Outside the Lines

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posted 02/09/07 by Todd Hunter Substance Abuse in the Design Studio

Though the shape and form of some modern structures may make us think the Architect was on drugs, substance abuse in the AEC industry is becoming a big problem for many design firms and is causing large drops in productivity. Many of the architects designing these buildings have become addicted to marker pen fumes. During a deadline crunch, Jason Flugelhorn of KMDRNLSOM&Q Architects was found passed out in the fetal position next to the copier machine with a Crimson colored marker lodged in his left nostril and a brand new Azure pen he was apparently about to open. “This is the third one since we started this project” the managing principle of KMDRNLSOM&Q told us. “We thought the oderless pens would help. The worse part is, we still need three different design options ready to present tomorrow, and that was the only Crimson marker we had”.

Though it has not been approved by the FDA, clinical studies at Autodesk Labs have proven that Impression will not only prevent a dependence on the fumes but also eliminates the need to be exposed to the markers that create them. Preliminary studies also show great promise for Impression helping to actually cure the marker fume addiction suffered by so many architects. When I visited Jason at the Gerry Garcia Clinic in Woodacre, CA, he was but a shell of his former self. Nurse Emily Puffwelder, head of Jason’s ward, told me Jason is a very talented designer. “He just wants to colorize CAD files all day. He does well with finger painting but he keeps sniffing the Tempra. Also, cleaning the paint off the computer monitors is becoming a problem”. I sat down next to Jason and put my laptop PC next to him with Impression running on it. He removed the colored marker pencaps that he had placed on his fingertips and immediately began to create styles and apply them to layers. His eyes became aware and the color seemed to come back to his pale complexion (except for the crimson stains around his nose). I told the staff at the clinic to download the latest Technology Preview of Impression and install it on all of the PCs at the clinic. The clinic administrator refused and said that this type of rehab brings them $30k a month per patient, and that actually curing people would be bad for the clinic's business. At that point, I grabbed Jason and my laptop and though he was only wearing a diaper, I put him in my car and got out of that place.

Less than a week later, Jason was back to his old job at KMDRNLSOM&Q and deftly using Impression to prepare for presentations.

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