The architectural industry today has access to a multitude of resources. We’re more connected today than any part of history before. From students to fresh graduates to architects who have been in the industry for more than a decade, professionals unsure of what the next career step is or how to navigate a particular step, the architecture community has evolved to a point where a few searches on the internet and you can either connect to like-minded individuals, read about a similar situation, or listen to something that helps you navigate the tough spot you’re on.
Today’s educational and underrated resource is the podcast, specifically architectural podcasts. From podcasts based on history to new materials to navigating licenses, the realm of the architectural podcast is vast and thus brimming with information.
Today we’ll explore one such podcast, the Business of Architecture Podcast, hosted by Enoch Sears ,centered around equipping architects with the strategies and tips to run a successful architectural practice, and in particular, their episode with Ibrahim Greenidge.
Ibrahim Greenidge: An Introduction
Ibrahim Greenidge, founder and managing partner of BOLT, a Brooklyn based architecture firm has been in the industry for more than a decade. Witnessing the Crown Height Riots as a child, it made a life-long impact on him and his perception of space, and its use, by the people who occupy it. His design philosophy thus has been driven to be inclusive and to provide equal access and opportunities to people.
“In the private sector, architects primarily work for upper-class communities. We are told to cater to the client, who is seldom poor, young, or of color. For these reasons, though my early clients were high net-worth individuals and developers with easy access to capital—and lots of it—I have since started a practice that seeks clients who are active community members and who see their home, business, or institution as an opportunity to engage others.” (Greenidge, 2020)
Ibrahim Greenidge in “2017, was appointed President of the New York Coalition of Black Architects. His achievements include receiving the 2015 Jumaane Stewart Recognition Award, and his designs have been featured in the UN’s Remembering Slavery Exhibit and the Center for Architecture “Say It Loud: Distinguished Black Designers of NYCOBA|NOMA.” In 2017, Ibrahim was named one of Architizer’s Top 20 Distinguished Minority Architects and Designers.” (Mesh, 2024)
Ibrahim Greenidge: The Business of Architecture Podcast
The Business of Architecture podcast is excellent for all architects, whichever career stage they may be at, students, fresh graduates, or someone looking to open up their own practice. The podcast typically uses an interview format, where leading and emerging business professionals from the industry, consultants, firm owners etc talk about their experience with interesting strategies and tips scattered throughout to help the viewer learn how to manage a successful and profitable architectural firm today.
The episode with Ibrahim Greenidge is a fascinating dive into what is behind the scenes of Greenidge starting his own practice and how the firm is surviving today. He talks about his journey into the field of architecture, the kind of work he was doing as an employed architect at a renowned firm and the set of skills he acquired during those years.
Ibrahim Greenidge has had a very interesting career path; he juggled multiple roles throughout his initial years due to the underpaid and undervalued profession of the architect. He further stresses the importance of these roles, what he learned from them and their contribution to him eventually starting his independent practice. He brushes up on topics of low wages, having to work after hours, and the role of society in the architect being undervalued in today’s world, and what he believes needs to be done to change that.
Greenidge also talks about the problems that often arise when running an independent firm. His deep dive into the cash-flow-rich nature of architectural practice is an excellent way for people in the industry to understand the behind-the-scenes demands of a working firm. It is eye-opening for students as well, and it makes you empathize with every firm owner, knowing the demands of office expenses vs. what fees a firm might see and how those delays need to be accounted for.
Ibrahim Greenidge’s entire conversation with Enoch Spears is extremely candid and brushes upon many of the demanding facets of the running of a firm. He talks about his career’s pivoting point, the incident that led him to finally take the plunge to work solo and how his community played a role in it. He shares protocols he’s put in place to help counter the imbalance of the work first, and pay for a later module of architectural works. He shares the struggles of having to grow his firm and the values he’s integrated within the company to help smoothen the way for the challenges that arise.
His segment on understanding the individual needs of his team is a great insight on what a leadership position entails. His empathy and humanistic approach to all the members of his team, what he’s learned being in the industry and how those have shaped how he approaches deadlines and team conversations was riveting to listen to.
All in all, this is one podcast every architecture or AEC industry professional needs to listen to. It gives you a very honest insight into what it takes to run a firm, the struggles of the architect himself and how the values we grow up with end up having an impact on the way we choose to conduct our business and spend our creative energies towards.
References:
Greenidge, I. (2020, 10 08). Ibrahim Greenidge: The 6-Foot Fence. Retrieved from Architect Magazine: https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/ibrahim-greenidge-the-6-foot-fence_o
Mesh, 2. (2024, 10 03). Ibrahim Greenidge. Retrieved from Mesh Conference: Connect Share Inspire: https://meshconference.com/speakers/ibrahim-greenidge/
