Day in the life of
Architect – William Mandara, Jr. AIA
I’m the type of person that needs a fair amount of action and variety in my life. While being involved in projects from conception to completion is the primary function of being an architect, I also have incredibly varied experiences from day to day that keep me interested and engaged in my career. While at times it can be incredibly challenging and time-consuming, it can also be just as rewarding.
What does your typical day look like?
The only thing typical about my days as Chief Executive Officer and part-owner of Mancini Duffy, a 100-year-old tech-driven design firm in New York, is that they are not typical. In addition to working on projects in various capacities, I might be on a construction site helping to come up with a creative solution to a field condition, at an empty piece of land speaking conceptually about a potential idea that may become a project, in my office lending my assistance to a project team or reviewing completed construction documents to ensure that they are done in accordance with codes and are constructible.
In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations at Mancini, I am fortunate enough to have involvement in almost every project we do as the Architect of Record. I’m very lucky to work with so many talented people at our firm; being a resource to them is the part of my job that I find most rewarding. That can entail everything from sharing a past experience to assisting a teammate with something similar that is happening or to helping figure out how to communicate a particular detail so it can be built.
What are the pros and cons of being an architect?
The relationships with clients, co-workers, project teams, and the opportunity to express your creativity on projects are what make architecture fulfilling. After 25+ years in the industry, some of the things some might categorize as cons like solving complicated details, creating solutions for field conditions, and diffusing conflicts that arise I view as opportunities to express creativity, which keeps my career exciting and interesting.
Architects
plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.