Doesn't Anybody Care?

Log Out | Topics | Search Moderators | Register | Edit Profile

Author Message Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1206 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 - 08:03 am:    100804 DOESN’T ANYBODY CARE ? by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Cincinnati, OH Does a specifications consultant in private practice/business in Kansas have any educational responsibility for young architects [from students to emerging professionals]? Does an unregistered, but architecturally trained, specifications writer, in a firm of 9 people in Mississippi, have any such responsibility within that office? Does the long-experienced, full-time, registered, in-house specification writer in a firm of 110 or more in Oregon have any such responsibility? Do any of these folks care? Are they all too busy; too disinterested; or devoid of any feeling of responsibility? Oh, and yes, in all cases what should the depth of their interest be? Michael Chusid, FCSI, posted an interesting article on his blog recently and one that is both sad and maddening. Friends, it appears that few people [and spec writers are only a small number of these] give a tinker's darn what students….. no, FUTURE architects…. should know and be able to do! Has everyone bought into the shtick that architecture = only design, and there is no need for architects of the future to know materials, construction methods, processes, legalities, project control/ management, developing contract documents, detailing, and the task of “putting buildings together”-- i.e., constructing real touchy-feely architecture from glitzy board mounted, computer-generated, detail-less design concepts? How can registration laws require experience and education to prevent substandard construction from harming the community and “public, health, safety and welfare”? How can those laws now be subverted to allow minimalized education, simply for convenience of “making more architects, more easily” [forget better training and competency!]-- most of whom still will NOT be able to correctly and adequately document a project for construction? How utterly stupid!!! It is absolutely baffling how the one profession that is charged so definitively legally; that contributes directly to the Contract Documents; and indeed, that is responsible for the very basis of what is built for the client, is so maligned, ignored, obviate, belittled, scorned and basically set aside! Other allied professions do not suffer from this type of neglect-- engineers exist in many disciplines and are accepted as “experts” in their chosen fields. Contractors certainly claim, and rightly so, expertise in their special work or in overall project control and administration. Yet both of these valuable entities do not receive the dismissive attitude and status. I am not sure how architects, collectively, have come by their diminished status-- sure, there have been and still are “prima donna” architects who excel in design, but does their work then automatically relegate the work of ALL other architects as irrelevant, needless, annoyingly picky, extensive, overly costly, unnecessary[!!!] and "necessary evils" that all other participants must simply “put up with”? Simplistically, isn’t the architect like the baseball pitcher on the mound-- nothing happens in the game until that pitcher throws the ball! NOTHING! Then isn’t there a cast of supporting characters who function to support the pitcher and prevent runs by the opponent [are they second-class citizens, to be ignored or maligned?] So the architecture schools claim they can’t; the NCARB and NAAB pretend; the AIA ignores for all intents and purposes; the individual offices both cannot educate [what with fees as they are] and/or don’t think it is their place to educate [except in their office-parochial manner]. Engineers will continue to engineer within their specialties. Reps will continue to rep as products will still be required no matter who uses them. So are architects “odd man out”? I sincerely doubt that although there is a scenario where the architect will be reduced further to simply “designer” while others will take the design [concepts] and schlock together some sort of project that resembles the design [as no one will be around to control, direct or monitor the project for correctness]. In fact, this is a working prognosis in what is known as “plans and specs” practices, where the documents are architect-prepared, and then totally given over for owner and others to execute [with no further architect participation!] Sad! Everyone involved suffers and is diminished a little. What is missing is simple understanding of the total architectural involvement and contribution—and not just the design and rendering. Owners are paying “through the nose” for glitzy projects that fail to provide what is needed, leak, or otherwise prove inadequate [despite some quality construction]. Also missing is what is left and what can and will happen when the architect disappears and so do their specifications [it may be that the consultants will also be ignored, or grossly overworked [???]. Maybe you feel no responsibility; but think-- no architect; no drawings and specs = Owner to Contractor “word-of-mouth, arm-waving architecture”! Hmmmm!