Flight Notes

Aspiring architects are given a strict path of education (3-8 years), experience (3,740 hours), and exams (over 500 questions split into 6 exams). Becoming a licensed architect takes years of focus towards a single goal. It doesn’t leave much time for other things along the way.

It’s no surprise that many professionals with such rigorous training seem to have a singular persona. From the public’s perception a doctor, dentist, lawyer, college professor, or architect may as well be characters in the game of Clue. Great at a single thing. But you aren’t going to trust a lawyer with your taxes or a dentist with grading an English dissertation.

It’s the cost of specializing.

Typically these professional tracks leave little time to develop other skills.

In pursuit of architecture, I set aside practicing piano and violin, throwing ceramics, and reading for fun. Years of working on other skills had to wait while I focused on the big goal of becoming an architect. That isn’t to say I didn’t have time for other activities. They just became hobbies during breaks.

Most architects spend years refining their one specialty. It maintains the status quo of serving the public the way architects have always served.

What if architects wove in other skills, passions, and interests into practice?

The next generation of architects could advance. They can serve new clients, new industries, and solve new problems in our rapidly adapting world.

It’s called a ‘value stack’ by Scott Adams, the comic artist behind Dilbert. ""Successwise, you're better off being merely good at two complementary skills than being excellent at one".

Architects utilize a variety of skillsets. Our profession exists at the crossroads of so many different disciplines. For example, an assisted living project requires coordination between engineers, planning commissions, health departments, main street grants, contractors, business proforma, emergency vehicle access, and elevator consultants. It is a puzzle, and we need to get all the pieces of a project to fit together.

Each architect is their own tapestry of knowledge, weaving together different backgrounds and experiences as a baseline to serve their clients.

I wove my art and art history background into practice because of a Museum Studies course. This one experience separated me from the rest of the architects at a very large firm. I was new but my extra knowledge of museums led to my role as project architect on a house museum remodel.

When no single skill defines you, the way you combine them becomes your advantage.

Robert Greene summarizes this well in his book, Mastery. “The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.”

It’s surprising what can be built, one experience at a time. Like the weaverbird building a large nest that future generations will live in and add onto. Architects weave together different strengths and skills when building their own cozy practice. A unique business that others can grow into.

Theodore Roosevelt encouraged us to “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Architects are combining their different interests into practice. You can find anything from music in architecture to coffee & sketching; from Quonset huts plans to mentoring with dinos. They integrate separate passions into their practice. It jumpstarts their creative process and adds a richness to the profession.

How can you weave your inspiration into practice?

Keep Flying! Katie Kangas

Flying Solo Podcast

Listen to the full interview with Molly Dalsin of Mesh Architecture on Flying Solo Episode 20: Molly Dalsin (Weaverbird).

And check out Molly Dalsin on her Website or her University of Minnesota Profile.

​Check out the Flying Solo Podcast on your favorite platform.​

​Alli's Journey​

Weaving is an incredible art. Layering single threads of yarn, reeds, or grass transform into fabric, baskets, or nests.

Weaverbirds make nests tight enough to keep out the rain. The weaverbird can even build colonies of nests that will last generations. They will even build false openings to deceive snakes and other predators. They also co-exist with pygmy falcons who can’t build their own nest.

The weaverbird shows the what's possible when simply working with whatever twigs and weeds we have at hand.

I interviewed Molly Dalsin and learned how she weaves together teaching at the University of Minnesota with her professional practice Mesh Architecture. Advancing her research, broadens her architectural approach. And leveraging students in hands on projects, furthers her impact in the communities she serves. Molly’s practice is stronger because she has diversified her career.

Consider how the skills learned in different aspects of life may reshape and strengthen your primary goal. It's the difference between a recording of Louis Armstrong and attending a live performance. One repeats the same old tunes while the other invites variation and improvisation. To keep our business alive, we need to adapt and grow. Finding inspiration from all aspects of our lives.

It begs the question: how can you weave your unique inspiration into practice?

Inspiration will shape your business and set your practice apart, just like a Purple Cow. You started your own business for a reason. It’s time to double down, not blend in.

Winged Wisdom

From Scott Adams How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life​

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