I understand Phllip's frustration. It is amazing how much effort is put into good design and execution of projects where the public and owners do not necessarily appreciate what it takes even on small relatively "simple" jobs. Nothing in design and building is simple and there is a lot of coordinate to getting it right, let alone getting a little magic to occur here and there (or in some cases major magic). It is up to us to define and promote quality and value in our services and perform well and tell our story all along the way, both during and after projects. Setting and maintaining standards of care where we actually might refuse a project if we know at a certain fee we cannot maintain a certain level of quality will help. As chair of Practice Management in Chicago, I think it is ludicrous to not discuss how money effects architectural practice and we must be able to discuss this. In fact, understanding finances is one way way can become trusted advisors to clients when it comes to managing their design and construction dollars and thereby directly increase our monetary value to clients. Shying away from full understanding and reckoning of finances will only aid in keeping us down as a profession. -------------------------------------------
Randall Kurzman AIA
Kurzman Architecture, LLC
Chicago IL
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