I think architects are like snowflakes. Not because they are delicate, but because each is unique and (it frequently seems to be the case) that external conditions need to be perfect in order for them to properly thrive. Of course, if you want to know what those external conditions are, I can’t tell you – […]

I think architects are like snowflakes. Not because they are delicate, but because each is unique and (it frequently seems to be the case) that external conditions need to be perfect in order for them to properly thrive. Of course, if you want to know what those external conditions are, I can’t tell you – they’ll be different for every single person … just like a snowflake.This is an analogy that has been floating around in my head for a while and during the process of responding to the latest student email I received, what I have been thinking about sort of fell in place. The vast majority of emails I receive from young people who want to be architects, architecture students, or young architectural professionals, and they almost always start off in the same way. They feel the need to regale me with their personal circumstances in an effort to set the mood for their question. The truth is, almost everybody has some version of the same back story, and over the last few years of reading this same back story over and over again, I started thinking (and who could blame me) that we architects are not as unique and special as we l...