Each month, my friend Bob Borson over at Life of an Architect organizes a group of architect bloggers to coordinate a single post on a single topic released simultaneously on a specific day. We call it #ArchiTalks. Read posts from past topics on Google, Twitter and Facebook, by searching for the hashtag #ArchiTalks .
This month, our theme is “Architecture in the Real World”. If you are interested, you can listen to my to previous contributions to #ArchiTalks at podcast episode 37, episode 48 and episode 54 and read one here at the blog.
Architecture in the Real World #ArchiTalks
They send a family off to a wonderland vacation and in seven days, a team of contractors and designers overhaul and completely transform a modest house into a dream home. One week… with a crew of hundreds, material donations from dozens of companies and a fully scheduled, behind the scenes coordination effort that required dozens more people and months of preparation.
Two other families are assigned a designer and a carpenter and in three days, they renovate a kitchen or reconfigure a master bedroom suite. Three days… and days after the TV crews pack up their trucks, the paint starts to peel and the trim begins to separate from the wall.
Real projects setting unrealistic expectations. I call it the HGTV Effect.
It’s one of the biggest challenges we small firm architects face each day. When prospective clients start dreaming of how they will transform their own home, they flip on the TV and watch every DIY and designer show they can find. They “educate” themselves on how to start the process of a renovation and learn everything they can from their favorite celebrity home designer.
By the way… When did Ellen DeGeneres become an interior designer?
When a prospect finally calls an architect, they have acquired years of “knowledge”. They have very specific ideas and mental images of the spaces they will soon enjoy. They have a budget, a schedule and very developed expectations.
It’s our job as small firm architects to “re-educate” these potential clients and expose them to architecture in the real world.
Real architecture projects take time. They’re expensive and emotionally overwhelming. There are no donations and no one goes to Disney World.
When I meet with a prospect for the first time, I ask them to take me on a tour of their home. I invite them to share their dreams and visions, and I listen very carefully as they describe their expectations.
There are 4 questions that I need answered before I will offer a proposal for architectural services.
1. Do their dreams exceed their budget?
Most prospects with whom I meet want to spend much less than their dreams will cost. I ask very specific questions regarding their budget and provide very valuable guidance on financial realities for construction costs in their region. Without clear expectations for how much their dreams will likely cost, I will not offer a proposal for our services. The number one issue that will derail an architectural project is exceeding the budget. Our goal is always a happy client and the quickest route to dissatisfaction is designing a project that can’t be built.
2. Have they planned enough time?
HGTV is one of my favorite television channels. Yes. It’s true. I love to be entertained by the transformations as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t make my job any easier. No one sees the planning and coordination required to complete a major renovation project in seven days. They don’t share the fact that a local warehouse is filled with every product before the first demolition crew arrives at the site.
I find that most prospects have planned half the time that is truly needed to complete their project. It’s an important factor that needs to be discussed before I head back to the office to prepare a proposal.
3. Will they trust me?
Our best projects are the result of a realistic schedule, a properly funded budget and a trusting client. Most often, during my initial meeting, a client will reveal their ability (or inability) to trust others. A good architect, when given the chance, will provide a design that can give a client everything they want, but often in a way that is completely unexpected… but that takes faith and lots of trust.
Trust is one of the most important ingredients in a successful architectural project. We are not interested in working with people who will not trust us to do what we do best. Untrusting prospects will often be referred to others.
4. Are they prepared for the experience?
I am living through a construction project as I write this post. Our kitchen has been removed and the dust and dirt is in full effect throughout the house. Living through a residential renovation is not fun. Walking in the shoes of our clients helps to keep the real experience of renovation fresh in our minds.
Construction is noisy and dirty. There are unforeseen conditions waiting to reveal themselves. The creation of architecture is emotional, with ups and downs on a daily basis. It’s stressful and often overwhelming.
It’s architecture in the real world. Is your prospect prepared for that reality? It’s your job to find out.
Read More From My #ArchiTalks Friends
Enoch Sears – Business of Architecture
@businessofarch
Bob Borson – Life of An Architect
@bobborson
Architecture in the Real Wolrd … sorta
Matthew Stanfield – FiELD9: architecture
@FiELD9arch
Welcome to the Architecture of the Real
Marica McKeel – Studio MM
@ArchitectMM
Architecture in the Real World
Jeff Echols – Architect Of The Internet
@Jeff_Echols
What is the Real World: Architecture in the Real World
Lee Calisti, AIA – Think Architect
@LeeCalisti
Architecture in the Real World
Evan Troxel – Archispeak Podcast / TRXL
@etroxel
Lora Teagarden – L² Design, LLC
@L2DesignLLC
Architecture: It’s a human thing
Collier Ward – Thousand Story Studio
@collier1960
Cormac Phalen – Cormac Phalen
@archy_type
Nicholas Renard – Cote Renard Architecture
@coterenard
Andrew Hawkins, AIA – Hawkins Architecture, Inc.
@hawkinsarch
Jeremiah Russell, AIA – ROGUE Architecture
@rogue_architect
architecture in the real world: #architalks
Jes Stafford – Modus Operandi Design
@modarchitect
Rosa Sheng – Equity by Design / The Missing 32% Project
@miss32percent
Michele Grace Hottel – Michele Grace Hottel, Architect
@mghottel
Architecture in the Real World
Meghana Joshi – IRA Consultants, LLC
@MeghanaIRA
Architecture in the Real World
Amy Kalar – ArchiMom
@AmyKalar
Michael Riscica – Young Architect
@YoungArchitxPDX
Architecture in the Real World
Stephen Ramos – BUILDINGS ARE COOL
@sramos_BAC
Architecture in the Real World
Brian Paletz – The Emerging Architect
@bpaletz
Architecture in the Real World
Tara Imani – Tara Imani Designs, LLC
@Parthenon1
Architecture in the Real World
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Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Lisa S.
Excellent post, trust is the key to a successful project. Understanding the tv home improvement is intended to entertain and not educate is a huge step in the trust process. Thanks for taking time to write this!
I experience the Houzz effect more often. (“here area images of million dollar projects that I’ve collected on Houzz and my budget is $250k”)
Oh…the HGTV effect. Glad you decided to talk about this!
Nice breakdown of the issues caused by the glamour of TV “architecture” and design. I think many people have these expectations on more than just their residential projects. I find that many of my educational clients and even commercial ones have watched too much of this programming and have skewed expectations. Solid post! Thanks.
I have often wondered how things can be done so quickly on those shows. Property Brothers is a bit sane, adding unexpected budged considerations, sometimes hazardous material- but some shows really make it look like fairy god mother visited with a wand.
This is the best of all of this weeks “Architalks.” Thanks for continuing to generate quality content and portraying the “real” value of architects. (And I actually thought Ellen DeGeneres was doing a cost/comparative analysis of plumbing fixtures.)
Mark, excellent observations! I’ve actually been the “talent” on several HGTV landscape design shows and can confirm that although they purport to be “reality” shows, they are about the furthest thing from reality — including that the designer gets paid little or nothing for his or her expertise in weaving a silk coat out of dirty straw. The silver lining is, my (paying) clientele’s fascination with my exploits makes them more receptive to the news that real design cannot be fast, cheap AND good.
The content of this post is long overdue!
These HGTV shows are entertainment at best. In 5 years we’ll all be watching the “HGTV homes that fell apart” follow-up shows!
Thanks hollywood!
An excellent take on the topic. I have only ever caught snippets of HGTV every couple of months at our dentists office. So i am not well versed on what it is all about. But i from the little i have been exposed to, i can certainly see where it would cause problems for residential Architects (though i have not specifically run into it yet as i do primarily commercial).
I’m late to catching up Mark, but this needs to be on the front of my webpage.
Lee, you’re welcome to it 🙂 I think this is a subject that we are all dealing with.