Learning to Build

Notes on how people become good at creating buildings

What's it all about?

Welcome to Learning to Build - and thanks for signing up.

On the last Tuesday of each month (if the day job doesn't get in the way), I’m going to write about something I’ve noticed or learned about professional practice - how we become better at what we do, how we learn from each other, what gets in the way, and how the way we work is changing.

I hope it will be useful, and that it will start some interesting conversations.

I started the website ​Practical Architecture​ when I was running my own architectural practice. It was intended to help early career architects begin to navigate the world of professional practice.

Now that I've gone back to being an engineer in a large multidisciplinary practice, I find myself working on big projects again, alongside architects, engineers and contractors. I’m mentoring people at different stages of their careers, running workshops and talking to younger colleagues about their work.

As a result, I decided to rework ​Practical Architecture​ to make it relevant to all disciplines involved in building design and construction, and not just in early career.

The thing about professional development is that a lot of it happens without any formal teaching and without anyone really noticing. We pick things up by watching other people, trying things, getting them wrong and working things out for ourselves.

Somehow, all of that accumulates and we call it experience.

But professional practice seems to be changing particularly quickly at the moment. Hybrid working has changed how we come together. Digital tools have changed how we design and build. And AI is beginning to change the balance between what we do and what the computer does.

These are exciting and scary times. And they've made me wonder whether we ever really understood how we developed the skills to create good buildings in the first place.

That’s the territory I want to explore with Learning to Build. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Alongside the newsletter, I've been developing the Practical Architecture website to suit the new approach. There's a kind of manifesto called ​Principles of Practice​ and I've reworked an old blog post, also called ​Learning to build​. Next up is writing new posts and sorting out the old ones. That's very much a work in progress.

I've also started posting a considered story on LinkedIn once a week and notes on Instagram twice a week.

If something I write reminds you of something that happened to you, email me and tell me. If you think I’ve got things wrong, let me know. If there’s a question you’d like me to explore, fire away.

Here's one for you.

What’s bothering you about professional practice right now?

It could be something that’s changing, something you wish you understood better or something that gets in the way of doing good work.

I’d genuinely like to know.

Thanks for coming along.

Andy

Learning to Build | Issue 00