Whitewash Studio Architecture Podcast

I used to have this idea that style was not that important. That we have the ability as Architects to create within a lot of different styles and a huge range of design capabilities. But the more I progress through my career the more I realize that I might have been wrong. Your style is […]

Do you ever just get bored after a while of working on a project for so long? You know, how do you keep the excitement level up? Yes. I do get bored. I get to the point where I’m just wanting to speed things up to finish but things take time. You probably have felt […]

All right. So are you doing work that you care about. I mean, are you doing work that fulfills you. Things that lift you up? Are you focused on a cause that you can feel like you can stand behind? I haven’t found mine. At least. I don’t think I have I’m still kind of […]

There’s nothing wrong with doing something just because you want to. Or wanting to try something new that might conflict with what you told yourself you were. We want new challenges. We get bored with the world we’re in if it’s stagnant. When we reach that feeling we need to shift to avoid burnout. To […]

Is your process written down and is it fluid? We should always be refining our process for creating and designing architecture. In order to create a process. One that allows you and your clients to have the most success with each and every project. You need to have it written down. What are the steps […]

Is it the right time for them to be renovating their house? Do they have other parts of their life together? I try to figure this out all the time. Is a renovation what they should be doing right now? Or is it something they’re using to distract them from bigger issues? This is hard […]

Having trouble coming up with designs? You have to start drawing. I know it feels strange to start drawing without knowing what you’re going to draw. You have to break the tension you have with the page. You look at the blank page and where do you start? I trace the existing plan. Drawing over […]

The unknown is the scariest part of architecture. Things will arise later and derail the momentum of the project if the question is not asked now. Assumptions you made will spring up and try to correct themselves. Those are the things that are scary to me. What questions did I forget to ask? What did […]

There are two kinds of Architecture schools. Practical based and theory based. When people ask me what architecture school was like, I usually say the school I went to was very theory based. Meaning all the day to day the business side of architecture the study of waterproofing details the codes etc. was not part […]

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about schools. How they’re overpriced. How they don’t prepare you. How you rack up debt for no reason. How you can do without college for some of today’s jobs. Architecture isn’t one of them. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Dec 22, […]

Responsibility. The key to becoming a professional. Being an Architect that your clients respect. The expert. The one people depend on. The key to all of that is to take responsibility for everything that happens during your projects. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Dec 15, 2019 at […]

VR has not fully arrived. It’s available to the elite crowd. It’s clunky, difficult and expensive if you want to take advantage of the out of the box solutions. There are several companies that have jumped on the release of the quest. They’re taking full advantage. View this post on Instagram A post shared by […]

We’re working and designing for people. It’s not just us out there. The clients are people. The inhabitants are people. They have emotions and feelings, and we have to expect complications. People are hard to read. Difficult to understand and impossible to predict. You never know how someone might react to something. I was recently […]

We don’t always take criticism well. I know I struggle with it. I get wrapped up in the connection with my self worth and the value of my work. It becomes a reflection of who I am. What I’m capable of. How I made the decisions I did? Why I took that direction over another. […]

I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, but you have to start saying no. You have to say no to the wrong things. To things that go against your values. Things that disrupt your Architectural process. Things that conflict with who you are. To provide the best for those people you say […]

Architects don’t have to be starving artist. Artist don’t even have to be staring artist. It’s upsetting when I hear about Architects working for pennies. The story of the starving artist is ingrained in some of us. We’re told, if you do what you love you will never make much money. It’s promoted by leaders […]

You’ve met with your client and discovered all the answers to your questions. You’re now tasked at designing a space that meets your clients goals. Solves a particular problem. If you don’t have a clear vision on your clients goals go back and ask more questions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by […]

Who is your client? This is important to know. Who are they? What are their struggles? What are their fears and what provides joy? We struggle with asking the hard questions when it comes to our clients. We don’t dig deep enough into their personal life. What does it mean to be them? What’s it […]

There are a lot of places that can symbolize home for us. We can have more than one place that’s considered home. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Oct 20, 2019 at 3:07am PDT I have my home here in the city but I also have the home […]

You never want to be guessing or making assumptions when it comes to client work. In architecture there are a lot of questions you need to be asking. Get the answers you need to be successful with the project. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Oct 13, 2019 […]

As Architects we hear this all the time. Form follows function. Remember those phrases that stand out from Architecture school. Burned in your mind. This one is the most popular. Let’s dig into what it means. Don’t design Architecture for beauty sake. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on […]

Anytime we start something new we are going to have expectations. They could be good or bad. Depending on your outlook on the project. What we have to do as architects is not only take our expectations into account but take those of our clients into account. View this post on Instagram A post shared […]

One of the most important skills you can build as an architect is the ablitiy to drawing by hand. When I think of the ability to draw, I don’t mean realistic amazing works of art. I mean communicative drawing. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Sep 22, 2019 […]

I want to talk about something I do a lot. It tends to paralyze me. It keeps me from moving forward on a project or goal because what’s out in front of me looks too hard. I’m talking about complexity. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Sep 15, […]

I almost don’t like to talk about things like this for fear of jinxing myself. But I want to mention backing up your work. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marc Sawyer (@wwsarchitecture) on Sep 8, 2019 at 2:59am PDT It’s important for us, as Architects, to back up our work. Your […]

I wanted to talk about attitude and how important it is to your work as an architect. As architects we’re often thought to be pompous ego driven personalities. Some of us have those characteristics but most of us don’t. What we do have is conviction. We believe in the solution we’ve created. We’ve spent hours […]

Show Notes: Communicate to your clients effectively with 3d modeling Sketchup Course for Architects Earn trust and have less changes by creating effective visuals your clients can understand. Communicating your ideas is necessary. Spending hours creating your solution is not the last step. If you can’t convince your client your solution is the right solution, […]

Show Notes: Virtual Reality If you have a question for me I would love to hear it. You can email me at marc@whitewashstudio.com. If you would like to connect with me on Twitter I’m @wwsarchitecture and the same on Instagram @wwsarchitecture

Show Notes: Design Brief Last week we talked about the design brief. We talked about outlining a plan of action and evaluating your goals. This week I want to talk about the next stage after the design brief and that is the As-builts. As-builts of your home are probably one of the most important steps […]

Show Notes: Design Brief This week I want to talk about the next stage after the plan sketch and that is the Design Brief. How do you know what will solve the struggles your facing? The reason we have the initial meeting is to discover these struggles. It’s used to discover your goals and based […]

Show Notes: My Mission There are many architects that I’ve considered to be great designers and world changers. When it comes to creating space and our environment. Alvar Aalto, Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava, Zaha Hadid, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Louis Kahn, IM Pei, Norman Foster, and Frank Lloyd Wright. They all have meaning […]

Show Notes: BAD IDEAS LEAD TO GREAT ONES We all live in unique spaces. We have unique requirements on those spaces. We use them in all sorts of various ways. When it comes down to it we live our lives in our homes. They need to fit our lifestyle. It’s not surprising after living in […]

Show Notes: PELLA PROLINE VS MARVIN INTEGRITY WINDOW COMPARISON Hello and thank you for joining me for this episode of the whitewash studio podcast. My name is Marc Sawyer and I’m your architect. My goal is to give you the knowledge so you can advance your dream of creating the ideal home for you and […]

Show Notes: WORKING THROUGH A MASTER BEDROOM LAYOUT With the whitewash studio podcast, I have several different types of episodes. Some of the time I discuss things on a more theoretical level and other times I like to dive right into an actual real life question. Today I’m going to be exploring and answering an […]

Show Notes: EXPIRED KITCHEN Hello and thank you for joining me for this episode of the whitewash studio podcast. My name is Marc Sawyer and I’m your architect. My goal is to give you the knowledge so you can advance your dream of creating the ideal home for you and your family. Today I am […]

Show Notes: TAKING ADVANTAGE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS It has been a while since my last episode of the podcast and I want to just jump right into the topic for today. I really do. But wanted to give you just a quick run down of what has been going on. Since the last episode My […]

Show Notes: EXPERIENCES FROM THE AIA NATIONAL CONVENTION Well hello guys. Better late than never right? This is a little different of an episode. All last week I was spending my days at the AIA (American Institute of Architects) National convention. It was an incredible experience and a huge amount of knowledge was gained from […]

Show Notes: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES AND ADVANTAGES OF A SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME Today I want to talk about a new thing on the market, shipping containers. I know shipping containers are nothing new and have been around for years, but building with them is still relatively new. Just to be sure you’re familiar with […]

Show Notes: WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF OUR HOMES When I was doing some research for this episode I was struggling to really find what I was looking for. I think what I was searching for was some kind of trend or something to point me in the direction of where architecture is going. How […]

Show Notes: QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING AN INTERVIEW For our 40th episode I wanted to dive into something that might provide some value to you guys. Especially if you are in the beginning stages of hiring an architect. I am going to go over the questions you need to ask your architect which was put […]

Show Notes: EUGENE OREGON This week I am in the car and I fill you guys in on what I have been working on. I discuss fraternity housing and a little bit about Eugene Oregon. Join me for this mobile podcast. *Warning the audio quality is not at its best.* I hope that you are […]

Show Notes: RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY As you know I’m Marc. I’m your architect and my goal is to give you the knowledge so you can advance your dream of creating the ideal home for you and your family. Since last week was all about water conservation and recycling I thought it would be fitting to […]

Show Notes: WATER HARVESTING My water is out. How appropriate is this episode? When was the last time you had a drink of water? I am drinking some right now and luckily I filled my glass before our house lost pressure. We have been having lots of problems with the water in our neighborhood. I […]

Show Notes: DESIGNING FOR CHILDREN Today we’re going to discuss designing for children. Not immature clients, but actual children. First I just wanted to say congratulations to a friend of mine who recently had twins. So awesome. This is what really sparked this idea in my head about designing for children. What are the needs […]

Show Notes: HOW DO THESE IMAGES I’M COLLECTING TRANSLATE INTO ARCHITECTURE In case you missed last week. Here is the sign up for the Tiny House drawings. DOWNLOAD THE TINY HOUSE PLANS MENTIONED IN LAST WEEKS PODCAST EPISODE When did you first decide to build or renovate your house? When did the idea hit you? […]

Show Notes: THE TINY HOUSE We are going tiny with this one… DOWNLOAD THE TINY HOUSE PLANS MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST EPISODE I’m your host Marc. I’m your architect with the goal of giving you the knowledge so you can advance your dream of creating the ideal home for you and your family. What if […]

Show Notes: THE TO DO LIST Our brains should be used to solve problems, not trying to remember each item we need to take care of or address in some way. When you’re trying not to forget something it can consume you. It can take a lot of energy and brain power away from the […]

Show Notes: WHERE DO ARCHITECTS GET THEIR EGO? This episode is going to be so awesome. I guarantee this will be the best podcast you listen to all week. Today we’re going to talk about where Architects get their ego? Not that I have an ego, but you better stay tuned or you are going […]

Show Notes: SHOULD I BID MY PROJECT? Today we’re going to talk about bidding and negotiation. Should you bid your project or should you negotiate? I will compare the two so you can make a decision as to which is best for you situation. I’m your host Marc. I’m your architect with the goal of […]

Show Notes: WHERE’S ALL THE MONEY? Where’s all the money going to come from? How can I pay for this? Today we’re going to talk about all the various ways you can fund or finance your project. Find the perfect financing option for your home and discuss the 5 methods currently used to fund your […]