Is Mass Timber Finally Mainstream?
Is mass timber construction mainstream in 2026? What the IBC Type IV-A, IV-B, and IV-C provisions changed, where it pencils, and what it does to your fee.
All posts
26 posts across eight topics.
Can Architects Actually Work a Four-Day Week?
Can a four day work week work at an architecture firm? The utilization math, what the 4 Day Week Global pilot found, which firms it fits, and how to run a pilot.
Why Everyone Is Talking About Missing Middle Housing
Missing middle housing is back because of cost burdens and zoning reform. What fourplexes and courtyard buildings mean for small-firm design and fees.
Fixed Fee vs. Hourly vs. Percentage of Construction: Which Is Healthiest?
Which architecture fee structure is healthiest: fixed fee, hourly, or percentage of construction? When each works, where each bleeds, and the hybrid to use.
What's the Difference Between Zoning Approval and a Building Permit?
Zoning approval vs building permit: what each review checks, who runs it, how they sequence, and what the difference costs your schedule and your fee.
How to Stop Scope Creep Before It Eats Your CA Fee
Scope creep in architecture eats the CA fee first. What to count in AIA B101 Article 4, when to send an additional services request, and how to prevent it.
Are You Charging Enough? A Fee Benchmarking Guide for Architects
No one publishes an architecture fees benchmark, so build one: bottom-up cost, industry multipliers, percentage-of-cost checks, and the signs you undercharge.
How to Write an AI Policy for a Small Architecture Firm
A two-page AI policy template for an architecture firm: approved tools, data rules, verification duty, client disclosure, and a NIST AI RMF map.
What Is a Good Utilization Rate for an Architecture Firm?
A good utilization rate for an architecture firm is roughly 60% to 65% firm-wide, with different targets by role. Deltek Clarity 2026 and PSMJ benchmarks.
Why Office-to-Residential Conversions Are Harder Than They Look
Office to residential conversion, from someone who has run the test fits: floor plates, plumbing, code triggers, incentives, and when a building pencils.
How Long Does an ADU Permit Take?
ADU permit timeline, honestly: what California's 60-day ministerial clock covers, what has to happen before it starts, and how long approvals take elsewhere.
Which AIA Contract Documents Do You Actually Need?
AIA contract documents explained for small firms: what B101, A101, A201, C401, and G702/G703 do, when to use the short forms, and which article holds your fee.
What's the Difference Between Fire-Rated, Fire-Resistant, and Fire-Retardant?
Fire-rated vs fire-resistant vs fire-retardant, explained: which words map to ASTM E119, ASTM E84, and NFPA 285, and how to verify a rating before plan check.
How to Calculate Your Firm's Break-Even Multiplier
How to calculate the break-even multiplier for an architecture firm: overhead rate, a worked example, the profit markup, and the billing rates that follow.
Will AI Replace Architects? An Honest Look
Will AI replace architects? An honest look at BLS and NCARB numbers, which tasks AI is taking, why it cannot seal a drawing, and what your firm should do now.
Where Do Architects Find Free Revit Families (and Which Ones Are Safe)?
Where to find free Revit families, which sources are worth a download, and a 10-minute vetting routine that keeps bloated content out of your project model.
What Is CSI MasterFormat and Why Are There 50 Divisions?
CSI MasterFormat divisions explained: why 16 became 50 in 2004, what the six digits mean, which divisions architects write, and MasterFormat versus UniFormat.
Where AI Falls Flat in Architecture (A Reality Check)
A reality check on AI limitations in architecture: where it fails on codes, floor plans, numbers, confidentiality, and your own files, and what it is still good for.
What Are the Biggest Architecture Trends Heading Into 2027?
Architecture trends 2027: housing reform, mass timber, adaptive reuse, extreme heat, and embodied carbon, with cited figures and what each means for your firm.
What Are the KPIs Every Architecture Firm Should Track?
The architecture firm KPIs worth tracking, with Deltek Clarity and AIA benchmarks, and a review cadence for the monthly principals' meeting.
What Are the Professional Organizations Every Architect Should Know?
A working guide to the architecture professional organizations that matter: AIA, NCARB, CSI, NIBS, ICC, SMPS, and what a small firm should actually pay for.
What Materials Should Every Architect Understand Cold? (A Working Reference)
An architectural materials guide to the metals, wood, glass, and enclosure products architects specify most, the standards behind them, and how each one fails.
Why Does Permitting Take So Long? A Plain-English Explanation
Why does permitting take so long? The three clocks between submittal and issuance, which ones your firm actually controls, and what the waiting costs in fee.
Why Do Architecture Projects Always Run Over Budget? (And What the Data Says)
Why an architecture project goes over budget: optimistic SD hours, unpriced revisions, and CA that runs long. What AIA, Deltek, and PSMJ data shows, and the fixes.