Article originally published in September 208 on the Novedge blog.
While Mac was one of the first personal computers to have a graphical user interface, the connection seems to extend beyond that and continues even after the GUI became the standard for all personal computers.
Franco Folini
Creative professionals have always been fascinated by Apple products, and the Mac personal computer in particular. While Mac was one of the first personal computers to have a graphical user interface, the connection seems to extend beyond that and continues even after the GUI became the standard for all personal computers. One of the first websites to endorse the partnership between Architecture and Mac was Architosh. This website survived the collapse of the dot-com bubble and still today brings fresh news from the computer graphics and architecture fields, high-quality interviews, product reviews, and a public forum where Mac fans can exchange opinions and share experiences. The person who makes this possible with his daily work and dedication is Anthony Frausto-Robledo.
The interview with Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: Hi, Anthony! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and Architosh?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: Sure. I’m a design person by nature, not a tech person, and I think that gives me a slightly different perspective about tech in design fields.
I have a bachelor’s degree in architecture. I have worked in architecture firms since I was in high school. I was always very good at art. Because I am old enough to have experienced the architecture firm prior to the computer, I remember the predominant feeling of a typical pre-computer firm. It felt like a studio. The spectrum of focus was unbroken. When computers came into practice, there was a mental shift that occurred. The spectrum of focus within the creative firm got split, like an axe splitting a log. This interrupted the combination of energy and calm that I normally felt and associated with an architect’s office.
When I graduated from architecture school, I went to work for Fred Koetter of Koetter Kim & Associates in Boston. Fred was dean of architecture at Yale at the time — he’s an absolutely brilliant architect — and he was my primary architectural hero. Anyway, his office had the same focus as the pre-computer office, yet it had computers everywhere. And they were Macs. What I learned was that this office did amazing things with these Macs, with great efficiency and simplicity, and that these computers fit seamlessly into the office backdrop. In other words, they never got in our way. And because of this, there was no need to split the spectrum of focus. The Macs simply “served us.”
I’m a design person by nature, not a tech person and I think that gives me a slightly different perspective
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: Did you really feel that strongly about technology interfering with the design process? When did Architosh start?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: Yes and no. I could see that some people were not as affected by the disposition between the machine and their craft. But for me, it just really interfered with and affected me more. When I am working at my highest level, creatively, I can’t have any kind of major interruptions. But the personal computer is full of potential disaster and disruption. At this point in the late 90’s I decided I needed to get a hold of technology for myself. I needed, in other words, to figure out how to get technology to simply serve, serve really well… and without interruptions. I needed to ensure that tech in practice would be a lot more like R2D2 in Star Wars than his always-yacking robot companion, C3PO. So I started a consultancy in 1998 and launched Architosh.com in February of 1999.
When it launched, it was simply a listing of my research on Mac software for CAD, 3D, and AEC. I was just exploring back then, but I soon found I had a very large global audience. At that time, the Net was all the rage, and so I began to look at it differently. Within two years, I realized I loved the challenge and opportunities the journalism field presented.
I launched Architosh.com in February of 1999.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: As a long-time Mac user, can you explain the reciprocal fascination between the graphic world and the MacWorld?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: The relationship you speak of centers on just a particular body of creative people — and not just in the graphics world. I think they see a reflection of themselves in the way the Macintosh computer is conceived as a whole. In other words, there is a shared sense of design values.
The fascinating part comes in because the personal computer, by nature, is an enchanting device — like the TV was back in the 50’s — except that you interact with it. When you meet someone who shares the same values as you and sees the world the way you do, you feel affirmed, and that mutual affirmation sponsors a bond. In a sense, the Mac has a powerful way of affirming one’s sense of values as they relate to being who they are — as creative individuals.
There is a shared sense of design values between Mac and creative people.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: Architects seem to be particularly attracted to the Mac platform. What are the specific features of the Mac that are more important to architects?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: Well… architects are creatives like painters, photographers, and other graphic artists. It makes even more sense that they would like the Mac because they often have large philosophical views about the world, and they design and conceive at very large urban scales. The more important they hold their values, the more likely they are to want to surround themselves with the same or supporting values. Apple’s products speak with a crystal clear voice about the values behind them.
This makes them ideal models for creation. I can’t say that there are particular features of the Mac or any Apple product that make them more popular with architects. I would be speculating if I did that. What I can say is that Apple’s products lead the world in the areas of ease-of-use, product and service integration, and that Apple’s products are generally more beautiful, by both critical and popular agreement, than any competitor’s products out there.
Apple’s products speak with a crystal clear voice about the values behind them.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: There is a large community of users that orbits around your website. What kind of interaction is there between the community and the sponsoring companies or companies that are simply the topic of discussions?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: Architosh is somewhat famous — at least in the Mac news world — for its executive-level interview articles. These are very popular with a company’s end users. They get a chance to hear what might be coming down the pike, where a company’s values lie, and what to look forward to.
However, companies now use Blogs to do a lot of this, but that medium cannot authenticate neutrality around larger issues — which is the primary value in independent journalism. Architosh will be launching a new site this Fall that will be building in more interaction capabilities into its journalism.
Architosh readers get a chance to hear what might be coming down the pike, where a company’s values lie, and what to look forward to.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: The business rules on the Internet are always changing. Your website has adapted to new trends and users’ expectations. How do you manage to thrive in this ever-changing environment?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: There is a lot of writing about companies being nimble and flexible in order to survive and thrive, but I think that publications work more around issues of trust. In this case, discussions about being adaptive are a little different. Architosh is here because of a strategic long-term bet I made personally about Apple a decade ago. What we write about today is more relevant than ever. But what is more key now is that we have built up trust, respect, and reliability by doing this back when nobody else was interested in writing about Apple.
So I think what I’m saying is, we have taken the long-view approach and have stuck to our guns. But doing that is not enough to win or be right. One only needs to look at US foreign policy to understand that. What you really need with the long-view approach is to be able to read the situation correctly at the beginning.
At Architosh, we have built up trust, respect, and reliability.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: You contribute high-quality, professionally written interviews and articles to your website. What are the limits of user-generated content, and how much space is left for editors and journalists like you?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: When the new Architosh launches this fall, there will be even more possibilities for user-generated content. Right now, this is mostly contained within the Architosh forums, but this will grow both in the Fall and next year. As for space for editors and journalists?
We have an open policy. Anybody can contribute an article for publication, and many user-readers have. In general, our product reviews are only written by knowledgeable and experienced product review writers.
Anybody can contribute an article for publication, and many user-readers have.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
Franco Folini: The Mac has popularized the concept of a barrier-free transition between the desktop and the cloud (Internet). How will this approach affect architects and their work process?
Anthony Frausto-Robledo: We have been writing about this for quite some time now. We do quite a bit in the cloud internally with Architosh and have been for more than three years.
The Architosh team is globally dispersed, from Germany to Perth, Australia. What cloud computing will do — for not just architects but all businesses — will enable them to globalize their reach for talent and services. I believe that doing this will allow them to strengthen their competitive position relative to their peers.
The Architosh team is globally dispersed, from Germany to Perth, Australia.
Anthony Frausto-Robledo
I would like to thank Anthony Frausto-Robledo for taking the time to answer my questions.
