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Get Your Hands Dirty!

10/18/2016

3 Comments

 
Picture
Contributed by Sheldon Wolfe
Among the things specifiers grumble most about are the typical architect's lack of knowledge about how things work and how they go together, and the belief that "If I can draw it someone can build it!"

Some architecture schools do include courses about the practical aspects of architecture, but those courses are often optional, so most architects graduate with a lot of knowledge about visual design, planning, and presentation, but little understanding of materials or construction.

It's fine to have a presentation about masonry, but so much more could be learned from participants getting their hands dirty. It's easy to draw a 4 x 4 x 8 brick, but what does it feel like?
It takes no more effort to draw a 3-5/8 x 2-1/4 x 11-5/8 brick or a 3-5/8 x 3-5/8 x 15-5/8 brick, or, for that matter, a 12 x 8 x 16 concrete masonry unit, but what difference does it make to the mason? It doesn't take any longer to draw a large masonry unit, but does the size affect installation time?

Until you pick up a brick, mix the mortar, and try to build a wall, you simply cannot appreciate what your details mean in the real world. This shortcoming presents a tremendous opportunity for continuing education programs.

In June of 2000, twenty-five architects from my office went to the masonry apprentice school in St. Paul for an afternoon of fun, down-and-dirty continuing education. The program was set up by Olene Bigelow, our local International Masonry Institute (IMI) rep, and contact for the Brick Industry Association (BIA).

The apprentices set up a series of stations, each showing a specific part of the job. Demonstrations included reading drawings and specifications, estimating, mixing mortar, laying brick and CMU of various sizes, installing door frames, and more. After the book learnin' discussions, the architects got their hands dirty at each station and learned how their decisions affected construction and schedule.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of CSI visited the school and followed the same program. It's easy to complain about what architects don't know, but they are not alone. Specifiers may know more of the technical properties of materials, but many have had no more practical experience in construction than architects.

I used masonry as an example, but similar programs could be done for everything that goes into a building.

ALL of us can us do better if we know more about how other team members do their jobs.
3 Comments
Steve Webber link
10/19/2016 04:19:19 pm

Construction and interpretation of the specifier / Architect drawings by the onsite teams is hard enough sometimes but building the detail that has been drawn is seldom difficult sometimes, such as getting a physical hand in the place required to build the detail. More architects should spend time in a training environment to see how the products fit together or not.

Reply
Brent Redmon
10/21/2016 09:55:17 am

The good news is that this seems to be a growing trend. There are several Product Reps in my area that are offering 'Hands On' continuing education (not just passing around samples) as part of their educational packages. It is something CSI should definately look into with some seriousness: How to get materials training back into the Architects office.

Reply
Sheldon Wolfe link
11/17/2016 06:45:24 pm

Architecture students - and their future clients - will benefit if this type of activity is a mandatory part of their education. There is more, much more, to architecture than planning and presentation.

The original article had a few pictures; see them at http://swconstructivethoughts.blogspot.com/2016/09/get-your-hands-dirty.html.

Reply



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