Returning Home to Kick-start a Career

Scott Campbell, AIA, has spent more than a decade at VIA Design, which he joined after the Great Recession and where he’s now a principal, helping the firm reach new heights.

I graduated in 2009, in the middle of the recession. A significant portion of my graduating class never entered the profession. So, I took a part-time consulting job in Washington, D.C. Over a year later, I started working at VIA Design. We were a small firm when I started in 2010, and I was their third employee coming back from the recession and today we have over 15 people. I went from knowing absolutely nothing about the profession to getting licensed within four years, becoming a project architect, project manager, and then a principal by age 30.

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Getting Started: An Architect’s Field Guide to Energy Modeling

Contributors: Andrew McKinley, AIA, LEED AP and Mickey Chapa, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LFA

Architects are at the forefront of design decisions that impact energy consumption, yet we are on the tail end of analyzing these decisions.  Reliance on mechanical engineers to inform us of the consequence of our decisions cannot continue if we are going to influence the future sustainability of the built environment. Whether you’re new to projecting and analyzing your projects’ energy usage or a seasoned professional, this guide will help orient you towards achieving your targets. Implementing a consistent approach to energy modeling within your firm is a labor-intensive effort. Before launching, get prepared by packing your bag with the tools you’ll need to be successful.

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