets, and clients' mistaking a trend for
good design

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twic
1\. How to arrange for air flow through office bathrooms

2\. That interior light reflected on the inside of a window ruins the view of
the sunset

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dudul
"How the pyramids were built"? Don't we get a monthly article on Yahoo about
the latest guy who claims to have cracked the mystery? :)

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nils-m-holm
So how _do_ you unclog a rapidograph? I've been wondering my whole life! -- No
sarcascm, real question!

~~~
noq123
What I do is to submerge the tip assembly in alcohol overnight / for a couple
of days.

