"Sir, what type of house would you like? Would you like brick, wood, or cement? What type of roof would you like?" To be an architect in Colonial days you needed to know math, science, geography, building construction, building design, and you needed an imagination. An architect needed to know how to estimate the cost of a building and how to draw building plans. Architects employed carpenters and other tradesmen. Some African American enslaved people were trained as carpenters.

Some of the tools they used were:

• Bevel - used to lay out angels other than 90 degrees
• Compass - used to measure circles
• Square - used to make right angles

Some famous architects of Colonial times were President Thomas Jefferson, who designed Monticello and the University of Virginia, and French architect Pierre L'Enfant, who designed Washington, D.C.