About Design Fees

"What?!!! How Much?!!!"
If you haven't worked with an architect, that may be your initial reaction when you look at an architect's proposal for services. What I say to that is yep, it does look pretty high. But to get past the shock you need to look past the proposed price and then the overall cost of building a project. Compared to the cost of construction it's pretty low, about 10-20 percent depending on level of detail and involvement. And if you think an architect's fees are high, they're actually dwarfed by the contractor's fees, which a competent contractor works very hard and takes on tremendous liability to get.
You also need to look at what you're getting. A good architect doesn't charge a big fee and then whip out a couple of drawings to justify it. What your design professional is doing for you is interpreting your needs into a concise, detailed set of documents that ensures your project is done the way YOU want it. What your design professional is doing for you is making sure that your building complies with local codes, ensuring that it is properly engineered, getting permission for you to build your project (ie permits), and much more.
Furthermore, an architect's job is tough - detailing a project for construction is extremely involved.
Take these things into consideration before closing the door. Of course check into your design professional; make sure you learn all you can about the firm, and know that the fee is not necessarily the be all end all price, but the architect's first sentence in a conversation. Enagage in that conversation and open up to the possibility of quality in your investment. I wish you the best of luck whatever you decide.

Credit Where it is Due

I keep a couple of subscriptions to architecture related magazines coming my way: Dwell, Architectural  Record, etc., and I like them,  I do, however, have a hard time actually reading them. It seems that I like to look at the pictures and move on with my life. Partly it's that I'm busy - perhaps also it's some problem with paying attention, I'm sure the factors are numerous (plug my disdain for architectural critics here). BUT, I think I found the big reason why I can't seem to stay interested in these things: and that is that the the people who receive credit for the featured work do not do the work.The fact is, folks who do the work are stashed away somewhere in the building where they are not seen. These people are paid very little and are treated poorly.
Being in the industry, I can say that very few architects actually know how to "draw." And I guess that's where I feel separated from the people posing in the magazines; it's like a fat person looking at a supermodel.

Too Busy Yet Too Poor

Last year was fantastic in the development of my company. I was pulled into a new market that held promise - that was IPD Modeling (IPD stands for Integrated Project Delivery and it is an emerging construction coordination process). Frankly, IPD carried us or most of 2011 while the architectural design/drafting market was dragging itself back to the surface.
The good old design/drafting market is coming back, and is welcome as IPD is taking a break. But the challenge I'm seeing is in the devaluation of my services as an architect. Part of it is the client type; we're seeing more and more developers come through the door, and they want us to tighten up the numbers.
So I'm seeing myself busy, but poor. It's a bit frustrating.
What's more frustrating is that there is other work that has a better client type, but it's all going to the older, better established firms in town. And yet to add to this, I feel that I have more value to offer. A lot of these other architects in practice can't even use the software, but instead hand it down to a draftsperson or "CAD Operator".
I am the owner of my firm and personally develop my plans. Just gonna let this post trail off with that rant...

Spring Joy

The spring rush is here and in my third year of running a business (though it's really running me), I finally see it for what it is. If I could cram a week into a day there still wouldn't be enough time - for me. That's because I'm giving it all to my clients and, you know what, that's what I'm here for. I don't sneeze at work, I take it as it comes.
Thursday, I can count five projects that needed my attention while the fifth one that I got to was the one that needed the most attention. That fifth project was supposed to get its full attention Friday but between all of the phone calls, errands, bills, and meetings, it got a phone call to the client and that's it; the client, a builder, was trying to get out of town so the phone call was a short one.
I'm also trying to get out of town. Next week is the Colorado Chapter International  Building Code Convention in Denver: this is where I get the bulk of my continuing ed credits for my license. My intention was to leave today, ride the snowboard in Breckenridge tomorrow with my friend  Jeff, and arrive at the Denver Tech Center on Monday at 8 am ready to learn. Instead, Jeff is stuck going to Breck Solo because that "fifth" project never got any attention - if there's anything I might be a little bummed about it's that, but still, Front Range skiing can be a hassle anyway. I'm taking my road bike, so I can sneak out for some base miles after class. I also have a
Fiver-Pass to Corepower Yoga so I'm covered there.
But really,  have no idea what will actually transpire. The spring rush is upon me and, like the weather, the workload is a bit volatile. 

Sick of Used Car Salesmen Posing as Contractors

Just sick of the Durango Cowboy contractors. If you live in Durango then you know who I''m talking about: the guy with the dog and the truck who say's "I'm a Contractor." Most of these clowns are guys with trucks and dogs, that is all.
I'm not afraid to lose work, honestly I have much more valuable ways of spending my time than to scrap over a remodel. You can have it you bottom feeder.
Dealing with these greedy pigs is below me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bigtime by any means; I'm surprised if I make my mortgage payment. But still, these are games reserved for a special breed of idiot. An architect licensed in two states has no business here.

I Wanna Chase Bright Shinys

I just want to do the fun stuff. And I see a lot of fun stuff in what I do. That's a challenge of owning a business, you have to do everything; being selective isn't much of an option.
When I set out it was with daydreams of building models and carefully designing my work. Didn't take much time to think about juggling bank accounts and researching insurance policies. Yuck!
I'm learning. Can't complain but I do anyway. I could say I'm getting used to it but I'm really holding out for the day that I can hire someone for my Department of Lame Activities.

Kids These Days

The funny thing for me is that I never really grew up. I'm childish at heart; a 37 year old with the maturity level of someone who's 17, kind of fun really. But I'm starting to feel my age with the generation gap that widens between me and the real 17 year-olds. I could start with modern pop music and how it makes me feel which is not good but I never really was a popular music fan, unless you count 80's headbanger types. No, I'm thinking more about technology and how it's shaping the new generations. I see a real disconnect here. Oftentimes I see tweens, teenagers, and young adults enter a room while staring at an electronic device, most often a phone or PSP tyoe thing. There's kids texting other kids that are in the same room...I don't get it - but then again maybe I'm not supposed to.
I grew up during the inital emergence of computer technology to the public: back in the day of the Tandy TRS 80, the Commodor, the Atari, get the picture? These things were novel. They didn't have much practical application unless you account for basic word processing and even that was limited. I was an A-student in vocational drafting all through high school, but we did all of our work at a drafting table with pencils, scales, and straight-edges; AutoCAD was just starting but was not to replace hand-drafting for another 10 years or so.
I started college 4 years after finishing high-school. By that time, a basic AutoCAD lesson as required curriculum. 3d modeling was becoming more accessible, photoshop was up-and-coming. I dove in headfirst. I got my first job at an architecture firm during my third-year: during the interview the main question for me was " how's your CAD?" This was the transitional period as I saw it.
I even saw it at my university. Some of the older, tenured professors at my university complained of architecture losing it's soul to computers and cared nothing for articulate 3d models. A classic question from some of these folks was "where's your section?" Others were so blown away by the look of finely photoshopped 3d models that an A wasn't too hard to come by.
When I graduated and went to work the most important criteria was a candidate's computer skills. And so the transition was made. My field was fully digitized. CAD became made mainstream, BIM conquered CAD, the internet retired fax machines.
Long story but it helps increase my understanding of the plugged-in generation, the kids and their devices. If someone from 1988 with a file-o-fax and a pager saw someone today with a smartphone and laptop, their head would probably expode. I don't get it, but then again I don't think I'm supposed to. They'll be fine, I am - I think.

Fun Installation at Brookly Museum of Art

Let Me Out! I'm Stuck in The Finish!

in many buildings, much gets lost in translation of what the thing should look like. In Colorado and other mountain states, the vernacular for a home dictates a Mountain Homestead sort of look; in Oklahoma, Texas and other southern areas the local taste may shape a commercial building as one would a prairie home. A structure is put up, the mechanical & electrical systems are installed, and barrage of finishes are applied to achieve the final look of the thing. What's wrong with this?: absolutely nothing - it works just fine. But it could be better with a little less effort:
It can be somewhat tragic to see what happens to a steel structure covered by drywall that, in and of itself, is a thing of beauty. Mechanical systems, mainly duct work, can add a dynamic that can't be achieved by the finest ceilings used to hide them. But that's what we do, we integrate the systems and cover them up.
A concept that is age old, "doing more with less," can be applied to so many situations. For example take a look at the economy: all over the world, people are having to apply this on an operational level. how about looking at this from a design/construction level? We can put a little more thought into the nuts and bolts of our buildings and use them to create a thing of unique beauty..

"Less is more"
Robert Browning, 1855

Hiya Hiya Hiya and happy holidays!

The pulse around here, with myself and other architects that I've been talking to, is an oddly busy one. During the holidays, we're typically cleaning out our desks, making projections for the new year, planning ski trips, basically filling our schedules with C-Time activities. However, I myself have been turning out various projects and deadlines. My desk is very messy and I've had no time to ski my home mountain,much less plan a trip.
Are any of us complaining? Absolutely not! We feel blessed, not only can we be billable during a typically non-billable time of year, but this is giving us an extremely positive indicator of what 2011 may bring. And that appears to be a few more steps out of this recession.
Another exciting thing, at least for this architect, is that the source of the work seems to be changing. JR has promoted an approach to design from a three dimensional aspect from day one - where the design profession has been traditionally filled by 2 dimensional plans and other "descriptive" types of documents (all of which are critical to building but typically confuse the layperson); JR has made it a point to communicate with the client in terms that the client can understand. This includes 3d renderings, video, and other types of media. Well, the rendering and video part has transformed into a side service in and of itself, and the more JR can offer clients the better for JR and the client!

Happy Holidays and feel free to stop by for a chat!

@%!!!*@@

Not really, things are very good!

Thanks Marcel

When I attended Art School in Holland, one of my professors would say regularly: "focus on the BIG lines...don't get stuck with the little ones." What he was telling me, in a simple and understandable way, was to think more conceptually and less operationally. 85% of people think operationally - hey, it's just how stuff gets done. But the designer has to look at the bigger picture, i,e. think conceptually, if the design will be understandable and comprehensive. The professor's name is Marcel Ponjee. Thanks Marcel.

Thoughts

• Just because it's always been done that way doesn't mean that it's the right way. However, just because it's different doesn't always mean it's better. The key, and challenge, is to use what works; sometimes that means using a tried & true method - sometimes that means inventing a new one.
• People do better work when they are happy. Cosimo Medici, godfather of the Renaissance, embraced this, allowing his artists their quirks, excesses, mood swings, and the like - out of this came some of the most groundbreaking works of art and architecture known today: such as Donatello's "David" and Brunelleschi's tower for Florence Cathedral. The big stuff comes out of people who are able to work in their optimum operation style; within "their" parameters.

What is Strawbale Construction?

So what is straw-bale construction anyway? Simply put, it is a post-and-beam system with straw bales; the bales are infill.

Why would anyone do this?

- Well, it's green for one - straw bales are a naturally growing, renewable resource: the post and beam system also uses less lumber than 2x stick framing or steel studs in light gauge metal framing.

- While standard residential exterior wall construction has an R-Value of 20-25 (this is your insulating value), straw-bale has an R-Value of 60.

- What's more is the finish; plaster over straw-bale gives a wavy, organic wall profile. It finishes with true character.

Using What's Already There

Do you have to create something new to make it yours? We have a lot that's already there to work with. The big plus in retrofitting, renovating, and recycling, is that you are working with something that has a history, and with history comes character. New York's Highline Park is an example of this on a grand scale:

"There was nothing to be said of them, except that each structure was inevitably what ie needed to be."
From 'The Fountainhead,' by Ayn Rand

Think outside the box? Sometimes it's necessary to think inside the box, but fly under the radar.
That's a quote from Thomas Umbhau, AIA.

Monday

It was Monday and Monday was good.

Got up a little late - I've been feeling a bit out of it. The sleep helped though.

Arrived at the studio and worked on my bike; I swapped out all of the cables last weekend and am in the process of getting the new handlebars to work. Alas, there was no solution to be had, but I foresee it being in the form of duct tape and cut up coke cans.

Made some phone calls. Had a nice conversation with a colleague that I'm contracting some work for. Followed up with some invoices.

Did some filing,which made the studio feel better - things were starting to pile up...as does happen from time to time.

Worked on my main project, a barn. I like the barn clients, they are very nice and easy to work with. I did a lot of detailing in the horse stalls and on the structure; moved the crawl-space access to the mechanical room; there's more room in there.

Had the weekly coordination meeting with the barn-folk. It was short, I really had nothing to pass on other than I made the adjustments that we discussed in our last meeting and was proceeding with knocking this thing out for them. Next step, send my structural plans off to an engineer for his review.

Now I'm at home. There are three attention starved cats who are demanding an audience. The wife is house sitting out in Rafter J. I would join her but have to get up at the crack.

That's about it.

Occupational Health

Sitting down to get going. I hear ladies down the hall chatting before their power dance class. Outside someone is belting out the lines from "Don't Stop Believin," by Journey. Kids are playing outside, I hear an adult female voice patiently informing them that they will need to come back inside after two minutes.

Yes, the window is open and fresh air is coming in.

The door to the hallway is open too. Though I closed it after the power dance class down the hall started...they really get into over there, it's a good thing.

The building in which my office is located is a recycled Junior High School that was built in the 1940's. It is now privately owned and hosts offices, dance studios, artists, even a couple of apartments. The roof is lined with solar panels and the building collects so much power that it sells power to the city.

The feeling here is one of community, people are happy to come here to do whatever it is needing to get done.

In my space, I feel creative. I feel charged. I feel good.

This is important because, as the purpose of any business is to make money, the well being of the earners often takes a back seat or worse. While this is ignored, the place where many people spend more of their day than anywhere else in their lives can turn negative.

A key goal that I strive for is to keep the workplace healthy and enjoyable. When I get to work, I want to enter an environment where I feel charged about what I need to be doing and where I'm doing it. I want to foster that feeling in others. When I come home, I don't want to unload frustrations on my spouse an keep my home under a dark cloud. Again, this is important.

Testing the bounds of my mobile realm.