When I was a boy, I loved Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys and would spend hours on the floor dreaming up different little structures that I would eventually build. Many of you probably did, too. The cool thing is, those of us in the architecture/construction field get to do the same sort of building on a grand scale now, and I think we sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees (in the form of all the day-to-day minutiae that’s part of our industry) and we fail to savor the immense pride that comes from seeing firsthand a finished project.
For example, I had viewed many pictures of our Duke Energy Center project (in fact, I have a large print of it in my office), but it wasn’t until I stood at the base of that skyscraper while visiting Charlotte, N.C., recently that I truly could comprehend its magnitude. Standing there remembering when the drawings were on my desk and now seeing something monumental that I had played a small role in was simply awesome.
Doctors, lawyers, accountants, pilots, teachers, mechanics, police officers, military personnel, etc. all play a critical role in our society. However, those of us in the architecture/construction industry BUILD things and I encourage you to think back to when you were young the next time you drive by one of your projects you haven’t seen in a while. The fact that the fruits of our collective labor will be around long after we’re gone is something few professions can boast of.
Scott Stafford is the head estimator at The Miller- Clapperton Partnership Inc. in Austell, Ga. For more information, visit www.millerclapperton.com.