Break for Performance
Anyone who has heard me speak knows this quote from Truth and Lies in Architecture by Richard Francis-Jones (2022).
“The sea of practice…is disorienting, and it can be difficult to know where you are heading, where is the shore and even, what is the point? Only when we stop for a moment and step out of [that tide]…will we be able to look back at what it is we are doing and reflect on its nature. This critical reflection is vital to understanding the values, ethics and meaning behind the work, and how it influences the public good. We desperately need a moment out of the sea and a platform to rest on.”
This quote is a challenge to our results-oriented profession. In design and construction, speed often masquerades as strategy. Deadlines are constant, and the demand is always to move faster, deliver sooner, and action everything immediately—a relentless current that is a key factor in the disorienting sea of practice.
For our profession, the feeling of constant motion can be addictive. The truth is, unceasing action without reflection is often the fastest route to inefficiency. If we are constantly executing tasks, we neglect the crucial strategic perspective needed to confirm our ultimate goals and values.
Daily Disorientation
What does disorientation look like in an architectural practice? It manifests as a cycle of reactivity. Maybe you repeat behaviors that led to past problems because no one stopped to document and share lessons learned. Maybe client demands win out over core commitments to design intent, sustainability, resiliency, collaboration with colleagues. Maybe a beautiful design solution blinds us to a project’s core challenge and precious time is wasted. Remember, “reflection is vital to understanding the values, ethics and meaning behind the work, and how it influences the public good.”
Reflection as Strategic Action
Reflection is not a vacation from work; it is the most critical work you can perform. It is the action that guides all subsequent actions. When we step back from the tactical how, we reconnect with the essential why—and safeguard the inherent benefit our profession delivers. So, let’s reframe reflection as a tool for:
Community: Reflection protects the social contract by reviewing adherence to core values like equity, sustainability, and health.
Solving the Right Problem: Reflection can return a sense of purpose to the daily tasks of making architecture. It can reverse the burnout that comes from feeling disconnected from the profound cultural and civic benefit architecture delivers.
Vision and Innovation: Reflection affords us all the ability to critically assess trends and focus resources on actions that move the entire practice toward a more meaningful body of work.
Creating a Moment
Francis-Jones asserts that the need for this pause is desperate. However, clarity rarely happens by accident; it requires an intentional departure from the status quo. Building a "platform to rest on" isn’t about adding more meetings. It’s about fostering a culture where the "why" is as defended as the "when." This might look like:
Cultivate a regular habit of intentionally stepping away from the fray of whatever they’re working on, including pressing deadlines, to, well have a moment.
Move beyond purely technical or budgetary milestones to include checkpoints that interrogate a project's ethical criteria and its long-term community impact.
The discipline to stop for a moment is the strategic edge that transforms a busy firm into a highly effective, values-focused practice. It is the clearest, fastest path to the results your clients—and everyone who uses architecture—deserve.
To fully transform into a values-focused practice, the AIA architect must commit to continuous improvement. Build creative muscle not just through projects, but through critical engagement. Seek out the best architecture books and AIA resources to deepen your understanding of architecture and design. Whether you are exploring design build construction or are a creative writer in architecture wanting to sharpen your creative muscle (a core method taught at many write and learn creative center workshops), the goal is the same: clarity. By integrating reflection, you ensure your firm's work remains worthy of future AIA awards, other industry awards, and delivers profound value.
