Networking

Being an architect, I have a chance to meet people from many walks of life. At the same time, there are many more professions that I don't contact save for cocktail parties or via friends. Everyone seems to know an architect, but the clarity of what the business of architecture is foreign to many. The hours behind the mouse, drafting, making phone calls, and sending e-mails to colleagues we hardly see, can also be isolating. Being a member of AIA in this suburban market is challenging at best. When I lived and worked in the city of Pittsburgh, events were frequent, if not weekly, giving us a chance to see and hear what was happening in southwestern PA. On the outer ring of Phila, the only benefit of AIA seems to be entering designs into competitions. Networking via competition is hard due to the nature of struggling to find the next project. I hope that a more local branch can be established to rectify the dissimilarity of the events and distance of the city and the suburbs.