Architect As God?

[el-capitano]

This little discussion is regarding one off houses mainly.

Assuming that a client comes to you, not because you have a particular style or reputation, such as a Seidler, Durbach & Block or Murcutt, do you work with their pre-conceived ideas and help them grow their own ideas, or do you force your own ideas of design on them.

A client of mine has come to me to do their house. They were saying their cousins have gone to an ex-work mate of mine, and he took the "I am god" approach with them, telling them they can't have this, and can't have that. You must do it my way, or you will end up with a crappy house.

My clients also met him (as he is cheap with regards to fees), didn't like him, thats why they came to me. I prefer to take their ideas, and work through them, explaining why some ideas might not work, and keeping some of their favourite points, even though I might not personally like it- eg. curved staricase.

Is this the correct way of going about things, or should I start force feeding what I consider good design on them, when they won't want it?

hmmmm........

[Caesar]

From a client's perspective, the reason I go to an architect is because I want a house that's tailored to my preferences. The smart client will give the architect a fairly open brief, because after all, they ARE the professional and you're paying them for their expertise. But by the same token, if I have certain requirements I expect them to be followed and its part of the architect's job to use his ability to incorporate them in the best possible manner.

Obviously, if something is completely impractical that's a different matter. But it's important to realise that it's the client's house and although architecture is art, its also a profession. If I want to give the architect a totally unfettered brief, I will.

[Matt in the Hat]

Remember the golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rules.

I think you are doing the right thing. I know in more corporate settings, such as the studio I am consulting with, we could develop ideas for weeks and send them to be fabricated only to have them knocked out of the air by one ornery CEO.

I have also tened to notice that the "I am god" architects tend to be a little less reasonable and open to suggestions from colleagues during the build process (Contractors, subs, consultants, vendors, etc.) and that attitude ends up costing the client more in the long run.

[el-capitano]

Thanks for the input guys, it makes a change to actually have a real discussion instead of the usual 15 year old talking smack because he's a Melbourne boy and i'm from Sydney!! :)

I've always put the client first, as they are the ones who are going to be living, using, working in the buildings we design. If they are happy, then we have done our job.

Sure, it might not go into any magazines, but it does make me feel good to have someone happy with the work. :)