Monday, February 22, 2010

The Collaboration

Well, it's been a very busy and productive four months since I last made an entry to the blog. It's time to get back in to it and start telling you all what's been going on.

This collaboration idea has been big. There are so many talented architects in this country that are now unemployed and looking to get back in to some relevant and meaningful work. But things are not moving forward very fast in the conventional and traditional sense. A lot of original thinking will need to go into our profession to get it moving again.

I think we are on the right track. We have now associated with 4 new companies and 17 new individuals and we are all helping each other obtain work, from Portland to Atlanta, and just about every major point in between. It's a special arrangement that allows for an individual to basically open his or her own practice within their own city and keep it small and personal. At the same time it allows us to act big as a firm, being considered for projects that a one or two man firm could never hope to obtain.

We are now running a firm that is more virtual than real. We are showing that our true value is in the collective minds of the collaboration and not in the size of our lobby or conference room. We are using tools such as our website, Facebook and Twitter to exchange information with clients, contractors and consultants alike.

Author Jennifer Palmer describes the use of these internet networks in this way:

"The old structures are cracking under the weight of their own overhead. ....change is being propelled by people across the globe who realize that they can connect with one another and organize in far more fluid ways than had been possible before."

I am keeping track of many collaborators in many states on a daily basis, keeping everyone on target with what they are trying to accomplish as individuals who also happen to be a part of a greater whole.

This is working and I get more excited about the possibilities every day.