LEAP Founder—Eric Davenport—relates what the life of an Albany Architect is like, in this 6 strip comic by local artist Ira Marks. 

Architects Creative Every Day

Creative Every Day – Tales of Art and Life Colliding – is a collection of stories from local creatives around the Capital District of New York. It was conceived, collected, drawn and collated by local cartoonist, Ira Marks. This book, available in print or as an electronic PDF, is meant as a resource for kids, parents and teachers who wants to know what it’s like to work in a creative industry. The entire collection can be found at creativeeveryday.us LEAP Architecture is proud to be included among the many talented folks who shared their creative stories!

Life of an Architect

Q: What got you interested in solar powered cars in high school?

Eric: I was fortunate that in my high school, we were able to chose specialty tracks, and I choose engineering and design. My teacher had us look at designing solar cars, as there were so many aspects to consider. They needed to be lightweight, yet have enough solar panels to produce sufficient energy. They needed to carry a person in relative comfort, move forward, be aerodynamic, and also have enough surface area to orient the solar panels in the proper direction to capture sunlight. The exercise helped open my mind to all of the design demands a project could have, and think about how best to balance competing needs.

Q: Do you think people generally think of architecture as a creative career?

Eric: Yes and no. Some people are under the impression that architecture is strictly engineering—math, math, math—and crazy number crunching. Others have the impression that I sit around and draw artistic pictures of buildings all day. It’s really much more a holistic approach, managing projects and managing people. I would say the biggest skill I apply everyday is creative common sense.

Q: What do you hope people will take away from this cartoon?

Eric: Don’t be afraid of hard work. When you find something you are passionate about, you don’t mind spending the long hours to make it successful. When I was an intern in NYC, my mentor tried to convince me (& all the other interns) NOT to become an architect. Despite his warning of hard work, long hours, and little glory, I knew that being an architect is what I wanted to do then and I’m still passionate about it today.

Q: What reaction did your own kids have, seeing you in a cartoon?

Eric: Well, compared to some of the other stories, my oldest daughter thought mine was boring. She would have like to see me jumping off a building, or imbued with a superpower. So, let me reiterate,there is little glory being an architect. My daughter is a super-creative young actress, dancer, and designer of clothes. I think building design is not in her future, but my hope is this comic strikes a chord with a young version of me, dreaming of the day their designs become real structures.

Want to get to know Eric even better? Check out our post Meet the Architect.

Do you work in a field that allows you to be creative? We’d love to hear what it is. Leave a comment below and tell us what you do!