MORNING POST-ITS
Before getting to the real work, Al checks the calendar in the meeting room to make sure all important dates have been considered. He then reaches over and moves a deadline up a week because "you just can never predict how it will all turn out." Architecture is only one facet of a very complicated process, and every group needs to be up to date and on time or nothing will get completed. Amidst all that chaos the calendar keeps everything in line and is scheduled up to three months in advance so that no deadlines creep up.
SCREEN TIME
Al York works at his desk using three screens at a time to complete all of his work. He has to multitask due to the sheer volume of work. “Real estate is the key," he says. "When it comes to multiple files, the more screen space the better.” At the moment he is in Google Sketchup working on a rough draft proposal for one of his projects. Most of the time one screen is dedicated to emails one is important notes and ideas while the final one is reviewing the project at hand.
PLAQUE BUILD-UP
As he continues to work in Sketchup, I strike up a conversation about all the framed papers on the wall. Many of them are simple things like bachelor's and master’s degrees while most are awards for various projects over the years. The only reason he sits with them in front of him is that it was the only wall big enough to hold them all. “I would never take credit for an award, but I would like to think I was influential in some.”
GET THE LEAD OUT
After spending a long time in Google Sketchup, Al prints of a view of the building then takes sketch paper and a pencil to it. He then does a rough trace and modifies the building ever so slightly to make many different ideas and proposals for the final product. ”Computers are great," Al says, "but for generating ideas fast, they can’t beat pencil and paper.”
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO IMPROVE A CITY
Al works with Adam on a presentation to do a renovation for the city of Austin. While he prides himself on his personal abilities, he does enjoy working with his coworkers because it’s always nice to bounce ideas around. With more people working on a single project you draw from more ideas and the better the end result.
BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER
While most modern work consists of computer animations, floor plans will always be a key part of an architect’s work as Al demonstrates in this photo. He reaches over and flips through page after page of electrical, floor and plumbing plans, slowly leaving comments and “Redlining” each photo. “Redlining is the process of correcting and elaborating on a set of drawings remains a central element of the quality control process.” Most of the time it’s done in red ink because the red will stand out the best and by the end of a project most plans are just covered in red.
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
Al now goes through with a key circling important numbers and as he does he shows off years of practice and experience. Most redlining is not done because of mistakes but to call attention to a particular subject. Above this doorway is the word panic and through a careful explanation he explains the meaning behind it. “This drawing explains to the building official how the building will facilitate evacuation in case of an emergency. A big concern of all architects is life safety.” The word panic is so in case there is a mob pressing you against a door and you can’t reach the nob you just press the bar and the door opens." These small things we take for granted never occur to most of us, but to Al "panic" is a part of daily life.
A NEW WORKSPACE
After returning home at 7 p.m., all goes back to work but this time not for pay but as a father. He jumps over to the grill and works on making dinner for his three very hungry teenage boys. "Work doesn’t stop when I leave the office,” he exclaims after a long day only prolonged by cooking and helping his kids with projects and homework.
For his photojournalism photo essay project, junior Dylan York chose to document a day in the life of his father, a principal architect at McKinney York located in East Austin. Dylan‘s essay is both documentary and narrative. By sharing the story of a typical day at the office, Dylan discovered a lot about his father’s work and why he is able to do it well. The Yorks went to work together one weekday in December and here is what happened during an eventful, typical day in the life of a principal architect.