What does a typical day look like for an architect?

On a typical workday of an architect, these are largely the duties to cover and in a pretty typical sequence, barring any unexpected event:

• Emails, texts, and phone calls (2 hour a day): Communication is key during the planning and execution phase of a project. There are numerous teams involved in any given project. There are materials, supply chain, weather, code inspectors, timeline, etc. that can impact a project timeline and need to be immediately resolved to ensure the project moves along as planned.

• Team meeting (1 hour a day) Depending on the project's size and the team under the architect's supervision, there could be junior architects, architectural designers, interior designers, and drafting technicians. Such meetings are not merely for the architect to communicate their ideas, plans, and instructions, but they are also crucial for the team members to raise questions and issues that must be dealt with for work to progress.

• Coordination work review drawings (2 hours a day): A building project's success relies heavily on getting the details right, which means lots of coordination work with the various design consultants and trade specialists. Architects use a Building Information Modeling (BIM) application for drawings and coordination tasks.

• Statutory compliance work (0.5 hours a day): The translation of ideas on the drawing board into a built form is only made possible through compliance with the local authorities' relevant building codes and statutory requirements.

• Design, research, and architectural detailing (2 hours a day): With the bulk of work involving communications with stakeholders out of the way, it is now right for some quiet time to get design work done.

• Job site visit (2 hours a day): The danger of a building project hitting problems is likely when there is poor or erroneous communication between the design team and the contractors. Visiting job sites and closely monitoring work progress are part and parcel of an architect's responsibilities.

• Paperwork, organize work desk, and prepare for the next workday (0.5 hours a day): Before the close of play, it is crucial to get the paperwork in order. Address what there is to address, and file away those that require no further action.