Technical knockout

Residential Architect, Nov-Dec, 2004 by John Mixon, J. Mark Hamilton, Jack Rosebery, Michael A. Shiff

Well, I guess someone has to finally say something about the 900-pound gorilla in the riving room ("Where's the Architect?" April, page 11). As a profession, we've danced around it for 50 years and pretended it doesn't exist. He arrived before Donald Trump, before Levittown and really flexed his muscles with a wholesale takeover as the design/build organizations gained respectability and clout and gained direct access to the client's pocketbook. And that is where the race was lost.

The whole spirit of the profession was to protect both client and contractor in following the dictates of the contract documents. Not only did we lose the role of the professional on the project, we became, by default, a luxury item. And we are mostly responsible for letting this happen, as we were much too busy being professional to lower ourselves to punching it out with that highly motivated, hardworking group in the construction industry.

Ask yourself: Would you not honestly try to dissuade the offspring of a hardworking friend from studying architecture in college?

Hope for the future? From where? Not from the government. Not from the construction industry. Not from the hardworking, even if somewhat successful, "middle" class. We can provide something these days only for the few who already have almost everything, and there arc just not enough of them to go around.

John Mixon, architect

Atlanta

i'm actually a simple country boy at heart, and I love the Midwest, having been born and raised here. But when it comes to understanding design professionals, the love affair becomes tarnished.

You asked for solutions, and to me, one great thing would be: education. But how can that happen in residential architecture, when you have such organizations as the AIA that only focus on large corporate executions?

I'd love to see an Independent Architects Association, supported by your great publication and others such as dwell magazine. Look at where independent filmmaking is today. Miramax started as an indie label, and now every average Joe seems to know about and support independent films.

Band together; find ways to infiltrate the mainstream.

J. Mark Hamilton

Hamilton Arts & Design

North Lima, Ohio

throughout my 20 years' experience in this profession, I have seen the total disregard for the architect in the building design and production process, especially in residential design.

Although my strengths as an architect are more in planning and development rather than building design, I recently started my own practice, where most of the work coming through the door is residential design, additions, and alterations. I am competing not just with other architects but with every designer, draftsman, engineer, and crackpot who thinks he can deliver this product. Therefore my fees have to be kept to a reduced level to procure this work. This in turn must affect the quality of the design as well as the drawing product being sent out to be constructed.

A builder can basically cut out the architect by selling himself as a design/ build service, offering the product at an even more reduced rate and making it part of the overhead of the job. He will then have his "architect," usually a drafts-person, design and put together the required documents for this sort of project, which is usually inferior-quality design. This person is not independent of the builder, so design decisions are made to save the builder's cost, not enhance the quality of the design.

At this point I can't even think about charging normal design fees. I just wouldn't get enough work to survive.

Jack Rosebery, architect

Long Island, N. Y

Why isn't the architect the lead of the design/build firm? He would then have control over the entire process--the "master builder."

Architects in areas not requiring signed and sealed documents could provide just design services, with the contractor using his draftsman to produce the documents--substantially reducing the architect's tee.

We can and should do it all. We are the best trained and educated, except in valuing our services.

Michael A. Shiff, AIA

The Shiff Group

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.