It’s one thing to decorate the nursery, but it’s another to actually have the baby…
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 9:50AM 
This gem of a quote came from my business partner last week, in the middle of a fairly important project interview. It got quite a laugh, including from myself; however it was a very serious point that she was making. Her point was this: at the end of a project (and this really doesn’t matter if we are talking about a very small scale single family renovation project or a very large scale multi-family housing project) few people walk away with a remembrance of the design process. What sticks out in their memory is the construction process.
It makes a fair amount of sense; design happens in an office, at a desk, often on a computer. It’s a process that few people see in great detail; it is largely intangible. Construction happens. It happens at your home or possibly on a new plot of land -- but regardless of where it happens, it is very tangible. A quality construction project relies heavily on a good contractor; again this applies to all scales of projects. But it also relies on a good design by an architect who understands the process of not only the design side, but what needs to be well-communicated to the contractor so they can do their job (and do it well).
Too many times, architects and contractors are seen as adversaries with different goals, objectives, and priorities. The most successful projects are the ones in which everyone is working as a team to achieve common goals and objectives. The owner can help set this tone by selecting the architect and contractor early, and based on qualifications – not based on the lowest bid (which immediately sows the seeds of competitiveness and blame). Creating a sense of “teamwork” from the very beginning is crucial if there is to be “teamwork” at the end as well.
Reader Comments (5)
Architects and Contractors see projects from entirely different angles. Architects are willing to sacrifice to see vision achieved (not often a good business decision, but a mantra of the profession nonetheless) . Contractors are pretty much interested in earning the best living possible and have no ego or emotional interest in the project beyond fiduciary (this partucualrly applies to G.C.'s the contract out all work) . If you've ever wondered why it feels like pushing a rope, it because you are using the wrong leverage.
Teamwork is the only way to keep a project from devolving into an expensive finger pointing match. Of course, the interests of each parties need to be covered. Why is it that the architect is seldom rewarded for a cost efficient design? Are their any other factors that could be used to influence the decisions of the contractor other than money?
A lot of partnering is very naive, as in "let's all be good to each other and things will go well". As soon as one party sees an opportunity (to cover a mistake, to have their ego fed, to make additional fee) the niceness goes out the window. I no longer believe in partnering where the parties are contractually obligated or rewarded for their assistance in making things go smoothly, and frankly this should extend to the client and their last minute switch-ups and budget changes, but that now, is wishful thinking.
While I agree that we approach a project from different angles, I am not sure I entirely agree that contractors have no ego or emotional interest in a project. While we have different emotional connections to a project (I think architects take a parental attachment) a contractors reputation is only as good as their last project and their livelihood is directly connected to their reputation. I have also worked with a number of contractors over the years that I would consider craftsmen; and they certainly take great pride (emotional attachment) to a job well done.
To the question of "are there any other factors that could be used to influence the decisions of the contractor other than money?" We always tell clients that the lowest cost may not be the best value. While this applies to all projects, I think it is most significant to home renovation or remodeling work. In these projects the contractor is going to be in your house on a daily basis, potentially for months. Working with someone that you can have a trust and comfort level with, and recognizing the quality of their work is just as important as establishing who has the lowest cost.
In my own experience the most successful projects I have been involved in are the ones in which teamwork is emphasized early on. I find that the stereotypical adversarial relationship between architects and contractors is alive and well today; however in our practice we choose not to feed into that stereotype.
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