Challenges in Professional Practice #29

Challenges in Professional Practice – When a potential client inquires about designing a project, they ask how much would it cost to design a building?

When someone inquires like this, it is easy to understand that he is just gathering information in the open market. Because the one who needs information for project designing will talk about the project fee only after sharing the information of his project with the architect and after ensuring the services or scope of work. Then it will also be easier for an architect to tell the project fee.

It is difficult to say who and how satisfied the client will be. If any architect, on the inquiry of a potential client, even share the project fee without the scope of work, then that potential client will make similar inquiries from many other architects in the open market and whose project fee will be the lowest probably that potential client would prefer that architect.

But keep in mind that whatever is being discussed between the potential client and the architect is happening without the scope of work. And a typical dialogue (statement) of such type of potential clients… The entire project has to be completed within the stated professional fees, we don’t know how. Then begins a series of arguments, explanations and battles. If the fault lies with the potential client, the architect is also equally responsible.

The potential client and the architect were both intentionally and unintentionally trying to manipulate each other into the project. The result of which was to be negative. Most of the traditional people who have land, money and political contacts often have this way of talking. These people do not like to listen to the architect but prefer to give instructions to the architect. Don’t know why they are not aware of the architectural scope of work or deliberately express an illiterate image, but these people definitely intend to harm the architect and deduct the architect’s project fees on one pretext or the other.

Architect want to start work on project thinking that potential client will be happy to see good project design and will pay project fee but this happens very rarely. For this, a written contract is mandatory so that, both the potential client and architect can remain committed to the project and to each other.

By the way, such potential clients do not accept any contract, they only want to design the project on their own terms, they do not care what role standards play in the design, they do not want to understand what is architectural design, What is R.C.C. Structural Design, don’t like to hear about MEP engineering services design. But they have full trust in their illiterate contractor, even if he is constantly harming them.

This type of potential client forcefully forces them to trust by telling their words to be a stone’s line and it is their nature to ignore or change the topic as soon as they get the opportunity. Overall, there are a large number of such potential clients available in the open market who are often looking for an opportunity to entice some architect. As far as possible, one should try to avoid such potential clients, because doing their project might have a bad effect on the talent of the architect, due to which the image of the architect can be tarnished.

The architect should never undertake a project without a written contract in which the scope of work is not clear. The architect must be dedicated to the project. Due to the written agreement, the potential client will definitely think before harming an architect and thus both the architect and the client can feel satisfied.

If the architect designs a unique project, then the portfolio of the architect increases and beautiful buildings are built on the site. The credit of whose success goes to the architect and the architect gets fame. That is the passion of the architect which every architect dreams.

But when some unwanted potential clients enter the career, the architect’s dream is shattered and the career is ruined. Once the path of the profession is lost, it is difficult to start again. Any architect gets the desired opportunity and using it properly, the goal can be achieved only by giving the right direction to his career.

All architects should focus on selected projects and potential clients. Be the chosen and potential client’s preferred architect.

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