Once again, we did NOT make the Top 50. What a crock.
May 18, 2011 — Comments are off for this post.
Last week I walked away from a project that on the surface seemed to have immense potential. It was hard, but necessary. Not just for our office, but for the client. It just wasn't the right fit. I wish I knew it after the first meeting, or after the second and third meetings, when I had a nagging voice in my head telling me this wasn't going to work out, but I ignored it. Not until 15 minutes into the 4th meeting did it finally become clear, and even then, before I closed my computer and packed up, I thought, "Can I afford to do this?" Then I realized I couldn't afford NOT to do it.
Maybe I've been reading too many posts on Mule's blog, but that mental check list of a good client should be on a constant loop during your initial meetings. Mutual Respect? An understanding of what we can provide? A realistic set of goals? Willingness to pay for your services? Add to that a nebulous gut feeling about how your personalities mesh and you're about half way to analyzing the situation.
Too often we as designers are seen as a desperate lot. Willing to take any project that walks by and shows us some leg. Not only does that place us in a vulnerable place professionally, but it completely ignores the reality of client / designer relations - which is even more taxing for a private residence, where you are deep in the trenches collecting personal data on someone's life.
It's necessary to have the confidence that there are other projects out there to be had. Better projects.
April 20, 2011 — Comments are off for this post.
An interesting discussion about where this profession is going - and this post hints at some even bigger transformations.
April 20, 2011 — Comments are off for this post.
A great video to watch when working on your next contract.
There is a stress of running an office that you hear about from your bosses and friends - but until you are in it on a daily basis, it's hard to fully understand. You have to rely on other people like your employees and trust they can keep on task, and in turn you have to keep the projects and work flowing. Getting this flow "just right" is probably impossible. So much of this is out of your direct control. When will that new project start? Will the client like this design option? Will one of your employees get sick? The list of variables is daunting. So each day you have a plan and watch in horror as it falls apart - which it typically does. Meetings get cancelled, clients "drop by", your 2 year old son comes to the office, or you decide to fire someone because relying on them just isn't possible. All these things add up in a day and try their best to push you off course. Sometimes, they succeed, but you have to take a long view (the week or the month is probably as "long" as one can look in this business) and assess the overall arc of productivity. Otherwise these daily "failures" can wear on you.
For anyone who runs a design firm, it's well known that the success rate of getting new projects is far below 100%. You just don't get every project you go after. No surprise. You get used to pouring your heart into a proposal, falling in love with the idea, and then having it die a grotesque death. Sometimes this gets depressing, but for the most part you move on - looking for that next opportunity.
Recently we put in a proposal for offices for an international company with offices in Kolkata. The proposal was good and well received, but we still lost the project. The client said that since our expertise was in Landscapes, Buildings, and Retail - they thought they should go with someone with Interior Design experience. It's easy to get angry over this, as that description does not reflect our firm, but I also have to see this as a personal failing. Somehow in my interview and proposal this is what they came away with. I'm not sure how, but something got lost in the shuffle - who we are.
So I can be upset at missing out on this opportunity or I can learn from it and not make the same mistakes next time.
There's something pleasant about getting a call out of the blue from a potential client. They heard from someone who knew a guy who saw your project over the shoulder of someone on the internet... and they called you and want to work with you!? That period, before the meeting actually occurs is dripping with potential. What is the scope of work? How interesting with the client be? Will they pay their bills on time?
Surely many of these hopes will be dashed within the first 5 minutes, but for a day, let me hope.
Ok. I'm a sucker. I told myself I wouldn't buy an iPad when they were announced, then I played around with one at the store and within a week, I had my own. And though it has become an expensive toy for my 2 year old son every morning, it has also become a great tool for me. Drawings being worked on are dropped nightly into a "INBOX" via Dropbox and before going to bed I can review all the work being done in the offices and plan the next day or make notes on revisions. So I was pretty happy to hear about AutoCAD WS which came out this week. So far, I'm not as happy. Only works when connected to the internet? Doesn't connect to Dropbox? These are deal breakers. Not to mention that the release seems really buggy when using it.
Let's hope for a quick upgrade, because there is potential here.
After months of work, our new website is now live. We are really excited about this new site and plan to use this blog space to document our work and present some of our ongoing research projects.
The new site allows many ways to filter our work, by person, office, and type. This will start to give you a sense of how we work - often alone but more and more together. With new projects across India we are starting to take advantage of our collaborative framework in big ways.
Last week the Harvard Design Magazine (of which I have issues going back 10 years) published (online only) an article written by Nalina Moses about Architects currently working in India. Nalina and I spoke last fall and I tried to explain the unique nature of working here and did the best I could to point out interesting projects happening here.
I like to think she saved the best for last, as mention of us was left to the end of the article, but looking at the list of architects, I can't digest that pill. We were excited to be mentioned at all and felt that her words (and our quotes) described who we are - or at least who we want to be.
I'm pretty sure that this article will have little affect on our ability to get new projects - not to take anything away from Nalina, but Indians don't really read the Harvard Design Magazine's online site as much as they used to... I do hope that it's a step. Maybe another journalist will see this and call us up? Maybe a student will run across it and think we'd be interesting to work for.
I guess I'm saying I agree... there's no such thing as bad press.
Though the music industry has been slow to shift in the digital landscape, actual musicians have been making amazing strides. Beck - one of my personal heroes - has been relentless in his reinvention of himself. Album to Album, the tone or style is rarely duplicated, but there is hardly a point when you are not keenly aware that this is Beck. His voice, his textures, his personality - all seem to give him away very easily.
He has recently revamped his website in a way to reach out to his fans and explore new ideas. The Record Label section being an experiment in production and displaying his unique ability to take an existing song and wrap it up in "cool." He seems to be using the internet (and these new technologies) to stay connected and to experiment - honing his craft along the way.
With this experimentation in mind we have launched into Twitter and now Vimeo. Trying to figure out how these different mediums can inform our process and make our work more relevant to the modern condition. I've often wondered what Architectural Analogies that could be made between the great buildings and the great albums. Could an architecture firm create a building and "tour" on that for a year? Maybe that's what Rem does in a way - spawning lectures, books, and merchandise along the way.
What if an Architect could develop a concept - or set of details (the songs?) - and "toured" on these ideas for a year, applying them to new projects whatever and where-ever they may be. This somewhat flies in the face of the notion of extreme specificity that seems so important to our current trends - where the architecture is supposed to be rooted in the specifics of site and program, but I think about it anyway and wonder.
We recently returned from the US from what was initially a working trip, with meetings and certain things that needed to get done. However, beautiful weather, family, friends - and nice beer - conspired to transform this into a mini vacation. Some things were accomplished (connected with people, deadlines met) but other things went on hold, as we tried to take advantage of the situation on less business-like terms.
No regrets, but the trip has me thinking about that all important division between work and personal life and the need for balance. Can this balance be created by the office or does it need to come from the employees? Toying with the idea of a 4 day work week and trying to fit in more mini vacations.
I try to spend time every day looking for new projects. Searching the web and paging through tenders for projects that we might go after. It's changed the way I interact with the world around me.
I don't read the paper the same way - I read articles in search of projects. I don't talk to people in the same way - I speak to strangers in search of work. I guess this is what is referred to as "Networking" in most cases. I'll tell person "A" about us and what we do, not so much for their benefit, but so that person "B" who knows "A" will be able to describe who we are and what we do, at least enough so that "B" will call us and we'll get a meeting.
Meetings have become a necessary evil these days. If someone gives us a meeting, we go. We don't consider if we have the time or what might be the outcome. We go, we meet, we talk, and see what happens.
You hope (dream) about a day when someone calls for a meeting and you're able to predict (know) if it's one worth taking. Hopefully that will come with experience.
For now, we go and try.
Fees are a tricky concept. The client wants to pay as little as possible to get the work done, the designer wants to get paid as much as possible for the specific project. In most instances the client is undervaluing the designer's role and worth, while the designer is probably thinking a little too much of themselves. Seemingly it would be nice to have some sort of formula - getting reasonable rates and not having to worry about being underbid by another firm that has no intention of investing any time or thought into the work. We've actually lost projects where the person bidding against us submitted a proposal that was half our fee. I'll be out of business quick if I charge those other fees without reducing my services.
So what's a reasonable fee? Who decides? It all comes down to trust. Do I - the client - trust you to propose a fee that is in proportion to your worth? Do I - the designer - trust you to pay me a fee that honors my role in the project? In India it seems you must earn the trust over time and experience with a certain client. Often leading to that "first project" where you charge less to "build a relationship." This usually comes with the dangling of a future project (or projects) where you'll make more money...
In January I purchased an iPhone and have spent the last 2 months trying out different apps (mostly free ones) to see how it can assist me in my business. There are relatively few “architecture” specific apps and searching for “architecture, iphone, apps” will get you no where. There are the obvious apps that assist me on a daily basis - Mail, iCal, Contacts, and Calculator - and there are some apps that at first I thought might be useful but never use - the Level app being the most obvious. However, I have found a handful of new apps that have made a nice addition to my workflow.
Omnifocus: For those in the know about GTD and productivity apps, you'll be aware of this one. I've owned the desktop app for some time and bought the iPhone version the same day as my phone. Being able to organize all my projects and “to do” lists and have them in my pocket at all times has become an essential part of my life now.
Files Lite: This is a file reading app that allows me to dump documents and PDFs to view. I put contracts, meeting minutes, drawings, etc in here and always have the ability to double check something without having to haul the drawing set or my laptop everywhere.
Units: This allows me to jump between Metric and Imperial. I was under the assumption when I moved to India that it was Metric country. That's only half true. The Architecture we do is Metric. The Interiors are Imperial. When you're doing both - as we often do - it's a pain in the but. You're either getting a funky 609.6mm or a 24 1/8”. For a guy who likes to think about these details and how everything nicely fits together... well, I get headaches now. Units helps me keep on top of this transition. The app is a little funky, and a pain to use at times, but I still keep coming back to it.
Evernote: This is a note taking app that allows me to file away precedents, interesting materials, or general research on anything I find on the internet and have it at my fingertips (pocket) on the road.
Also having access to the internet and nice phone is a bonus as well. Having a little computer in your pocket seems like an inevitability in some ways and now that I have it, I'm not letting go.