When they want to build, most don't start with the Architect

It has been my experience over the last 25 years that people new to the building process do not try to get started by hiring an Architect. Most will look for the real estate agent first, then they find a contractor, and then the architect is finally brought in to the picture as a necessary means to the end. Many times our service is perceived as a costly bunch of hooey required by governmental authorities, and the conversation usually goes something like this:

Contractor: "Your gonna need an architect."

Client: "I am? Oh, man, what for? What's that gonna cost me?"

Contractor: Gives an estimated cost to client.

Client: "Are you kidding me? For what? A bunch of lines on paper?"

And so it goes.


And of course the line I have heard most of my professional life is that since I'm an architect I must be rich. I actually think I am rich, but in a different sense. I love my profession because it satisfies the creativity that continuously boils over in me and it allows me to make a decent living at it. But monetarily I am not rich when compared to those in other similar professions, like doctors, lawyers and CEOs of major Wall Street companies.

I think a big part of the problem is that public perception of our profession has shifted dramatically over the decades and we have done little to steer it back where it needs to be. And this is what I mean by that.

Architects come in two forms; the designers and the technicians. Designers are very good at perceiving buildings as art. They are in a mindset similar to that of a composer, a choreographer, a poet or a painter. They teeter on the edge of insanity ready to cut off their ear for the cause and hold true to their perceived reality. They often get published, work on projects in Beijing or Dubai, use half the construction document budget to get things perfect and only care about detail when it comes to finishes and color.

Then there are the technicians. They embrace Autocad, Revit and other useful technology and usually approach the profession from a platform of logic, and intolerance for the holier-than-thou designers. They understand numbers and building systems and interact well with engineers. They are the true designers, if you ask them, reworking the original design so it can really be built.

This schism is so strong that it actually shows its self in the type of firms that are out there for the public to use. Some firms are very design biased and others are technically biased, and it's hard for the public to know which is which.

You can try to figure out who's who by looking at websites of different firms. Design oriented firms have beautiful photographs of their work and often use Flash sites to get their point across. They may even have music, and a photograph of the principals in business casual attire, posed and gazing with deep meaning at the camera, barefoot on a beach. Technically oriented design firms often have links to pages that say "coming soon" or "under construction". The only thing they have in common is that they will both proclaim in flowery or complicated language that they are far and away the best firm on the planet. That they have figured out how to do architecture better than anyone else and somehow the best employees ever born have pooled around their little corner of the world. And, oh, that they care only for the welfare of the client, finishing things "on time and under budget".

And therein lies the real problem we have in perception. The public does not know what to believe from an architectural firm. They know we can't all be perfect, yet we say we are. They don't understand what we provide and why they need it, and we don't do a good job of telling them. Even the most seasoned clients don't seem to really know where our services start and stop.

Often we show our best work on our sites or in our glossy brochures (as we should), and that can scare the public into thinking we are too expensive for what they need. Many times we don't offer services we are capable of because we are afraid of getting sued (a subject for a future blog). We simply don't as a profession seem to get the point across.

We don't explain that great design comes from within and isn't necessarily expensive to achieve. We don't explain that good design makes users feel better and gives owners a better resale value.

We don't explain that making a building accessible to the handicapped is something we all owe society, that it is a compassionate thing to do and not just necessary regulation. We treat sustainability as a fad (see blog about jumping on the green wagon) and not as a money saving practice that includes a healthy planet as a positive side effect.

We don't explain that having technical expertise, understanding building codes, materials and methods of construction can make a building safer and even less expensive to own and operate (lower insurance premiums, energy savings, etc.).

And we don't explain that in order to provide all of that you will need to have both the great designer and the expert technician come together to form "the Architect" on each and every project. A good architectural firm will understand this and will keep the balance of both in mind when working with clients. The client that "just needs a permit" will still benefit from the insight of good design, just as the client that wants a monument to their ego will benefit from the great technician.


Maybe the days of the Master Architect are long gone. That's ok, the world is always changing and I'm not sure we need to go all the way back to the days when an architect could be put to death if his building failed. But a little more understanding of how the profession works -by those outside AND inside it - just might lead to something like this:

Client: "I need you to design me a new building."

Architect: "Cool, do you have a piece of property picked out?"

Client: "Yes, but I don't own it yet."

Architect: "Then you'll need a broker."

Client: "I will? Man, what's that gonna cost me?"

Architect: "And you'll need a contractor to build it."

Client: "You mean you guys don't do that? I had no idea!!"

If that happened, I would really feel rich.

A week in LA

Several months back I wrote about what we need to do to survive in the Aftermath, my term for the period after the Great Recession. Back then things were a little less clear. It felt like I was hanging out the door of a slowly moving tractor-trailer trying to stop it by dragging my feet along the ground.

That works, by the way, it just takes a really long time to stop it.

So, I feel we are almost there. If nothing else, we are now able to take the backsliding square in the chest knowing that it's just the way things are. Before we were still full of uncertainty. Now we are completely sure it has been a disaster for our profession and there can be no direction but up.

I just spent a week in Los Angeles with the new Crew Members and it was an amazing week to say the least. As I sat across the table from eight people that are very excited to be a part of our new collaboration, I saw eight strong minds that collectively are ready help us emerge in the Aftermath with a completely new concept as far as architectural firms go and I realized something very important.

I realized that if an idea is a good one, get it out of your mind, tell others and make it a part of their minds. And soon, the collective mind will turn the thoughts and ideas into reality. And I was seeing that happen before my very eyes.

Since I started looking for new crew members in October of last year, I have seen almost 2,000 resumes from people in my profession. Most are very sad stories of being let go and not being able to find work in their chosen field. Most were from people that have a college degree and many years of architectural experience that were hoping to land something before their unemployment benefits ran out. Many had already been unemployed for more than a year. Most I couldn't use because they just wanted me to give them a job, which I could not do.

But a few were like minded. They thought like Fearless Leader and were ready to be part of the collective mind. They might be fearless leaders themselves, just disguised as unemployed architects. And I found them in Los Angeles and San Diego and Las Vegas. There were some in Denver and Dallas, Houston and New Orleans, Portland and Atlanta. And my gut feeling is that they are all over this country, ready to take on the world. And take it on in a new way.

Over the coming months I am going to feature many of our new crew members and introduce to you the ideas they have for the cities they live and work in. As we emerge in the Aftermath to a brighter day I think you will begin to see the power of the mind. The collective mind that is the Curtis Architecture Collaboration.

The Collaboration

Well, it's been a very busy and productive four months since I last made an entry to the blog. It's time to get back in to it and start telling you all what's been going on.

This collaboration idea has been big. There are so many talented architects in this country that are now unemployed and looking to get back in to some relevant and meaningful work. But things are not moving forward very fast in the conventional and traditional sense. A lot of original thinking will need to go into our profession to get it moving again.

I think we are on the right track. We have now associated with 4 new companies and 17 new individuals and we are all helping each other obtain work, from Portland to Atlanta, and just about every major point in between. It's a special arrangement that allows for an individual to basically open his or her own practice within their own city and keep it small and personal. At the same time it allows us to act big as a firm, being considered for projects that a one or two man firm could never hope to obtain.

We are now running a firm that is more virtual than real. We are showing that our true value is in the collective minds of the collaboration and not in the size of our lobby or conference room. We are using tools such as our website, Facebook and Twitter to exchange information with clients, contractors and consultants alike.

Author Jennifer Palmer describes the use of these internet networks in this way:

"The old structures are cracking under the weight of their own overhead. ....change is being propelled by people across the globe who realize that they can connect with one another and organize in far more fluid ways than had been possible before."

I am keeping track of many collaborators in many states on a daily basis, keeping everyone on target with what they are trying to accomplish as individuals who also happen to be a part of a greater whole.

This is working and I get more excited about the possibilities every day.