

After all, most Lego lovers will tell you that a firm foundation is a necessary component in making a soaring skyscraper.

They are artists with grounding in reality. Architects are perhaps a rare blend of creativity and practicality. "Ever since that point, I was looking for the quickest path to becoming an architect and building things," he writes in an email. After the visits, Goldstein would return to his Legos – he had buckets of them – and recreate what he had seen.

At the time, his parents were house hunting, and they'd bring him along to see the different options. Jordan Goldstein, global director of design and delivery at one of the world's top architectural firms, Gensler, was practicing to become an architect at age 5. Architects are involved at each step of a project, from the initial planning sessions to the ribbon-cutting ceremonies. And their masterpieces are the shops, libraries, office buildings and grocery stores we frequent all the time. They're artists, but instead of a canvas, they have cities, parks, college campuses and more to display their work. Architects use their skills in design, engineering, managing and coordinating to create aesthetically pleasing and safe buildings that serve a purpose.
