Had a glorious weekend in New York with a girlfriend from university. During a run through Central Park, we caught up on just about everything before the conversation turned to work.
She is an architect – crazy smart and laid back – and we couldn’t help but snicker about just how thickly dysfunctional the relationship is between designers and architects: how the universal ‘we’ as designers can get swallowed by the aesthetic of things and perhaps less conscious of little things like obscure bits of the building code and how the architect can suffer from a wee bit of a God complex over the less educated, less informed designer. These are broad strokes of course, but we both have had brushes with the above.
I remember being snarked at at an onsite meeting – contractor, architect and designer – hashing out an electrical and lighting plan. Talk about too many cooks. The contractor didn’t care but the architect went insane whenever I suggested a fixture instead of a potlight. He actually said ‘haven’t you made enough money on fixtures yet?’…really?! I think potlights are the most over and ill-used lighting source ever and was suggesting fixtures and floor mounts for a more layered lighting approach. Not to mention, every potlight was punching a hole in a clear pine clad ceiling we had spent a small fortune on. The architect tried to shut me down and as a result had the client doing math on the expense of the pots vs the fixtures. I felt completely and unjustly undermined.
On the flip, my girlfriend is fighting through a commercial project where the designer is insisting on floating, plexi stairs over a dance floor (hope noone ever wears a skirt or spills a drink) and thousands of square feet of the slickest of slick Italian marble floors on the dance floor and behind the bar – hmmmm. It’s gonna be pretty but you will need a helmet and Hunters to visit.
And there it is. There are heaps of examples of this rub but here is my take on how to play nice:
Ask questions: The arrogance of my twenties and…cough, cough…early thirties is long, long gone. I have been humbled more than once by just not knowing the right answer and being red faced in front of the contractor, architect and client. Sigh. I have learned over time to be a great listener and to ask pointed questions when I don’t know the answer. I have learned to defer to the pros when that pro isn’t me. And I have equally learned when working with a team of other professionals, to run concept by them before the client. Nothing worse than selling a client on something that can not be delivered because of time, expense or code considerations that may not be obvious.
Be prepared: Designers, like contractors and architects, will be challenged on site by each other and by clients. Yes. We all have egos. Understand what you are proposing intimately and be prepared to defend it. Knowledge will sell your concept but make sure you have considered everything in the planning of your concept. No stone unturned.
Who is who: The use of the word ‘designer’ gets increasingly muddy. The industry is not regulated in the way some other professionals are. And it isn’t like there is a universal meaning for the word…it has become a catch-all like care-giver or husband. Lots of variations in there. Shades of grey. Education is a great foundation, but experience is the trump card of all trump cards and should not be down played. There are lots of designers in the market place without any formal education and that doesn’t make them any less qualified. As a designer, be prepared to show work, talk about your experience and provide references. Professional affiliations, a FIDER certified education and accreditation are all nice to haves but you have to get your hands dirty to earn the experience.
Know who you are: Understand your scope and comfort zone. It just stinks to be in over your head. Don’t challenge yourself on someone else’s dime.