What is the Value of your Work As an Architect?

Sara Kolata
2 min readFeb 22, 2021

We, as Architects, create, grow and develop. But is there a price for that? What is the price of what we do? What is the meaning of the projects we create? Who do they serve? What value do they really carry? Are they aligned with what matters to us personally?

Tune in to my new podcast and hear how adding value to my projects, has changed my life.

During the first years of my career, I started working in an architecture studio, creating projects for someone else. Projects that did not fill me with inspiration. Not only because they had nothing to do with my values ​​and concerns, but also because of the dynamics, they were delivered under. No teamwork, no collaboration. I was spending hours with AutoCAD and the deeper I got into the project, the more tedious the details I was drawing. There were weeks of toilet detailing, windows, facade, door handles, stairs. But despite all my effort and performance, design meetings, group work, inspiring research, or concept creation were in short supply.

How does this routine influence us in our professional career? What impact repetitive work has on our emotions? What are the consequences?

Most architects find themselves burdened by the frenetic pace of work, which sometimes leads us to lose our minds.

Sometimes the amount of dreams and energy that Architects spend to make projects come true is greater than the payback for it.

How can I use what I have to add value to my projects?

In order to know how to bring value to your projects first, you have to know what it is that brings value to you. Know our inner self to be able to create for others. Understand your strengths and weaknesses, in order to build a valuable future. Our great challenge as Architects is precisely the conquest of freedom and dignity in the midst of the structural overwhelm.

Join my free Facebook coaching group for Architects if you want to know more about how to add value to your professional life.

You can also download my recently published e-Book to learn about the impact of digital transformation in your Architecture practice.

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Sara Kolata

Helping architect and design specialists, mentors, tutors, scholars and consultants transition into a digital world.