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Apr 29, 2008 8:35 am US/Central
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Dream Jobs: Bill Hudson Designs A Skyscraper
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
Since the time I was a kid pounding together tree forts, I've been fascinated with architecture -- from elegant old gingerbreads to the towering skyscrapers of art deco design. Somewhere along the line, TV storytelling diverted me from my dream of becoming an architect.
For
WCCO This Morning's new series on dream jobs, I went in search of advice from an expert.
"We then take our first stab, it's called schematic design," explained Paul Whitenack, an award-winning architect with RSP Architects in Minneapolis. Back in 2006, he was honored as Minnesota's Young Architect Award, given by the AIA.
Whitenack was the perfect mentor for my desire to go inside an architectural firm and see what the profession is like.
The firm's home office is inside the historic Grain Belt Brew house at the corner of Marshall and Broadway. It's a 19th century building that Whitenack and his company gutted and redesigned to turn the building's interior into spacious offices.
This is the very type of building that draws me to the profession. When I'm out driving around, I find myself gazing up at buildings to see how they're built and what kinds of materials they are constructed of.
RSP has designed projects for clients around the world, including skyscrapers in China. It's the firm that Minneapolis' Target Corporation uses to design its stores.
Whitenack's latest project is in Arizona, where he and a team are designing a first of its kind: a "Musical Instrument Museum."
As Whitenack took me on a tour of the firm, it became very clear from the start that the days of drafting tables, pencils and t-squares are over. Today's architects use a mouse and keyboard, drawing with the help of computerized programs that create their detailed drawings.
One program now in use is called REVIT. According to Whitenack, "a person could visit these buildings in virtual reality whether they get built or not."
Whitenack said two kinds of people are drawn to the profession: those with aptitude for art and science.
"I did start out as a graphic artist and then was drawn to how a building was constructed," he said.
Finally it was my turn to take the mouse and keyboard for a spin. I was amazed by the modern technology that allows an architect to draw in walls, insulation, materials and dimensions. The software is so advanced that a change to one drawing or detail, will automatically change in of the other associated computerized views.
As I took the mouse one more time, Paul told me where and what to click. From original site plans to structural, electrical and mechanical drawings, what began with raw vision ended in a monument of beauty, made of steel, stone and glass.
What I've drawn is a far cry from those first pencil sketches of that backyard tree fort.
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