Dear Ms. [Classified]

From my drafts…

Dear Ms. [Classified],

How did you do it? You felt a calling many of us know, pulled in by the tantalizing black hole that is architecture, like a child to a stovetop. We just can’t help ourselves, can we? Yet, you did so in a time where stovetops are kept near glass ceilings for women like you. I guess skylights always leak, and creatives find a way to burn themselves, huh?

Not only did you receive your degrees from a prestigious university, but you succeeded in New York’s “right of passage,” in your own words. You leapt past fearful men who attempted to reduce you to an overqualified secretary. You moved home, started a family, and gave up your career to raise children. Then, you miraculously snatched it right back from a desk in your basement. You inspired me.

You built a bridge over the nightmarish precarity and toxic power structures that plague our industry. It’s too bad you destroyed it, and maybe that’s fitting—architecture isn’t built to last anyway.

I wish I could say you hired me. I would have loved to be your legitimate employee, rather than feeling pressured to act as one. Five days per week. Deadlines. Late nights. One paid day off would have felt like mercy. A sick day or maybe health insurance? I would have organized if I had that chance, yet I dared not complain. As an independent contractor, I could not be fired. I just might not be welcome back, an incredibly tenuous and exploitative threshold.

You misclassified me.

And you misclassified my coworkers. Being naive and eager to impress, I quickly completed the work of a senior colleague—not long after, their desk was empty. People came and went. Unsurprisingly, without investment in workers, workers weren’t invested. I carry undeserved guilt that my successes were responsible for pushing others out. Yet, I didn’t construct the toxic work environment—you did. You disappoint me.

Unfortunately, you are not alone in this sin. In 2018, the AIA found that 6% of labor is characterized as long-term contract, yet in 2024, they reported that 28% of architects are characterized as “solo practitioners.” ^7,8 These distinctions are blurry at best since I was technically a solo practitioner as the owner of an LLC—which I created at your recommendation for “tax benefits.” It is certainly possible that a fifth of our entire industry is being exploited through this loophole, just as I was. The incentive is obvious; it transfers all costs from you to us—medicare and social security taxes, insurance, workers compensation, maternity leave, and so much more.

This stems from the larger problem of not being paid our worth. Principals like you leverage their power to make up for lost income late in their career by exploiting loopholes and workers, continuing the cycle of abuse. So go get your bag Ms. [Classified]. I daresay you’ve earned it after the glass ceilings you’ve shattered. Just know, one day, that stove won’t be worth the heat, and our beloved architecture will crumple like your bridge.

Sincerely,
Your loyal contractor

7 American Institute of Architects. The Business of Architecture: AIA Firm Survey Report 2024. November 2024.
8American Institute of Architects. Small Firm Compensation Report 2018. January 2018.