05 Jun 2018

That’s Experience — A Wise Investment

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I bet I can guess what you did this weekend. My guess is you did something that millions of citizens worldwide also did this weekend. You purchased a product. People the world-over purchase products every day for a particular reason and a respective value. Maybe you purchased dinner and received a hearty meal. Maybe you bought an e-tablet and received a multi-functional gadget. Maybe you bought a movie ticket and received blockbuster entertainment. What if you purchased architectural service this weekend? What value did you receive for that purchase? You may have received advice, ideas or documents, but what you really purchased is the architect’s Experience.

Skill:

That estimate adjustment an architect makes to supplement the quantifiable materials and labor cost because she learned what it takes to construct a project or how contractors think…That’s experience.

Knowledge:

The competing product the architect selects that achieves every client goal but offers better availability, longevity and warranty…That’s experience.

Foresight:

The critique an architect uses to explain the owner’s vision is neither site nor budget friendly even before he draws a single line…That’s experience.

Ability:

Regardless whether the project is an office, retail outlet, hospitality, residential, medical or industrial complex building type, when the architect knows how to start every project…That’s experience.

Competence:

The analysis the architect develops to achieve the best balance of design, access, safety, cost, orientation, climate and sustainability for every site and building attribute…That’s experience.

Buy Experience:

For curious clients who wonder what they purchase when they buy architectural service, the answer is Experience. Gaining experience is time consuming because it takes years of study, practice and execution to amass. Clients lack the time to collect sufficient experience themselves and to reasonably complete a successful and timely project. Hiring an experienced architect who knows estimates, products and buildings is the wisest time and financial investment a client can make. Hire your architect. Buy experience.

Read these articles to learn how other architects view Experience.

Architalks Entries

Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
experience comes from experiences

Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Gaining Experience As A Young Architect

Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture (@rogue_architect)
knowledge is not experience

Eric T. Faulkner – Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
That’s Experience — A Wise Investment

Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
“experience”

Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
You need it to get it

Jeffrey Pelletier – Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
Channeling Experience: Storytelling in the Spaces We Design

Keith Palma – Architect’s Trace (@cogitatedesign)
The GC Experience

Jim Mehaffey – Yeoman Architect (@jamesmehaffey)
Experience

Mark Stephens – Mark Stephens Architects (@architectmark)
Experience

Leah Alissa Bayer – Stoytelling LAB (@leahalissa)
Four Years In: All Experiences Are Not Created Equal (Nor Should They Be)

Architalks Credits

This is another entry in Bob Borson’s blogging brain-child titled, “ArchiTalks”.

The #ArchiTalks goal is to inspire blogging architects with similar educational and professional requirements to opine on the same topic and simulpost their response so other architects and a broader audience can enjoy the rampant thought-diversity within the architecture profession

Select the links in “Architalks Entries” below to read how architects responded to the “Experience” topic.

image/video credits:

 

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About the Author


Your Architect is Eric Faulkner -- an architect licensed in Texas & Oklahoma with 32 years experience in design, construction observation and life.