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Architects are creative synthesizers. We
orchestrate, invent, and blend space and materials to satisfy
practical needs and lofty goals. Architects turn constraints into
opportunities. We reveal the value and nobility of common things.
In collaboration with our clients, we leverage their needs and
budgets to achieve results that transcend the original program and
inspire the users. Architects perform a sort of alchemy. It is both
magical and practical. So why do we so often struggle for
compensation or appropriate recognition?
Of all the key professionals in a business venture, it is the
accountant who carries the title "controller." That is a revealing
name indeed. Money is analogous with control, or at least the
perception of control. If projects go over budget or plans are
delayed, and clients do not understand why, the clients sense a
lack of control. Their reaction will often be to withhold payment
in an attempt to regain control. If they have been included in the
dialogue and had their expectations acknowledged and adjusted,
however, the perception is different. Once they see that they are
part of the process and that their needs are still at the core of
your strategy, then two great things happen. First, clients feel
more in control. Second, and more important, they are more
comfortable letting you be in control. It is critical to
communicate often and candidly. Assumptions and avoidance usually
create a dangerous disconnect in the relationship, and money
problems will soon follow.
Building the Architect-Client Relationship
As a sole proprietor for the past 20 years, I have spent much time
on client relationships. In fact, I have come to realize that
managing those relationships and my clients' expectations is one of
my most important jobs. I treat clients as I would like to be
treated. I build trust and confidence with them, brick by brick. As
these grow, I gain more room to do good design on my own terms. Of
course, it also improves my cash flow and eases the perennial
problem of "getting paid." We all know examples of clients who have
refused to pay for work that was well done and others who have paid
someone highly for work that was poorly done. It happens because of
the relationships of the parties to each other and to the
work.
My projects are primarily residential, and many of them are
remodels. Hence the work is very personal for my clients. We are
dealing with their homes, their families, and a large percentage of
their personal worth. The pressure often reveals deeper issues that
people have with money and control. The owners/clients are
struggling for control of their homes, and the architects are
struggling for control of their creative products. If the architect
is under financial pressure as well, then he or she might end up
struggling for survival. It can become rather emotional, and the
real issues get masked by arguments over payments, schedules, or
even a window detail. When working on people's homes, the lines
between business and personal issues blur easily. I have found it
important to be mindful of those psychological boundaries. More
than one client has nicknamed me the "architect-therapist," but my
bias has served me, and my clients, well.
In residential construction, clients see the work performed each
day, so they develop a gut-level understanding of the complexity
and risks of that work. The work process is tangible and somewhat
intimidating. A certain amount of heroism is involved. By contrast,
architects usually do their work at a great distance from the
client. We are in our offices, with our favorite books and tools,
waving our magic wands (or so it may appear to the clients). The
client is presented later with design schemes whose complexity and
difficulty they may not appreciate. They might not grasp the risks
the architect wrestles with daily, like health and safety codes,
budgets, or concerns that the client will be angry and disappointed
about a change. The architect's heroism is not immediately evident
in the drawings. In fact, beautiful drawings and models can mask
the deeper difficulty of the creative process. Occasionally the
client thinks that the design work was "easy," done primarily for
creative ego satisfaction or, worse, that the architect simply drew
the client's own ideas.
Show Them the Value, They'll Show You the
Money
Creating elegant solutions is not easy. I remind clients that those
compositions I produce are the hard-won solutions to complex,
three-dimensional, sticky puzzles. Good design evolves from a
substantial amount of trial and error, documentation, and risk
management, as well as the more commonly assumed "creative leap."
Our clients need help to realize that the creative ideas they seek
from us also include substantial risk and labor. They will benefit
from the results, so they must also share in the costs. When
clients understand this equation, their attitude toward
architecture fees usually becomes more positive.
In my practice I strive for beautiful and poetic designs. I am also
willing to accept responsibility; give prudent and sometimes
painful advice; and, by the way, insist on payment for it. The
connections are logical: Do the work, accept responsibility, and
charge for the services. They go hand in hand. This does not mean
the architect has to manage the construction or assume the
contractor's liability. It means we have to be present as an active
team member all the way through to completion. The clients see the
value and so does the contractor. I have been told many times by
contractors that they have enjoyed working with me because I
understand construction and do not shy away from that phase of the
job. It is not my construction expertise that they really need; it
is the collaboration and the partnership. They are expressing the
same thing that clients want-to not be abandoned by the architect
at a time when questions arise rapidly and problems are
expensive.
An argument can be made that architects are drastically underpaid
for the responsibilities we assume. Despite our constant quest for
recognition of our designs, it is difficult for architects to ask
for money. We straddle an abyss, with one foot in the world of the
conceptual artist and the other in the world of the practical
businessperson. As a profession we suffer from fees that are low
when compared with similarly schooled and licensed professionals
like accountants and attorneys. We are quick to undercut one
another, and we are almost as quick to undercut ourselves. If we do
not respect and value ourselves, our interns, and our employees,
how can we expect clients to value our work?
On small projects especially, the architect is expected to master
an inordinately wide range of topics, from aesthetics to
waterproofing to construction costs to human behavior patterns in
emergencies. Any one of those categories has experts who devote a
lifetime to mastering the nuances. Architects are expected to
prescribe the combinations and interactions of all of them. We are
master synthesizers and composers. We need to proudly wear that
mantle and command the respect and compensation it deserves.
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