william bates

In today's episode we discuss three separate cases of prominent citizens from the turn of the 20th Century that suddenly disappeared only to, possibly, reappear years later.  The first is William Cantelo, a British inventor and pub owner that vanished while developing a machine gun only to possibly reappear as an American inventor with the same idea.  The second is Dr. William Bates, a noted surgeon and ophthalmologist that vanished leaving his wife heartbroken, only to reappear years later as if nothing had happened and no real memory of the event.  The third is physicist Ettore Majorana, who vanished in 1938 after working on the discovery of the neutron.  He is thought to have possibly resurfaced years later in Venezuela under an assumed name.       

As the former international president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and a current adjunct professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, William Bates joined the Building PA Podcast to discuss the future of architecture.  Before we discuss the future, Bates shared insight into his tenure with the AIA and discussed best practices from his time traveling the world to promote the architecture industry.  As an industry leader, Bates has seen his fair share of change and challenges, but as a professor, he discusses his success tips, which include taking pride in the work, following trends, understanding the estimating and construction management process, and acknowledging how these components are assembled to complete a successful project.

Bates also shared his recommendations for future generations of architects.  Bates strongly encourages the next generation to work in construction during the summer months of college to understand the skills and training that are required.  He said, “future architects need to understand how a contractor not only builds but how the pre-construction phase impacts a project.”

Listen in as Bates talks about the future of the industry related to retail space, general building, and the technologies he anticipates will become indispensable.