Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
Have you ever heard of the Dancing House, one of the strangest and most famous buildings in the world? It sits on the banks of the Vltava River in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It's a nine-story glass building designed in the shape of a man and a woman dancing. It was built in 1996 and houses a number of companies, hotels, and restaurants. Credit for its one-of-a-kind design goes to the Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and the Croatian architect Vlado Milunic. You just read that the Dancing House was built and designed by engineers, but we haven't yet told you which engineering specialty is actually responsible for designing and constructing the various buildings found around the world, whether residential towers, houses, bridges, dams, corporate buildings, or anything else. The on-site construction work is handled by civil engineers, while everything related to determining what the building will look like from the outside and inside, and producing its drawings and plans -- whether on paper or using engineering design software -- is the responsibility of the architect.
Meet the Writer: Waleed Abo Omiraa
What You'll Actually Do
The core tasks and responsibilities that fill a typical day.
- Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.
- Consult with clients to determine functional or spatial requirements of structures.
- Prepare contract documents for building contractors.
- Integrate engineering elements into unified architectural designs.
- Administer construction contracts.
- Represent clients in obtaining bids or awarding construction contracts.
- Design or plan construction of green building projects to minimize adverse environmental impact or conserve energy.
- Design structures that incorporate environmentally friendly building practices or concepts, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
- Perform predesign services, such as feasibility or environmental impact studies.
- Plan or design structures such as residences, office buildings, theatres, factories, or other structural properties in accordance with environmental, safety, or other regulations.
- Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
- Direct activities of technicians engaged in preparing drawings or specification documents.
- Meet with clients to review or discuss architectural drawings.
- Develop marketing materials, proposals, or presentations to generate new work opportunities.
- Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
- Conduct periodic on-site observations of construction work to monitor compliance with plans.
- Monitor the work of specialists, such as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, interior designers, or sound specialists to ensure optimal form or function of designs or final structures.
- Plan layouts of structural architectural projects.
- Create three-dimensional or interactive representations of designs, using computer-assisted design software.