T-Square Dad's Brown Bag
Professional practice and parenthood can be challenging. As a father, a husband and an architect we embrace the challenge but we understand how difficult it is to navigate through these obligations. In this podcast we focus our discussion and base our opinion from a father's perspective. The T-Square Dad's podcast will focus our experience, reading habits, lesson's learned while practicing architects and how the practice impacts our daily life as a father. We will also focus on how technology impacts our profession and how the lack of experts and training fails our profession. We hope that our podcast bring value to others and is a constant reminder of how life can change quickly and impact us all and our profession.
T-Square Dad's Brown Bag
#028 - Dan and Cynthia from AE Design Group, LLC - Connecticut based Architectural Firm
Welcome to our podcast. If you're new to our podcast, the podcast was created by two Architect that felt they needed to share their experience and hardships not only in our profession but in life and family.
On today's episode we invited an old friend from the University of Florida. We have Daniel LaMontagne, AIA and Cynthia Malinowski, AIA. Both are licensed architects. His firm is stablished in Connecticut and specializes in Hospital and Medical facilities.
If you guys have any questions or comments please reach out to us at our Facebook pages or via email.
Audio file
Podcast #028 - Dan Lamontagne.mp3
Transcript
It was a long time, wasn't it?
What was that almost 19 years or something like that?
Well, you put yourself here and put myself there.
We became friends like instantly.
But you did the Community College thing with me, like at a.
Different location, but as I did.
So we both kind of came in later than everyone else.
And it's funny because you were just a little younger than I am.
You know the stuff that you were saying I could relate because you were coming from Connecticut.
And the music you were listening to, I can relate to.
So a lot of the music I listened to was Miami music.
Well, at least it was, you know, like Latin freestyle.
It was like, you know, I was in that.
Little culture that kind of came up from Miami to New York and somehow landed in Connecticut.
And I remember you were such a hard worker.
People just had a hard time connecting with other people.
I remember going up to people trying to figure out what the hell are we doing.
And I'm just trying to understand that's all.
And you know, I can relate to people, but some people have a hard time.
All I'm thinking about is bird killer.
Remember when the bird flew into the window?
And I look out and on the ledge.
The bird is down there and it just, I mean, the beak was sideways.
And I can't even remember the the the students name.
It just let it just let it rest.
The architecture school had a just a whole facade, it was like.
And we were up in about four stories up floating on some concrete.
And I mean, birds are just boom, boom, boom.
There's kind of like probably 4 of that every semester we're hitting the.
An interesting thing, I mean I had.
Well, that would be more abrasive because.
I was embrace it because I was direct.
And most and you're getting to a point where most.
Yeah, people who speak in a direct manner.
To like the guys that always back down, especially the girls.
And I I kind of I think I kind of projected it on you too with contractors.
Because the architects have taught me we're.
It was just, you know, you had to be matter of fact, you had.
Bush, if you did something wrong, you say it and then you fix it.
I mean, you're just, you're useless.
So I've just been talking direct.
Yeah, without feelings, without telling people.
You know you you deal with the.
I mean, just conversations, just all my conversations are that.
Have you noticed your staff using the same techniques out in the field?
That topic that you just touched on?
That should be an entire podcast dedicated for that.
This toxic communication style not only does it imply.
And it doesn't it it doesn't help anything.
They need to be able to push people up and elevate them.
You know, so people make mistakes and you know.
One, maybe five times and it's almost sometimes impossible to help people improve.
You got a limitation to what they can and can't do.
That's definitely something to look for and.
When I see something that is blatantly.
Inaccurate or just a blatant error.
And it's an error that should never have happened.
And I I have to address it, but that doesn't mean you bashed it or you never bashed the person you.
My technique is basically make the person remember it.
So that they don't do it again.
But also build them up to say you won't do it again.
You know, like build them up in a way that they feel confident they won't do it again.
There's certain stories I don't really want to necessarily share.
Every set of drawings that an architect produces is a one off set of drawings.
So it's not going to they're not going.
Our our projects are one off set of drawing.
You go through the process, you work with the team and you hope you hope you get it right.
But we don't provide instructions to build that.
Those drugs are just our instruments.
If you misinterpret them, ask me the question, I will tell you what.
There's nothing more than instruments and service.
They are not instructions, so they're never.
Yeah, that was a hard thing for me because I.
Remember saying to some of my old bosses like.
Laughing. OK. Yeah, good luck.
I get phone calls from people asking me how to do something.
I can't tell you how to do it, but I can tell you what you're going to need.
And this happens all the time.
But I can't tell you how to do it.
Means and methods is something that's responsibility of the contractor.
So this is on you, no one else.
If you're the concrete guy, you should know.
Everything that has to do with that trade foundations.
So there's no excuse if you're doing this as a profession, you need to know.
It was a there was a it was part of a toilet room.
There were showers in it and you know how they have the recess in the.
He was asking us how to patch.
Was this was a multi $1,000,000 project too.
So we said, you know, we'll talk to your.
Talk to your talk to your jewel trades or the Carpenter?
You will be putting new tile over that.
If I have, am I drawing by every little existing condition blemish?
And whereas general notes generally coming out right.
All walls to receive new finish OK use like materials.
One piece of frame back there and cement board over the hole.
Tape it and now you have a flush wall.
This is not rocket science but one thing I find with contractors is they.
It's getting worse and it's, I don't know if it's their fault.
They're teaching in like, you know, like in university.
Of Florida, the Rinker School of building construction.
Those project management schools are great.
But they're not teaching well.
And what a contractor, whether it's a.
Carpenter, plumber should know about.
And that's where we sent in I run into.
How do you want me to do this?
I specified it, but the means and methods of building it.
Unless you know how many times you get shop drawings for carpentry.
For millwork, you'll detail it one way the shop sends it back another way, and now you look and you.
I mean that makes sense too, but.
They want to do it differently with a a load of.
I mean, I don't really care, you know?
You know similar to what you guys use at your hospitals.
So they're erecting this wall with this fully welded door frame in place.
To ask me how to extend the water barrier.
Into the jams and what we had called.
That was a fluid applied system so.
And I stopped him and I and I said let me call the Superintendent here.
And then I told him and say you need to come over here.
You need to tell these guys what they need to do.
And figure out what's the best approach.
I'm not going to be over here.
Nevertheless, these contractors created a big issue with the general contractor.
Do but anyways I can't get into it because these folks got into some legality with the contractor.
And they went to federal court.
So, you know, we'll we'll leave it to that and.
You know better, better not to touch it or we would mention it.
A lawyer loves words and they don't care about.
Convention or, you know, general knowledge of your trade.
Those words mean so much to an attorney, and it's a we had.
I'm not going to describe it, but it's something somewhat minor.
OK was was used to build something and we saw it.
That I buy it and that's not going to happen.
So before we even get to that point, fix this, fix it now and we.
Went back with our drawings our drawing.
A disconnect between what those mean and our.
And there's, you know, four sets of eyes looking at those shop drawings.
There's the owner, the architect, the general contractor and the sub, the sub that made it.
OK, those shop drawings are important.
But our drawings, they make a mistake.
It doesn't mean now they get away with it because they didn't followers.
And that's something that we all all you know, architects young architects need to.
That the contractor how many times you look at?
Shop drop and it's wrong, it's.
They just didn't even I don't know if.
Drawings every time, especially.
When you're talking about specific things like.
These things always are lacking, you know, they're.
Lately the I look at old shop drives for.
Right when we got out of school or they were detailed.
Remember, like, the laboratory case.
Today it's like a lot of times.
They they get my drawings and then just showing up with a different border.
I'm like, these are my drawings.
So please, you know these are.
But in the field, if I see something strange, it doesn't.
It's going to have to be rebuilt.
Shop drawings are another term for our full fabrication drawings exactly because.
Because a lot of people and these are people, some of the interns are.
Listen, some of these, some of these podcasts is like, hey, guys when you.
At shop joint, that's where you're actually going to learn how to when you're doing your.
64 units and I grab the measuring tape for one unit and I go OK we said that it.
You know 6.3 and 3 eighths 6 point and you know from one at a time.
And they're supposed to be identical, right?
So possibly, but you know, you know, to to whatever is they call.
You know, cut to fit, you know, cut.
We just put me, I guess, I mean it's it's different on my plates are up here than there I guess.
But VS verify and it's and that's because the millwork has to come and even.
If it's brand new construction.
The MILLWORKER has to come in and measure the space because the walls they don't if.
The bow will be cut right into.
That's sometimes with the sheet rocking we have up.
It is very hard to get people with good quality.
You know, with 88 toilets, you always have to make sure you have adequate.
So you always want to make sure you give a list one 1 1/2 inches because of you know imperfections.
You know, sometimes the air is out in the field, are just outrageous, just outrageous.
There are two things we do with that yeah, we we generally do 5.
Sometimes you got to get that measuring tip and whip it out.
There she she came in and they put the sink 12 inches from the center, 12 inches off the wall.
Over to get at least 15, you know.