OK, Philip, I withdraw (b):
a) Let's ask this question, not of each other, but of our clients and other interested publics.
[b) Let's know that our publics care more about the places they inhabit than the buildings we design]
Let's stick with (a). You want believable? Ask your clients to tell you how design specifics of their workplace or neighborhood affect how they and their employees get their work done; how impressed people are when they visit; what they think design contributes to property values and their bottom line; how likely they are to have lunch out on your plaza versus eating at their desk.
Scratch (b); assume nothing. Maybe they're into ogee moldings and dominant voids. Or maybe they've noticed nothing except that their neighbor's house feels comfortable and yours leaks. This is post-occupancy evaluation and client relations and market research and it surely belongs with practice management; it's not easy but it's not linguistic philosophy, either.
As for Al Whitehead, I bet if you invite him down to Applebee's (voted the best restaurant in your city the last time I was there) for a few brewskis, he'll drop that Oxford accent and turn out to be a regular dude.
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Robert Miller FAIA
Robert Miller Associates
Washington DC
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