Out of Architecture

The Value of Architects Beyond Traditional Practice

By: Jake Rudin, Erin Pellegrino

Narrated by: Jake Rudin

Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Out of Architecture is both a call to reassess the architecture profession and its education, and a toolkit for graduates and working architects to untangle their skills, passions, and value from traditional architectural practice and consider alternate pathways. Written by design professionals and expert career consultants, this book is informed by numerous client accounts as well as the authors' own stories and routes out of architecture.

The initial chapters follow the narrative of a typical architecture training in the US, highlighting the many highs and lows, skills honed, and ultimately the huge disconnect that can occur between architectural education and practice. Subsequent chapters explore a disillusionment with the profession, unhealthy work cultures, mentorship, working with lead architects, toxic perfectionism, and the notion of a calling. Authors then present the hopeful accounts of many architects who escaped a profession known for its grueling working conditions to find fulfilling, well-paying, creative jobs that better utilize the skills of architecture than the architectural profession itself.

Written in a unique combination of storytelling and analysis, this patchwork of client and author stories makes for an immersive, provocative, and enjoyable listen. A wide range of architecture students, graduates, educators, and professionals will recognize themselves within the chapters of this book and find prompts to reassess their working practices, teaching styles, and the profession itself. It will be of particular value to those students skeptical of joining the architecture workforce, as well as those further along and considering a career change.

©2023 Erin Pellegrino, Jake Rudin (P)2023 Erin Pellegrino, Jake Rudin

Required listening for all potential, current, and former architecture students

Jake and Erin get right at the heart of why architectural education is so compelling and special, but also often sets the stage for a professional life plagued by disappointment, burnout, and abuse. The book will make you think deeply about what you love about your work, how you want to spend your time, and what your value is to yourself and to others. While the book is unflinchingly critical of the profession, it comes from a place of deep love for architecture, architects, and architectural education. The book is compelling, sometimes uncomfortable, but also ultimately optimistic and empowering. I could not recommend more highly both as a tool for personal reflection, and as an instigation for the types of difficult conversations we need to be having as architects, designers, students, and educators.

valuable perspective

I have loved architecture since is I was child and now in middle age I seriously was considering the traditional pathway to professional architect. Now I see there are so many options to pursue my passion! Thank you for sharing your stories!

Much needed in the industry

This Is a much-needed book in an ever evolving profession that is architecture. This is a perspective on the built environment that expands the prescriptive definition of what architects should provide to the world. It’s a guide book and a spring board that you can pivot to bring your expertise, knowledge and insights to so much more than just a building.

The book every architecture student must buy.

When I finished this book, I just sat there thinking; I wish I had had this book 25 years ago. I'm now a licensed architect, founder of an Architecture design-build firm, and an architecture teacher; however, I dropped out of Architecture after finishing my undergrad degree 25 years ago. For most of my career, I cultivated a unique and diverse background working in design, "Architecture adjacent," As I like to say, working as a kitchen designer, developer, or in Retail design & marketing. I only ventured alone into my architecture firm after trying to insert myself back into a Big A architecture firm without satisfaction. It was not until I read this book that I saw that my frustrations with the architecture profession were not an isolated case. Young architecture students are told there is only one way to practice architecture, but that is far from the truth today and never was. The next generation of young architects and designers, especially young architects of color or from underprivileged backgrounds, must re-think the architecture profession, and this book is a great start. The architecture profession is stagnant, and we need more architects like Jake and Erin to help push it forward!

Thanks for a great book.
Sincerely,
Jeremy

A Powerful Reminder to Value Yourself

This book is a fantastic read that recalls long nights in studio, moments of pivotal importance in the lives of young architects, and dissections of the all-too-common traumas faced by designers working towards the title of “architect.”

I would recommend this book to any architecture student, professional or would-be architect who has wondered “how did I get here and where am I going?” It’s the perfect companion listen to a long day at your desk.

The beauty is that it begins with a truly heartfelt and relatable story of falling in love with architecture. Most students who make it past the first year know this feeling. But it also highlights some of the less-rosy moments of conflict that arise when young professionals begin to see the business of Architecture in direct opposition to the art form.

If you’re looking for new ways to explore the skills you’ve gained and are curious about ways of making a career transition, this is a great place to start. But it also prompts a huge amount of reflection and highlights questions that would be critical of anyone looking to re-evaluate their career path.

Complex journey down memory lane

After leaving the profession almost 6 years ago, this book has reminded me why architecture is so special and intriguing, and what made me fall in love with it in the first place. At the same time, the collection of stories reminded me of the trauma that came with the journey as well — it’s been a complex trip down memory lane!

I’ve been playing the audiobook for friends and family as well. The authors have been able to capture some of the sentiments that I struggled to convey when I would return home for the holidays and attempt to answer “so what have you been up to at school,” which carried over even when I entered the workplace. It feels very special to see them finally beginning to understand the layers of complexity that we’ve dealt with within the field and often the weight that we had to carry on our shoulders alone.

New required reading for architects

To the benefit of architects everywhere, Out of Architecture brings to light the inner questions commonly wrestled with but rarely addressed publicly.

Helpful for Finding Your Path in Design Fields

This book resonated deeply with my own journey through architecture school and the challenges of establishing a career in the field. It offers a candid look at the profession’s realities and serves as an enlightening guide for architects exploring opportunities beyond traditional roles. If you are struggling to find your place in a design field, and wondering if you’re alone, this book is for you.

Architecture Post-Grad Seeks Help- And Finds It

As a professional, who has five years of experience in the field after completing a masters degree in architecture, I can honestly say that I am burnt out. I saw Jake and his profile on LinkedIn, and immediately became a connection. His postings about real life things involving architecture, burnout, and the unspoken truth of the industry led me to his book. Jake and Erin‘s retelling of multiple types of stories involving the mistreatment, the sweeping under the rug, and the hard truth of the industry that everyone seems to ignore, really made me feel seen and validated. It was fantastic to hear that my degree hasn’t been wasted, even though I feel as though the profession no longer represents the pathway and ideals I would like for a career path. Refreshing take on shaking things up, and how to make the degree work for you, not how you work for the degree. Highly recommend to anyone at any stage of their profession to aid in open mindedness and general well-being in the workplace of architecture. Thank you for all you both have done for the industry!

Amazing book!

Regardless of your position within the architecture profession this is a great read. I would especially recommend it for architecture students!