After spending 40 years both designing and building complex projects it all gets down to a simple reality. Based on t.he quality level of construction documents produced, as a contractor it is virtually impossible to build a project based on the documentation provided by the design professionals.
The collaboration that was discussed with the architect, GC/CM and his subcontractors is the forum that is required to transmit the message that s RSI required to transmit the true design intent and assemble the additional design information, whether drawings or specs, the proper level of submittals and the discussions relevant to each trade to capture the true int.net of the design.
The day of the comprehensive set of documents that depict the projects true intent, it' s true coordination of systems, materials and quality attributes is decades behind any of us in his world of low fees, non-existing funding and electronic media that serve as the Contract Documents.
The only truth I have seen is the collaborative effort that must be an Architect's means of maintaining a foothold as the facilitator of his creation, combined with convincing any owner of the true value of this mission.
After being in the middle of this process as an Architect first, Owner and a Builder on thousands of projects, Architects mst raise their viewpoint from the verbiage of a spec to a high loftier view at 5000 feet above to realize this a piece of a business investment and they can either chose to adapt their tools to the world that changes each day or trudge among the long past diminished trade has has reduced the respect and need for their skillsets.
Successful project execution is a result of an entire new set of skills and needs that exists today. Trade careers to really get in the shoes of the other members of your project teams. What you think is important is really not. Just as other industries have had to totally transform themselves, Architecture is like that 12 mpg "gas guzzler" which complains about everyone else around them. When you point your finger at someone, look where the other three fingers point. It is never too late to change.
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Edward Tannebaum AIA
Huntingdon Valley PA
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