What are Architects and what do Architects really do? Why are they called engineers and why they are looked down upon by many people in the industry, especially in the provinces? lots of questions, now let us start answering...
An architect’s role is a lot larger than most
people realize. Architects have been described or viewed unfairly over many decades due to historical and political reality in the country, civil engineers outnumber the
architects 10-fold, and civil engineers enjoy the mass perception that they do what actually
architects do which is to design and build buildings.
Anyone can design and build, but no
one can design and build at the level the way architects do. In medicine and
law, anyone can also self-medicate or go to quack doctors and anyone can
represent themselves in court without a lawyer’s help, everyone is free to
choose, everyone can believe whatever they want, and having free will means you can do whatever you want with your hard-earned money and get any people you like to do
your design and construction. One thing that I noticed over the years is that most of the people that got scammed or who have paid much and didn't get what they expected in their buildings are those people who want instant results and who don't value design, planning and who trust based on instincts, most often people who play along with corrupt practices to get what they want fast, and the people who think doing shortcuts and only focuses on cutting costs in design or in construction ends up in bad ways.
Below are some nasty myths that have prevailed over the years despite reality. At the end of the day, you are still the judge.
MYTH
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REALITY
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Sketches/Draw Design that builders use
only
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Checking your land’s legal status and
restrictions and knows how to properly determine how much and where you can
build on it is one of the expertise of architects.
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They are only concerned with the beautification of
buildings and unrealistic or weird-looking buildings
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Ensures Compliance with Building
Safety regulations of Building Codes and other laws that might have
jurisdiction over your site, Their design will most likely be approved by
Building officials because their designs are geared towards good and holistic
in their intent. Architects ensure that all their buildings satisfy the 3
principles of good architectural design that is Beauty, Stability, and
Functionality in every building’s totality.
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Architects are just artists who are
only good at drawings
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Architects studied Drawing in their
early years in university because drawings are the basics of presenting
ideas, and buildings are ideas. They study the history of architecture, and the theory of
design, have basic engineering mathematics, structural design, building
technology, building utilities, planning, management, and many more. Architects
know many things when they graduate and they see things in a broad view or
the larger scenario of things, You could say that they are Generals in the
battlefield/building industry. So who would you trust in winning a war? A
general or a foot soldier?
|
Architects are expensive to hire
|
Expensive if you are looking to get free design because you believe it must be free or almost free, which you can get from inferior substitutes like engineers or other charlatans who are out to trick you into hiring them and sneak in costs of design in the construction while wooing you by telling you it’s free. The value of their design, managerial, and ethical skills and professionalism gives you the best outcome that your money can buy, Lawyers and doctors aren’t free and cheap, so why the architects? In the end, you always get what you pay or don’t pay for,
defective work, or worse, your money goes for nothing.
|
Architects are know-it-all people and are hard to talk with.
|
This is the misinformation that non-architect
substitutes have been spreading in public. Architects were trained to be
knowledgeable with almost every aspect of life and environments that we inhabit
have significance hence inferior substitutes need smear campaigns to keep
their business going. Architects actually hire allied professionals in their
team to deliver the project, architects collaborate, and inferior substitutes
think they can do all of it, that’s the irony of this assertion, architects
are humble enough to hire people and help them, they know when they aren’t
qualified for a specialized work.
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What architects can do, civil
engineers can do also.
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Far from reality, architects are
specially trained in planning and designing habitable spaces, spaces
intended for human habitation. Civil or any engineering profession does not
have any subjects or expertise on any of those above, they are as clueless or
as qualified as lay person on the subject, arrogance on the part of engineers
claiming is obvious and must be cautioned by any educated person, faith
healers can claim to cure what doctors can by using science as well and many
believes them, you wouldn’t make this mistake if you are wiser than most.
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You don’t need an architect to design
it
|
You probably don’t need one, in cases
where the space you are designing is for simple use with less than 20 sqm or a structure that might cost 30k pesos or less; every person has the right to
design their spaces on their own provided that they take responsibility to
the results that space turns out. It’s a matter of confidence and
responsiveness to risks in failing or wasting time and money, Busy people who
make more money doing their expertise hire architects to maximize great
results on their use of their own time while trusting others in their own
expertise.
|
Architects' work is easy and not that
complicated
|
Says the quack/conman to legitimate
professionals, or a bitter gossiper to any person.
|
Architects design something they
can’t build
|
Says the engineer or novice to a
highly imaginative and challenge-driven architect. People who are saying this
are incompetent and are content with typical solutions and marketing the same
solutions every time. Singapore as a model city can attest to this erroneous caricature of the capabilities and shortcomings of architects.
|
Architects only draw and don’t care
about safety, e.g. earthquakes, floods, typhoons, etc.
|
Says the ignorant bitter commenter/service
substitute. Architects as holistic and generalist thinker/designer
considers more complex ideas and safety considerations that people who didn’t
go into architecture wouldn’t even imagine, the origin of this argument comes
from civil engineers who thinks structural engineering is the only safety
consideration that a building will only ever needs, talk about arrogance and small
mindedness. Architects think about fire, storm, health issues, typhoons, heating and cooling, acoustics, natural lighting, panic, sick building
syndrome, sustainability, long-term building life-cycle,
cost-benefit-analysis, passive design, building efficiency, and more, ask the
people who told you this myth and ask what these are and you’ll be surprised
how little they know of these ideas about designing buildings.
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By all means, we don't recommend devaluing other professionals who are actually our allies and partners in the industry, Many of our engineering colleagues know exactly what their roles are in the industry, and where they are experts and not an expert, they are the standard of professionalism. These myths arise from people, both laymen and most of the time engineers who have found themselves making money in constructing buildings and ending up taking up the roles of the architect because legally for a long time, they can sign architectural documents, a product of an unfortunate history of the industry and due to the lack of architects in many municipalities.
Today Filipino architects are more than enough (around 42,000 plus as of this writing) to actually take on the demands of their profession, sadly these lesser substitutes want to continuously practice what isn't their expertise and that is why this article is needed to explain the rift between architects and wannabe architects. The fact that when you hire an architect, we are obliged to hire the other professionals under our design wing to fully satisfy good design practices, this way we provide the best service that we can and not necessarily the lowest price that what the lesser substitutes are asking for almost free of charge just to get you to hand them your money in constructing your building (where their shenanigans come to play).
In the succeeding articles, I will detail why and how are Civil Engineers arguing that they are qualified to do architecture, their plight of being oppressed by architects despite their clear incompetence in the field of architecture, and their obvious desperation to keep the status quo that has been in the Philippines since their profession came into being after the world war 2 human catastrophe in the country.
In the succeeding articles, I will detail why and how are Civil Engineers arguing that they are qualified to do architecture, their plight of being oppressed by architects despite their clear incompetence in the field of architecture, and their obvious desperation to keep the status quo that has been in the Philippines since their profession came into being after the world war 2 human catastrophe in the country.
Read other articles:
- The Project Planning Workshop
- Five most essential things to know before deciding to design and build
- Best Way to have Better Control and Fast-Tract Your Project
- How Much Does Hiring an Architect Cost
- Why contracts are essential when engaging in services
- The Architect's Basic Design Service
- 7 reasons why Architects are seen as expensive and an unnecessary cost in building projects
- How to create a Design Brief for your architect
- Philippine architecture practice and P.R.C.'s position with Civil Engineers' encroachment in the architecture profession
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