Architect 2016-01

AIA PRACTICE JANUARY 2016 AIA Architect
3:40 p.m. “The most challenging part of teaching
is the time outside of the classroom. It’s developing
the curriculum, the coursework, finding the best way
to present the information, grading, writing rubrics.
It just takes a lot of time. I’m in the classroom about
seven and a half hours a week.”
6:10 p.m. “I feel like I’m always rushing everywhere
I go, especially on Wednesdays. My firm is really
flexible. I can come in when it works for me and leave
when I need to. If I need to leave during the day for
my child’s doctor appointment or a holiday concert,
it usually isn’t an issue.”
“ There have been a lot of
times in my life that I’ve
wanted something—no,
actually, I’ve needed
something—but I’ve been
afraid to ask for it. The
worst that is going to
happen is that the answer
will be ‘No,’ and that is
certainly the answer if
you don’t ask.”
—Amy Kalar, aia
6:20 p.m. “If dinner can’t be made incredibly
fast, the kids get grumpy. As a result, they eat
things like hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly,
grilled cheese, quesadillas, and chicken nuggets.
Tonight it’s tacos with broccoli.”
7:05 p.m. “Either I or my husband clean up
the dinner table and do the dishes. The other
hangs out with the kids—playing, reading, doing
homework, etc. We don’t watch TV in our house—
except for our Friday-night movie night!”
6:30 p.m. “The culture of long hours in architecture
is pervasive. We all want to do a good job, but when
you are a parent you want to back off a little and
spend more time with your families. This also seems
to happen right when women and men tend to be
rising into roles with more responsibility.”
8:55 p.m. “Work for me at this time isn’t so much
the billable stuff. It’s catching up on email, working
on the blog, or reviewing upcoming meetings. I’m
a late-night person, so I get more done during this
time period than I do during the day.”
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