It is that time of year again: graduation and the start of a new career. I think we can all remember the excitement and anxiety involved in starting a new job, potentially in a new city.
Getting your feet wet in the AEC industry is challenging in this environment. There isn't a lot of work and many firms are still operating in a hybrid home/office setup. It is critical that we do what we can to bring in the next generation of architects, interior designers, and engineers. Otherwise, we will be in trouble in 10-15 years when we need them to run projects.
Please consider reaching out to those new graduates that you know, whether they work at your firm or are still out looking for their first job. Offer advice, keep them positive, and help them find their place in the profession.
You may start by sending this article from Archinect: Just Finished Architecture School? Here's Some Advice. There are some good pointers in there.
In addition, I would love it if you referred them to this newsletter. They can sign up using the form at this link: Newsletters - Archtoolbox.
-michael
AIA Controversy
The annual AIA convention was held this past week, from June 5 through June 8. But before it got started, a couple of controversies became public.
On April 4, a number of former AIA Presidents sent a letter to the AIA Board discussing their concerns about poor financial and personnel management.
On April 2, the 2024 Jury of Fellows sent a letter to the AIA Board claiming that they were asked, by AIA staff, to reconsider a candidate who was not selected to be elevated to the College of Fellows.
The Architect's Newspaper has a detailed article about the controversies.
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Autodesk Hires New CFO, Won't Restate Financials
It appears the concerns brought up at the end of April were surrounding how they logged revenue as they transitioned from multi-year billing to annual billing. They appear to have played some games that made their free cash flow look better in 2023.
Autodesk's CFO was moved to a new role and an interim-CFO was appointed from within the company.
Autodesk completes investigation, won’t restate financials
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Is Licensure Better in Europe?
This is an interesting read since it doesn't really tell us what is better or worse in Europe; but rather, it explains why licensure is different. The article explores the differences between the US, Germany, France, and Sweden.
What Europe Can (and Can’t) Tell the US About Architectural Licensure
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Inside an Architecture Factory
The future is prefab, but what does it actually look like? This short NYT video takes you inside a factory that cranks out a living unit every 30 minutes.
Inside a Factory Where a Home Is Made Every 30 Minutes
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For fun: Top 300 Architectural Firms
Architectural Record released their annual top 300 Architectural Firms. Of course, this is all based on revenue so it doesn't really affect most of us in our day-to-day roles. However, I find it interesting to see the massive conglomerates (HDR, Stantec, AECOM) keep moving up as they acquired more firms. As usual, Gensler topped the list with $1.8B in architectural revenue.
Top 300 U.S. Architecture Firms of 2024
If you are more interested in firms selected more for their evolving Practice than for their revenue, you can look at The Architect's Newspaper for their annual Best of Practice Awards.
Best of Practice: Announcing the winners of AN’s 2024 Best of Practice Awards
