Mark Berkowsky, president of Berkowsky and Associates, was interviewed in the mid 1990s as part of a multimedia project designed to help students decide if architecture was a career to consider. We present a portion of that interview, in which Mr. Berkowsky shares his thoughts about how he approaches his business. We hope prospective clients will find it enlightening.

Q: What made you want to become an architect?

That's a tough question. I evolved toward it. I guess I had a bent toward the artistic, but also an aptitude for the technical side. In high school, I had an interest in industrial design, and architecture was the same kind of thing except you built an environment as opposed to a physical product. So, it was more technical ascetics than the traditional concept of "Well, you're good in art, you're good in math, so architecture is the right career for you."

Q: Could you describe a typical day?

Sure. I think it probably breaks down into two parts. One is managing: relating to my employees, project architects and project managers. I look over their shoulders, see what they're doing, make sure they're doing a good job, provide a little support when questions are asked and when answers are needed. Sometimes I answer them, sometimes I point them toward an answer.

We're a design and construction firm. There is an architect assigned to every project who is the decision maker for architecture on that project. I really have delegated that. I don't personally sign off on every design on every project. It's the project architect who has that responsibility. I'm there in an oversight capacity, to make sure time limits are met, that sort of thing.

The other side is outside the office. I spend a lot of my time relating to clients, both existing clients as well as prospective ones, trying to get new business. Half of my time is really spent on marketing.

One of our successes is we're small enough that I can personally know what's going on with every project. Clients feel that they can call me. I'm typically not the first line of communications, but the second. Still, clients know there's always somebody to call - and the owner of the firm, at that - and that does provide a comfort feeling. So I have to be with clients, talking to them, reviewing projects, going to the project meetings. I spend a lot of time at meetings.

Q: What is the best part of your job?

Probably getting a job and then walking into the building when it's completed with a happy owner. And then getting a call back a few years later to do the next one, because they've been happy with what they've seen in the initial project, as well as what they've lived in for a couple of years.

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Q: What's the hardest part?

When we fail: When we do not meet the time commitments - which are always big with clients - or where the construction doesn't meet the client's expectations, whether it's a roof that leaks or a laboratory that doesn't function properly. Losing a job doesn't affect me that much. You can't get them all. It's when you have a job and you're not successful with it. That's where the downfall is. We're not perfect - no one is. I get disappointed when we haven't done the job that we should have done, and I know we can do better.

Another thing that can be frustrating is when solutions don't come quickly. Design is an ongoing process. Unless you have an end dates, you can always make a design better. I do a lot of things concurrently. Therefore, my patience level is short, and I tend to design more quickly. But design is not a quick process. I think it's difficult for me when I'm actually doing design work - which isn't often anymore - to take the time that design requires and to go through the process.

Q: Are you glad you became an architect?

I very much am. Again, like everyone else in their job, I have highs and lows. For the most part, I'm on a high right now because I'm personally involved as an architect on a project, so I'm involved in the creative side of it. I see success coming. I have a good relationship with the client. If that continues to the end of the project, then I'm sure I'll really be glad.

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