Image © Forrest Jessee

为什么建筑师非常适合新兴事务所
Why Architects are Super Well-Suited for Startups

由专筑网李韧，邢子编译

本文最初由Jude Fulton发表，标题为“为什么建筑师非常适合新兴事务所？”

This article was originally published by Jude Fulton on Medium under the title "Why Architects are Super Well-Suited for Startups".


Left Image Courtesy City of New York and Friends of the High Line; Right Image © Iwan Baan. ImageThe Highline; Rendered view and reality.

1、训练有素的建筑师能够构思大场面

我们常常躺着构思世界的样子，并且通过相应的语言词汇表达出来，但是，一整个星期我们也许只能画出一个平面图，但是我们一直在努力，同时也了解其所适用的空间范围。

2、我们反复不断地学习

建筑师需要通过平面图来了解流线系统，当然也可以通过视频。我们通过制作手工模型来分析建筑的三维形态，分析它是否适合适应于当前的城市尺度与背景。建筑师需要构思多重假设，许多原型都有着不同的尺度与视角。每一件优秀的作品都用于检测不同的空间效果，亦或是整体契合度。建筑师正是通过这种方式来快速地更新自己的知识体系。

3、与上条相关的是，建筑师具有快速构思与具体实施的能力

建筑师需要以外界的视角来构思建筑。因为建筑造价太高，并且设计过程较为复杂，建筑师需要通过不同的媒介来进行构思：
a)纸（手绘草图→电脑制图→绘制数字平面图、剖面图、立面图）
b)模型（手工模型→3D真实模型）
c)效果图（建筑构思的数字图像）

只是为了满足人们的需求，建筑师便需要经历绘图、制作模型、打印图纸的漫长而艰难的过程。

1. Architects are trained to imagine and pitch the big-picture vision.
We’re pretty comfortable imagining “a world where…” and expressing what that would look and feel like in very tangible terms. Sure, we may only be drawing the first floor plan this week, but we’re doing it, knowing how it will fit into the big picture vision.

2. We test and learn by making lots of things, iteratively.
Architects test circulation by drawing a plan. Or making a film. We assess three-dimensional form by creating at a physical model. We evaluate whether it fits into the city by placing that model into a larger, contextual site model. Architects test hypotheses by making. Many prototypes at different scales, visible from several different perspectives and angles. Each ‘product,’ which has to be beautiful in its own right, serves to test different hypotheses and should offer insight into the larger thesis as a whole. Within each experiment, iterate quickly.

3. Related to #2, architects are rapid prototype-rs and ship-pers by nature.
Architects prototype and build (ship) in order to convince others of their vision. Because buildings are expensive and hard to make, we build and ship prototypes in a variety of media:
a) paper (hand sketches → computer drawings → measured digital plans, sections and elevations)
b) Models (physical, 3-dimensional represenations of the real thing) and; c) Renderings (digital drawings of your vision of the building). At the end of the day, architects draw, make, print, and ship fast in order to convince others of our vision.


Top Image ©Atelier Peter Zumthor; Bottom Image courtesy of LACMA.

4、建筑师习惯了不确定性和各种变化因素

这一点在建筑学子身上的表现特别明显。在建筑学院中，事物的更新迭代便非常迅速。你需要不断地推翻过去然后继续前行，在这里，没有所谓的神圣想法。在建筑学院的第一个学期，各种变化便时有发生，但重要的是，你拥有这个构思过程，你可以持续地构思出好的方案。

5、建筑师擅长系统思考

执行力就是王道。无论内容与方式，诸如管道、机械、覆层等各个部件都必须经过系统地安装。有时候希望是美好的，但是项目的成功要素仍然在于深思熟虑的思考过程。因此，建筑师对于建筑项目来说就如同前锋对于球队一般重要。

6、与上条相关的是，建筑师同样能够分阶段思考

一个项目要经过诸多阶段，其中有方案设计→深化设计→施工文件→投标与协商→开始施工。许多新兴公司所接触的项目也是如此，你会要求投资方进行某个阶段的资金投资，同时你也要告诉他们在这个阶段，你们会给出怎样深度的设计成果。

4. Architects are okay with rapidly changing plans and uncertainty (the pivot).
Architecture students, especially. Things change really quickly in a normal week of architecture school. You learn to ‘kill your darlings’ and move forward. No ONE idea is sacred. Pivoting happens weekly, sometimes daily in your first year of architecture school, and you realize that if you let your first idea go, you may move on to produce something even better.

5. Architects think in terms of systems
Execution is everything. Not just the ‘what’ (plumbing, mechanical, cladding), but the ‘how’ and the sequence in which systems must be installed. Vision is great, but thoughtfully-considered execution is critical to the success of the project. As a result, architects are often considered to be the ‘quarterbacks’ of a building project.

6. Related to #5, architects are taught to think in Phases
You can’t build a house without going through the phases: Schematic Design → Design Development → Construction Documents → Bidding and Negotiation → Start of Construction. Startups are similar in that when you raise, you’re asking investors to fund a specific phase of your company and you are telling them you will produce ABC and accomplish XYZ within that time frame.


Image courtesy of Thomas Obererlacher

7、学习新技术对建筑师来说有着迫切需求

我们常常会寻找最擅长、同时也是最明晰的表达方式，所以我们会反问自己，“2天之内我能学会这些内容吗？”如果通过在线视频，那么肯定没问题。例如，我可以通过酷炫的效果图来表达整体设计构思，亦或是动图？或是视频？当最终提交日期来临时，你真的拥有在超短时间内学习的奇特能力。

7. Architects are really scrappy at learning new techniques.
Because we obsess over finding the best and clearest way to express an idea, we often find ourselves asking, “Can I learn this in 48 hours?” With the help of Youtube instructional videos and online forums, the answer is usually yes. Do I need an awesome digital rendering to make my presentation legit? A stop motion animation? A film? When your back is against a wall, it’s amazing what you are capable of learning and making in a compressed time frame.


Image © Ien Boodan

8、建筑师善于忽视反馈

建筑师常常会收到多重反馈，但是你也下意识地会忽略掉一些，因为建筑师要真正了解客户的实际需求，即哪些建议是需要采纳的，而哪些建议只需要听听就好。如果当你发现真正有益的建议，那么请认真倾听。

8. Architects are good at filtering feedback.
We get a ton of feedback. And you quickly realize that you can’t listen to it all, so architects must become really good editors. Filtration and focus. Get good at figuring out which feedback to listen to, and which feedback to ignore (for now). When you find a good source of feedback (eg. an insightful user or an advisor), don’t let go.


ImageThe School of Architecture at Auburn University.

9、多睡15分钟和洗个澡之间的抉择

这种事常常发生在我读研时期，在读研的第一年，每周就能发生一次。而新兴事务所也是如此，但是你已经习惯了，并且你能意识到自己一天当中能同时完成多少件事，当然如果可以的话，尽量同时完成2件。你学会利用有限的时间和经济资源，然后尽可能多地完成手头任务。

10、如果你不能表达出某种构思，那么就让它烂在心里

在建筑学院，我为自己制定了一条规则，如果我没有办法通过图像或模型的形式来表达某种构思理念，那么我就不会把它说出来。因为很难要求别人去理解那些非常抽象的概念，因此图像和模型非常重要，建筑师应当拥有多重表达的技巧与能力。

9. Choosing between sleeping an extra 15 minutes and showering.
This happened at least bi-weekly for me in grad school. During my first year it happened weekly. Startup pace in early days can be similar. But you get used to it, and you realize how much is actually do-able in one day if you focus and prioritize. (btw do both whenever possible.) You learn to prioritize and do as much as humanly possible with very limited resources (time and money).

10. If you can’t show it, you don’t get to say it.
In architecture school I made a rule for myself: If I didn’t have visual or physical evidence of something I was describing, I didn’t get to talk about it. It’s just too hard to ask people to visualize something you are imagining without any evidence, even if small. Concrete, tangible things are crucial in presentations. Show (rather than tell) as much as possible.


© Noam Dvir, Instagram User dvirnm. ImageKanye West visits Harvard Graduate School of Design.

最后一点，非常重要。

我们相信偶然出奇迹。

也许你会偶然发现一些有趣的东西。例如你的混凝土模型虽然滑稽，但已经超出了预期效果，亦或是偶然的镜头设置产生了意想不到的完美效果。当你在工作室时，边工作边和伙伴们聊天，一不小心就制作出了好看的模型。有时伙伴们从身边经过、一位朋友帮你完成激光切割、亦或是帮你完成了你需要在10点之前完成的模型制作。事实上许多场合都能让你获益匪浅，只是机会总是光临有准备的人。

关于作者：Jude Fulton一位建筑师兼新兴建筑公司Mosss的创始人，这是个兼具技术与设计的创新平台。Jude的任务是为全世界带来设计灵感、工具、策略与教育。她拥有哈佛大学、罗德岛设计学校、耶鲁大学的建筑设计学位。

And finally, the last one is really important...
We believe in intentional serendipity.
There are lots of late nights where you discover something cool by accident. Your concrete model cured in the mold funny, but it turned out better than you thought. Or an accidental lens setting in Max produced the perfect effect. When you are at studio, making things and talking to friends, good things tend to happen. Sometimes Kanye drops by. A friend helps you un-jam the laser cutter, or you find scrap materials that you need to complete your model and make your 10am deadline. (New definition of ‘scrappy.’) I know I’ve benefitted on numerous occasions from this. It tends to favor those who are prepared for it to happen.

About the author: Jude Fulton is an architect-turned-startup founder of Mosss, a platform intended to connect technology and design. Jude's mission is to bring design inspiration, tools, intelligence, and education to the world. She has degrees in architecture and design from Harvard, RISD, and Yale.