Project Delivery

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Project Delivery and Practice Management Member Conversations .
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There is no doubt that many in the business and leadership of communities can recognize the contributions that architects can make and do make, especially in community leadership.  Architect skills are particularly suited to helping to solve large scale problems and help gain consensus for action.  But this kind of appreciation and the kind of appreciation that people are willing to open their wallets for are different.  These kinds of activitities may contribute to business development, they do, but should that be what architects have to do to win work that actually pays?  Everyone, it might be argued, should take an active roll in their community, but it shouldn't be required for them to earn a living in architecture.  The way architects bill for their time is not conducive to demonstrating the value that architects bring to their clients.

Prinicpals work eight hours a day doing what they actaully get paid for, then spend another four out in the community doing what they actually do for a living.  This is backwards.  There must be a better way.

Take medicine as an example, and admittedly, it is not the best example, but it will have to do.  A surgeon may spend hours doing other things, but he is paid for doing what his biggest contribution is, operating on the patient.  Architects either must change what we are paid for, and how we get paid, or focus our efforts and the AIA's efforts on defining architects and architecture as what we get paid for.  The inconsistency in this public perception is killing us.

 

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Alan Burcope AIA, MBA, LEED AP
VP Project Development
HBE Corporation
Saint Louis MO
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An interesting proposition. The underlying problem is that unlike the surgeon we impact multiple sectors of society and our services are not paid by third parties. It is important that we educate the public to the value we add to the built environment and society as a whole. This is accomplished by our civic engagement and should be viewed as a cost of doing business.

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Burton Roslyn AIA
President
Roslyn Consultants, LLC
Roslyn Heights NY
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It seems that the value of an architect is not easily defined to the average citizen or professional. Most people think of architects as expensive visionaries who draw cool designs, but hire a general contractor to design and construct buildings for a lot less, or so they think. What other profession gets so much competition from contractors- engineering, medicine, law, accounting?

Perhaps architecture is a profession that is still considered an art, and since we have the satisfaction of creating environments for people to live in, that satisfaction is considered part of our pay.

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Suzanne Hren AIA
Architect
Fort Myer, VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-24-2011 08:54
From: Burton Roslyn
Subject: Value, A new Proposition for the AIA?

An interesting proposition. The underlying problem is that unlike the surgeon we impact multiple sectors of society and our services are not paid by third parties. It is important that we educate the public to the value we add to the built environment and society as a whole. This is accomplished by our civic engagement and should be viewed as a cost of doing business.

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Burton Roslyn AIA
President
Roslyn Consultants, LLC
Roslyn Heights NY
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