Rob
Name and credentials:
Rob Grant MAIBC
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City and country of birth:
Holberg, British Columbia, Canada
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Education:
Bachelor of Science, University of Victoria - 1993
Fine Arts Diploma, University of Victoria - 1997
Masters of Architecture, University of British Columbia - 2001
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Achievements:
Yount Elementary School – Best Halloween Costume 1977
UBC Kenny Charow Prize 1998
UBC AIBC Scholarship 1999
- A few of my favourite things:
My son’s constant chatter
Tomato season
Third Beach in Stanley Park
A good pulled pork sandwich
The peak of Mt. Albert Edward
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Tell us about your practice as an architect.
I have been registered for five years and am currently an associate at mcfarlane | green | biggar Architecture + Design.
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What architectural work are you most proud of?
The array of wooden toy blocks my son and I have spread between our living room, kitchen and bathroom.
Tied for second would be the expansion to the Ottawa International Airport our office recently completed, and the new airport terminal building in Fort McMurray that we are currently designing.
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What was it that brought you to architecture?
A fair amount of naivety.
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How many children (grandchildren) do you have? Ages?
My wife and I have one son who is 16 months old.
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How do you manage to practice architecture while raising children and running a household?
To claim that I am “managing” to do these things makes it sound like I know what I am doing. It is probably more appropriate at this point of my life and career to say that I am “attempting” to do these things.
Most importantly, I am not doing these things alone. My wife and I rely on each other a tremendous amount. Since we both work at mcfarlane | green | biggar Architecture + Design, we each have a pretty good appreciation as to what the other is going through at work. At home we try hard to share the work load, which includes raising our son and keeping a semblance of sanity to our home while renovating it at the same time.
Also, our office has been extremely supportive to both of us. After my wife returned to work from her maternity leave, our son started daycare three days a week. My wife and I each stayed home for one of the two remaining days a week. Although sometimes it meant scheduling conference calls during nap time, it did allow each of us to actively participate in the office while also prioritizing being a parent.
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Can you recall an instance where the dual responsibilities of being a parent and an architect came to a head?
I think the conflicts between a parent and being an architect are not that much different than those that occur in any other profession. Pressures from working long hours, meeting unreasonable deadlines, being away from home due to work-related travel, trying to save for some kind of retirement in the distant future, or trying to move your career forward are not limited to architects.
So far I think I have been able to avoid any major conflicts. I like to believe that when it does happen, I will know how deal with it.
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Do you think that being a parent has actually influenced your approach to architecture?
Definitely. I also think that being an architect has also influenced my approach to parenthood.
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“There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall.”
- Cyril Connolly, Enemies of Promise, 1938
What do you think about this quote?
It is an extremely outdated attitude. When my wife and I first graduated from architecture school, we had a lot of concerns about how we would ever be able to have a family. Our salaries were not much to speak of, we worked lots of overtime, we had huge student loans, and the idea of owning our own home seemed impossible. We were also very discouraged by the lack of role model couples who were both successful architects and parents.
Of course, once you start talking to people in the architectural profession, it turns out that there are numerous good examples, both locally and internationally. Unfortunately, it is more common to hear about struggling architects sacrificing everything, including their family life, for their art.
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What is the best piece of advice you would give to a would-be parent / architect?
The best advice I wish someone had given me was that there is no such thing as the “perfect time” to have a child. I think the resiliency that most architects learn in their professional life helps with the unexpectedness and relative chaos of raising a child.
Just as in architecture, there are some tears and tantrums, but in the end it is great fun.
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If you could change public policy that impacts on child-rearing, what would that be?
Childcare needs to accessible and affordable. Arguing that it is too expensive to provide adequate funding for daycare and after-school care fails to acknowledge the impact this has on parents and by extension the economy.
Prior to the economic issues surrounding the recession, government at all three levels was already backing away from adequately addressing the need for childcare in all its forms. Now, I am extremely pessimistic that anything will change for the better. Parents will be paying for this short-sightedness for the immediate future, but the rest of society will be paying for a long time.