23/01/2021
You should make your next project better.
WHY BU*****TS GET BUILT:
Part 1- Clients' Fault.
This is the 2nd page of our 4 paged essay titled as in above, which consists of ;
1. Introduction.
2. Clients' faults.
3. Professionals' fault.
4. Faults due to government or society.
Part 1 - Clients' Faults.
1. Pettiness:
Somebody, wants to do a multi-million money project but doesn't want to pay for basic services. Designs are already the cheapest item of expenses in building construction. Clients who intend not to pay for good designs are sure to build some bu****it.
Sometimes, clients demand for something that's not just ethical, maybe; pushing a building too close to the perimeter fence, a disproportionate decorative pillar, windowless rooms, very narrow hallways/stairways. It's not good for the architect to succumb because when the client gets back to his senses (of course, on the next project) he is going to be looking for a 'good' architect. Solution? Be ethical, be a professional that you are.
Do you agree?
2. Fees:
Regular residential buildings may take a couple of hours to conceive but the design process may drag for over one month. That is, if your architect is thorough ( considers everything; cost, your lifestyle, site features, planning standards, climatic factors, etc) and did a functional design.
So, if what you are offering to pay doesn't worth the pains, mind you most 'architects' wouldn't kill themselves. They will do a job that's not too far from the pay. It may still be a fair job but chances that there will be some bu****it not worth the cut in fees is high.
Have you had any near experience?
3. Agency in Sourcing for Drawings.
Sometimes, developers engage a contractor, engineer, surveyor, lawyer, mason, plumber, carpenter, etc to get them an architectural drawing, oops! Talk to your architect directly, messages get lost /distorted during translation. So, your in-law, uncle, sister shouldn't be the one talking to your architect. Normally, everyone has his own peculiar idea of things. When the project is realized, there are going to be some features you would be regretting. This doesn't mean all these people shouldn't be helping out, they can recommend someone, but that the client should also be in the picture, there are many cues the architect picks when interacting with the client that is not spoken!
What do you think?
4.Built-enviroment Illiteracy.
Even with a PhD , most clients wouldn't still be able to read building drawings. Yet, No one will decree that any person intending to start a building project should first get a diploma in a relevant profession.
Your architect should be able to help. Design proposals should start with clear 2D drawings (so as not to bamboozle the client with 3D) but the final submission should include a 3D. There is even 4D technology which is simply softwares with greater capabilities such as ecological/environmental conscious analysis, automatic material estimation, file sharing e.t.c.
So, forget about the paparazzi; big belly, big car, loud mouthed guy, he should be able to propose a design that has all those and also outsmart your initial thinking.
For public buildings, raise a panel of stakeholders (user, financier, construction industry person, management personnel) whom the architect should present to.
Can you share your own opinion?
5. Peer Review Confusion.
Some clients chose somebody they know is not that good or maybe because of his low status (which implies low pay). They then send his submissions to another person to comment on. If you are going to seeking a decisive opinion of another person on an architectural drawing, let that person also be an architect.
Don't tell an 'experienced' surveyor, engineer, plumber, land agent, to be reviewing an architectural design. He will bring in more confusion.
Yours' sincerely has one project that an 'ARCHITECT cm ENGINEER' (simply an established contractor/mason/jack-of -all trade graduate) reviews for the client. Client is now more confused than when we started.
For any building type that is not residential, actual user(s) should review the project with the architect before final submission. I know of a case where the blockwork of a multi-storey building has been completed before the doctors realized the theater wouldn't work. There are situations a gifted architect may not understand intimately!
Do you disagree?
© Originally written for Architects Without Borders -AWB
By Founder/Admin, Quick House Plans.
