Hi, I'm Ross Hartland, a young architect from Bridgend, South Wales.
In 2021 I had a choice to make. Like many others, I'd studied for seven years and practiced for five, only to struggle with the realities of large practice and its corporate career path. Low creative freedom, unpaid overtime, a low salary for high responsibility, rigid hours and redundancies was not the creative life I once imagined.
After battling imposter syndrome I launched Initiate, a journey to find an alternative life as an architect, one that prioritises creativity, making and lifestyle.
I share videos about life as a solo-architect, offering ideas, tools, resources and behind the scenes insight into the process of transforming old buildings for new uses. Join me on this creative journey from my small studio in South Wales.
Thanks for sharing. How can you share a project with a cliente when there is info related to other databases? I mean, in order to not duplicate invoices, I have a view of my "Invoices_DB" filtered with that project (related), but when the client access that view it's empty... Thank you!
I suggest you use Tally forms for your feedback. It's free and it's built perfectly to integrate with Notion and then syncs to a database you can review on the back end in your workspace 👌
Hey Ross, I am in the same boat as you are, only I am about twice your age with double the problems of a freelance architect 😆 Any chance to see part two anytime soon?
Well done great work, do you use notion to track and manage specific project tasks? I’m looking to implement task/checklists for each stage. Great for QA + systemising processes.
Excellent work, do you also have a central database where you update all the tasks relating to the individual project? Or 9s that done in the individual client portals?
Thank you! So if you have a common set of tasks / milestones that you deliver for every project, you can insert these into the master portal template and then when you create a new client portal they’ll be there. You’ll then just need to go into the individual portal and update if a task is ’in progress’ or ‘complete’ and the target timeline. Hope that answers the question 🙏🏻
Great and interesting video as always. Just one comment, your drawings on AutoCad look great, but they are really hard to look at while you're explaining and zoom in when the camera is on an angle like that. It would've been better to show/share your screen as a primary thing we see in this part of the video, and maybe you do a voiceover? Not that we did not want to see you. It would be just be less hectic I feel. I understand you shared the copy of the drawings so we can look at it better, but it personally got a bit hectic. Otherwise, love your work!
@@initiatearchitecture No worries! Again, your work is very interesting. Heritage and adaptive re-use in Architecture has always been an interest, and more and more I find I have been integrating it in my own work. I practice in Auckland, New Zealand as an Architectural Designer.
Love the detail you go into in your videos. Would you consider an AutoCad tips and tricks video or an overview of your whole workflow (CAD-3D-Render-Post production)?
I've just bought this, will save me so much time! If you adjust the north point will it change the rest of the north points in that drawing that have the same title block?
Hey, thanks for the purchase! If you use the ‘bedit’ command and change the north point within the block itself, all drawings with that same block will also change. The way around this is to copy and paste the north point from within the block into the paper space of each drawing, deleting the one within the block itself. That way you can change the north point orientation on a drawing by drawing basis. I hope that makes sense? 🙏🏻
@@initiatearchitectureno problem, loving the channel! I will take it out of the block and leave a dot so that I can just paste it in manually in paper space in the right position. Cheers!
Amazing but I really don’t like the way you setup your desk to me it looks like you prefer looking to a wall in stead of the exterior and your working area is placed in a pathway because when you creat a piece in the center of a small space like that you’re loosing the only spot where you are able to get a better view from the inside to the exterior and it is better for your eyes to be able to look somewhere else some … Here is my recommandations - place your desk in the center of your space so that when you on your chair you look towards the windows - The niche can be your bookshelf -the place where you put your actual desk right after the entrance could be your coffee space like the one you showed earlier ( by the way I like it ) - after that you can put your table (the one you put in the center ) to the corner that just after your coffee space…. By the way I am a freelancer Architect in Sénégal expert in SketchUp founder of BHS-Architecture a person that really loves architecture 3D …. Thanks a lot it’s a pleasure to have the #30x40designworkshop vibes
Very interesting to explore the building and gain some insight! So true about the concrete render, nothing good about it, even in modern construction. Lime is a far superior product in many ways.
Thanks David much appreciated man. Absolutely, the cause of countless damage and defects in historic buildings. With modern construction so focused on speed and cost it often discounts lime, not considering longer term benefit. Thanks for following along 🤝🏼
It’s been great to follow your work! You’re doing great and it has been really helpful or exciting to watch your videos. Looking forward to that project. Brazilian architect here!
Thanks Joe - I’m looking forward to getting into it. Absolutely, lots of learning by doing in practice - I also found the RIBA books on Condition Surveys useful a few years ago.
I found this super helpful. I watched this video and measured survey video one after each other. It's really interesting to see how you work as an individual within your own practice. I personally appreciate the transparency and I am really looking forward to future videos!
So pleased to hear this man. It’s an effort to film my work as it’s unfolding and all I hope is that it’s helpful to others. Thanks for sticking around, lots more to come 🤝🏼
Really enjoy the insight view of your work. And a little sneak preview of your studio. Can't wait for part 2 of the studio and the Telephone box. Big inspiration! Keep it up. 👍
Interesting subject. You can use the unrepairable ones as a bus station. Gather a few boxes, connect the together, remove the fronts for entrance, place some seating and lightning and there you go. Just an idea. Keep up the good work man, greetings from an engineer!
Thanks man - interesting, if there’s a site where there are multiple side by side there might be potential to explore interconnecting ideas. Thanks for the support 🤜🏼🤛🏼
