What do architects really do? by Jordan Egglestone

ARC 322 110175337

Jordan Egglestone

Contents Introduction

Approach â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the visual questionnaire

Ethics

Questionnaire

Analysis

Limitations

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Appendices

Bibliography

Introduction Although the RIBA have not published figures as to how many projects employ an architect, it has been well documented that any figure would be very low. With Katherine MacInnes estimating as few as 6% of self-builders contract an architectural firm.1 This figure poses the question of why so few people would employ an architect on their project? It seemingly creates this feeling that architects must be seen as poor value for money or that their services become too abstracted from what the client wants. The problem may partly lie with how architects are perceived by radio shows, magazines, newspapers and on television. Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’ perhaps being the most successful in terms of positively representing the profession, but even then, some people have found the architects on the programme to be ‘quite pushy’2 and the products often resemble beautiful spaces but viewers rarely see the spaces being used. This isn’t just true of Grand Designs and other television programmes, but is apparent in other media too: ‘... A primary task is to deconstruct the way photographs, drawings and text excise buildings from their habitus and repackage them for the field of architectural discourse. These forms of discourse construct a virtual habitus of desire, the illusion of an artful life of freedom where the traces of everyday life and human labour have been erased.’3 Kim Dovey makes the point that often the media that we are surrounded by remove people from inhabiting the architecture in their photographs. This develops the image of a ‘show home’ and furthers the separation between architects’ work and their clients. It reinforces the idea that the architecture becomes a statement in itself, showcasing aesthetics but removing function. As a result, people can quickly begin to lose faith in the value that architects add. This detachment enforces the idea of the architect with one agenda and the client with perhaps a more pragmatic approach. Something which BBC Radio 4’s show ‘The Architects’ drew attention to: Matt (architect): “What did I ask you when we first met, Mr Russell?” Mr Russell (client): “Did I want a home to live in or one that wins awards?” Matt (architect): “And what did you say?” Matt Mr Russell (client): “ A home to live in.” Matt (architect): “Yes at first..”

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MacInnes, Katherine, ‘Here’s One I Designed Earlier: How Architects Can Capitalise on the Growing Self-Build Market’ from

Flora Samuel, Field journal Jean Hillier, Emma Rooksby, and Habitus 2000 (Conference) (2000!: Perth). Habitus!: a Sense of Place. 2nd ed. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. Kim Dovey p.292 2

This reinstates the perception that award winning housing is separated to that of a home in which the occupant can live. Yet this is the exact opposite message to that which architects pride themselves on. It is established within the profession of architects and architecture that the role of the architect is to provide functional design that improves the spaces that people use. This shouldn't be seen as an elitist move but moreover good design should feature at every level. As Kim Dovey states: “The key role of the architect is to join design imagination to the public interest; it is to catch the public imagination with visions of a better world”4 The RIBA state on their website that5: • Good design improves the quality of life. • Good design makes economic sense. • Good design gives clients what they want. All these things emphasise design as a good thing. These are, arguably, the benefits of using architects. These are the unique selling points that an architect can bring to a project, regardless of scale. So if people saw this then wouldn't they value the profession more? I think this is the crucial question. Do people believe these things are achievable for them at any scale? Would they trust an architect to deliver these benefits? Based on the media around us, from the cancellation of showing the Stirling Prize on BBC 4 in 20126, to the vast coverage of issues and flaws that Rafael Vinoly’s publicly dubbed ‘Walkie Talkie’ building in Canary Wharf received, is it any wonder why people, potential clients, are rather dissuaded from using an architect? And that is before cost is even considered. After all, if the use of an architect is seen as an elitist approach to building design, surely the financial cost will be steep? Perceptions of a high cost and a poor quality design that doesn't connect to how the client would want to function, doesn't equate to a good investment. It is this array of perceptions that should be researched. Establishing these opinions should provide the basis to then analyse the results and see where the problems lie.

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4 Jean Hillier, Emma Rooksby, and Habitus 2000 (Conference) (2000!: Perth). Habitus!: a Sense of Place. 2nd ed. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. Kim Dovey p.292 5 RIBA. “The Value of Good Design.” Accessed April 18, 2014. (http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/InfluencingPolicy/Thevalueofgooddesign.aspx#.U1FHteZdXOg.) 6 Waite, Richard. “Stirling Prize Ceremony Will Not Be Televised.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/stirling-prize-ceremony-will-not-be-televised/8632633.article.

Approach – the visual questionnaire The process of this special study involved the specific tailoring of a questionnaire designed to challenge the public opinion of the role of the architect. The questionnaire itself went through a rigorous process in terms of establishing the right questions to ask and also how to present these questions without leading the response. Part of the process involved simplifying down architectural terms that were likely to mislead or confuse those filling in the questionnaire, something which is a serious problem within the profession. Many of the questions were derived from the RIBA Plan of Work7. For a long time, architects have adopted the image of being an elitist profession with very few people now employing an architect in their projects. Documents produced by the RIBA are often so professional in their appearance and design that it adds to this image of architects being for the elite Therefore, the questionnaire was designed to build upon this idea of a document made for non-architects that translates as being well designed, exaggerating this idea of the profession being an elite thing. From there, the questionnaire was emailed to participants alongside a cover letter explaining the nature of the project. Participants were asked a mixture of questions; some involving the selection of images to support a popular perception that architecture is solely concerned with aesthetics. The questionnaire was in the format of an interactive PDF to allow for users to easily complete it in their own time.

Volunteer filling in the visual questionnaire (Egglestone, 2014)

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7 RIBA. “RIBA Plan of Work 2013.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/Professionalsupport/RIBAOutlinePlanofWork2013.aspx#.U1FJP-ZdXOg.

Ethics The questionnaires were sent to a mixture of demographics. The sample size of 30 was large enough to ensure that results were balanced across gender, age range and location. This is important to see whether any of these factors influence results. All participants willingly volunteered to complete the survey in agreement to being sent the results and finalised document after production. All volunteers were informed that the results would be generalised by way of age group, gender or location. Most were people asked were family relatives and their colleagues and friends here from university. The majority of people who completed the survey are within the 20-30 age bracket due to the fact that these are the people likely to be building into the future. The future if the profession is very a much a core theme of this research. It was important though, with the nature of this survey, that none of the participants were architects or from an architectural background. The results are made anonymous and no compromising information gathered or used. The sample was based on my network of friends and family, therefore, the majority of the sample would identify themselves as white middleclass British citizens. A further study would be required to get a whole range of demographics and cultures. This is expanded on in the limitations section.

Questionnaire

Analysis

Have you ever consulted or worked with an architect?

Yes No

Would you consider consulting an architect if you were: 30

26 22

5 7

0 Buying a new property

Buying a new start-up business

Converting a building

Buying a plot of land

Extending an existing property

Analysis of the results Have you ever consulted or worked with an architect? Out of the sample of 30 volunteers, just over two thirds of people said that they had not consulted an architect. This figure could be related to the fact that half of the survey sample were in between the ages of 20-30 and therefore may not have been in the position to employ an architect. It is hard to find official statistics about the architects’ clients, but my own results demonstrate that out of the 9 people who said they had used an architect, only one was in the 20-30 age group, therefore, more people had used an architect from some of the higher age range categories. However, the results from the survey also highlighted that there was at least one person in each age category. Would you consider consulting an architect if you were… This question was designed to ask what sort of jobs people would consult an architect to do. An architect could clearly add value to all of these suggestions due to the nature of the lengthy educational training. The low number of people who would consult an architect when buying a new property is probably to be expected. I think a lot of people tend to assume that a new house is a welltested and thought about design and perhaps the consultation of an architect seems a bit odd or unnecessary. However, arguably, an architect can add value to a property at any level from large extensions to small changes. The changes that an architect could suggest may be the type of changes that happen over a longer period of time, these could be the sort of things that may need adapting over the time of the occupant. Perhaps most people don’t consider this unless it is a larger change such as extending a property. Buying a new start up business was the lowest figure for this question. Most people would not consider an architect as an entrepreneur but more as a draftsman and therefore fail to establish the connection between the role of the architect as a designer and as an entrepreneur. Perhaps it also depends on the architects at this point. Some architects are more likely to get involved than others, yet architects should be problem solvers, and be creative in doing broadening the potential of a business. Unsurprisingly, converting a building was the most chosen option for this question. I think when there is an existing structure in place specialists do need to be called in to survey and with that an architect can work with them to help unlock the potential of the site. Perhaps the most surprising result here was the fact that 8 people would not consider consulting an architect when buying a new plot of land. Architects often have the potential and creativity to ensure that good design can inspire and affect peoples’ lives and a plot of land is

Do you think an architect could add value to a property?

Yes

almost like a blank canvas for this. I think an empty plot of land could be potentially quite overwhelming without consulting somebody who has experience in this area. Similarly to renovating an existing building, a plot of land can have many challenges and I think specialists can help overcome those. It does call into question what people would do with the plot of land after purchase without consulting an architect. The second highest result was that 26 people would consider consulting an architect when extending their existing property. This is a reassuring statistic in comparison to Katherine MacInnes estimating as few as 6% of self-builders contract an architectural firm8.

Do you think an architect can add value to a property? Following on from asking people which jobs they would consider consulting an architect for, they were then asked whether they thought an architect could add value to a property. The results show that unanimously the verdict was that yes, architects can add value to a property. This is a very interesting result which on the one hand is very positive and reassuring for us an industry, but on the other, questions can be raised about how architects could add value to a property. The results are already showing that people have differing views on what they would consult an architect for which begs the question, what is it that architects do that creates such a positive response in terms of architects adding value to a property?

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Katherine MacInnes, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s One I Designed Earlier: How Architects Can Capitalise on the Growing Self-Build Marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from Samuel, flora, field journal, volume 2, October 2008.

19 Pragmatic

Creativity

Management Skills

Technical Ability

Good Co-ordinator

Leadership

Approachable

Organised

Strong Communicator

Good Listener

What characteristics should an architect have?

What characteristics should an architect have? The next question in the survey asked volunteers to rank a list of ten characteristics in order of importance. This question produced some varied results and unfortunately, as I had not been specific enough when composing the question, some of the results were rather unorthodox with people repeating the same number or even just using three numbers repeatedly. However, these things considered, the data was not altered in accordance with the ethics of the research. The above graph shows the comparative rankings of each characteristic. Creativity is rated highly with technical ability being the second strongest characteristic in comparison to the others. The graph does emphasise the large variety and disunity in results, which further shows that everybody has differing opinions on what the important features of architects are.

Good Listener 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Strong Commnicator 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Organised 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Good listener The results have shown that people think it is important that an architect should be a good listener. This is a quality that most of the volunteers placed in their top 3. Having said this, some people did see this as a less important characteristic of an architect and placed it in eighth.

Strong Communicator â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We have been slow to realise that architect-client communication is absolutely crucial to the success of any architect, any building project, and altogether the success of our profession as a whole. Our greatest architects have always been great communicators and spent an enormous amount of energy in their effort to understand and be understood.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;9 Although some people did think that an architects ability to communicate well was important, and in fact the second most important for many, most people ranked strong communicator as their 9th most important feature. This demonstrates that communicating well is not seen as a priority in comparison to other characteristics.

Organised Surprisingly, eighth was the most popular ranking for organisation. However, this characteristic scored quite consistently across all the ranks.

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Pressman, Andy. The Fountainheadache!: the Politics of Architect-client Relations. New York!; Chichester: Wiley, 1995 p.152

Approachable

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Leadership

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Good Co-ordinator

9 8 7 6 5 4 3

132 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Approachable The survey results have shown that most people regard being approachable as an important quality for an architect to have. 4th was the most popular choice of ranking and there were more votes for the top five positions than the bottom five. This shows that people do feel that they should be able to approach an architect about work.

Leadership Leadership was predominantly ranked in the lower half in terms of importance with very few people ranking it in the top half at all. The most popular rankings for leadership were 7th, 8th and 10th reflecting this idea that leadership isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a high concern. This could be due to the fact that people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see architects as being a team leader, but rather see them in a less authoritative role.

Good coordinator Similarly, the ability of the architect to be a good coordinator was something which most people ranked further down as a less important characteristic. If an architect isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t considered as a team leader but rather just as a draftsman, as someone who produces drawings or models, then perhaps coordination between people becomes less of a factor.

Technical Ability

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Management Skills

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Creativity

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

Technical Ability Technical ability scored quite highly as an important feature of an architect. Obviously, an architect has to be able to produce the necessary drawings for any project and a failure to do that to a good standard could be catastrophic, however, I still question why this scored so highly. This could be a cause for concern, because if the technical ability is the second priority for a client in terms of important characteristics for an architect to have, then the pressure lies with the architects to be good draftsmen, and as previously stated, although this is important, there is a lot more to an architect than this.

Management Skills The results for whether management skills are important are very interesting. The majority of people ranked management skills either third or tenth depicting a division in opinions across the sample. Overall, more people placed management skills in the lower half of the rankings but it still stands that there is an interesting division in opinion over the importance of this characteristic.

Creativity ‘…the architect as a person of marked creativity, creativity so strong it can seem a primal or religious force, allowing the architect to envision what does not yet exist…’10 Perhaps one of the most encouraging results from the survey was the fact that creativity was clearly the most important characteristic that people would like in an architect. The results

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Levison, Nancy, “Tall Buildings, Tall Tales: On Architects in the Movies”, p.27 from Stead, Naomi. ‘In the Mind of the Architect’: Representation and Authorship in Documentary Film Essay p.52 in Anstey, Tim; Grillner, Katja & Hughes, Rolf. Architecture and Authorship. London: Black Dog, 2007 10

Pragmatic 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

show that the majority of people completing the survey placed creativity in the top 5 places with a slow rise in people who placed it in the lower positions. This result again demonstrates a divide in ideas of what characteristics an architect should have, however, whereas previous divisions have been close to 50% either way, creativity is a characteristic that got a strong majority as one of the most important characteristics.

Pragmatic Whether an architect should be pragmatic in their approach scored consistently for each rank, drawing the conclusion that most people see pragmatism as an average characteristic that is important but that there are other more important characteristics.

What different tasks do you think architects do?

Refurbishing derelict buildings as part of a project

Specifying components for the structure

Decorating the building

Forming computer models

Meeting with the client to assess how well the building is working an create a report

Handing over the keys

Surveying the site

Design of services such as plumbing routes

Forming risk assessments

Construcitng the project on site

Co-ordinating contractors

Assembling a team

Costing the project

Creating an environmental strategy

Building scale models

Producing technical drawings

Working on interior design

Taking client to similar projects

Refining the brief with client

What different tasks do you think architects do? ‘Wren’s actual performance as an architect comprehended the widest possible range of roles – surveyor, designer, engineer, businessman, and co-ordinator of an army of craftsmen and artisans by means of an efficiently run office.’11 This question consisted of a list of potential tasks and responsibilities that an architect may or may not face. The volunteers were then asked to tick each task they assumed an architect would do. The list of tasks came from a mixture of the RIBA Plan of Work and some common misconceptions. As expected, refining the brief and producing technical drawings scored highly with many people selecting them. Often these are the two main things people believe architects do, which is not a bad thing as they are important to the role, however, it is important to establish that although these things are important, they are not the only two things architects do. Just under half of people thought architects would take clients to similar projects to their own which is something commonly done on programmes such as Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’12 or BBC One’s ‘The house that £100k built’13. Although exciting on television, it is quite rare that an architect would take a client to a similar project unless the budget was high or the project was quite complex. Interior Design was another responsibility that was commonly chosen by the panel. To an extent, an architect does do some interior design as quick renders usually include early ideas. However, as a profession, interior designers would feel quite challenged if architects were popularly chosen to fulfil this role. Unsurprisingly creating scale models scored highly in the list of jobs an architect would do. Although there are architects and architectural practices that still create models, a lot of practices use professional model makers and nowadays, models are usually only created for multimillion pound projects. As a result, perhaps this stereotype or image of an architect as a physical model builder, which was perhaps once true, is fading away. 50% of people completing the form thought that architects do create an environmental strategy. This division could be related to differing ideas over the scales of projects, as perhaps a small house extension wouldn't necessarily require an environmental strategy. Having said this, in an increasingly concerned society surrounding environmental issues, perhaps only half of people that thought architects did create a strategy was surprisingly low. The best architects

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Kostof, Spiro. The Architect!: Chapters in the History of the Profession. New York!; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977 p.185 “Grand Designs.” Channel 4. Accessed April 19, 2014. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs. “BBC Two - The House That £100k Built.” BBC. Accessed April 19, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bjqk4.

will create an environmental strategy for a project, which could be looking into anything from sustainable approaches to how the new development sits in its existing context. These features are important in any project and therefore found this result to be quite different to expectations. Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that fewer than half of people asked thought that architects did any form of costing. This could be related to the fact that on Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’ Architectural Designer and Presenter Kevin McCloud tends to focus on the client when talking to the budget. It usually results in a feeling that the clients are the ones doing costing of the entire build, something which although does happen occasionally, is often the work of an architect. In a similar way, programmes like ‘Grand Designs’ often put clients in the driving seat in terms of recruiting contractors, which again isn’t the way that teams are brought together for these projects. Sometimes architects are responsible for recruiting a contractor, this is usually on completion of a previous project that the architect had worked on with that specific contractor. The contractors are then coordinated by the architects who usually manage the budget and the time scales, however, under half of people thought that these two positions were part of the role of the architect. 7 people put of the 30 asked thought that architects actually build and construct the project on site. Although this figure is low, it still represents a proportion of people with this idea. It remains an interesting concept and one that may come from the historical image of the architect emerging from being the master builder who would get involved on site. ‘In ancient, traditional cultures and languages, the same word was used for both architect and builder.’14 Again though, this view today is rather out-dated and although architects have a mixture of responsibilities, the physical building of the project isn’t one that necessarily comes under the role of the architect. The number of people who thought that architects had to create the risk assessments for the project was another very low amount. Perhaps surprisingly low considering the nature of modern day society. The reason this figure is low is potentially because people don't consider an architect in any form of leadership role and therefore an architect would have very limited responsibility to begin with, thus negating the need for risk assessments. The design of services and plumbing routes was ticked by just over half of the volunteers. This is a responsibility of an architect on a specific scale of project. Often, for larger projects with a

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! 31

Lewis, Roger K. Architect?!: a Candid Guide to the Profession. Rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT Press, 1998 p.149

greater budget, a services engineer is brought in. Perhaps then, this is quite reassuring that roughly half of those asked would consider an architect to fulfil the role of designing the servicing routes for the sort of projects that they may employ an architect on. The same number of people also said that architects would be responsible for surveying the site. Although occasionally it does happen, often architects use surveyors to accurately measure the sites for the projects. It demonstrates this separation between what the public and potential clients think architects do and what the architects actually would take responsibility for. Stage Six of the RIBA Plan of Work 201315 is the Handover of the project to the owners. Only 10% of people thought that architects handed over the keys of the project to the owner. This begs the question of how does this handover happen? What do people think happens as a project reaches its end point? This could be another thing that comes down to the leadership of the project. If the client is overseeing the project then the likelihood is there would be no handover, however, if an architect is leading and coordinating the team, there would naturally come a point where the project is done and the keys are ready to be handed over to the client. The majority of people asked did believe that architects would conduct some form of post occupancy evaluation and although not all architects would, the Plan of Work now actively encourages this as Stage 716. Winston Churchill once said: ‘We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us’17 Therefore architects will always be learning, as will the clients. I feel the architects have a responsibility here to ensure that the delivered scheme is successful and post occupancy evaluations are a reliable way of conducting that. From there, new knowledge can be fed into future projects improving the quality of the architecture. Just over two-thirds of people said that architects construct computer models. This is now a very common method in practice. Having said this, not all architectural drawings are best done from a computer model and some practices certainly feel stronger about that than others, but the vast majority of practices these days use computer modelling as a primary method. One sixth of people asked thought that architects decorated the building after construction. This is perhaps similar to the idea that architects are solely responsible for the interior design, but I think that it is important that any space that an architect works on needs to be finished

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RIBA. “RIBA Plan of Work 2013.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/Professionalsupport/RIBAOutlinePlanofWork2013.aspx#.U1FJP-ZdXOg. 16 RIBA. “RIBA Plan of Work 2013.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/Professionalsupport/RIBAOutlinePlanofWork2013.aspx#.U1FJP-ZdXOg. 17 “‘We Shape Our Buildings, and Afterwards, Our Buildings Shape Us.’” Learning Architecture. Accessed April 19, 2014. http://architectureintlprogram.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/%e2%80%9cwe-shape-our-buildings-and-afterwards-our-buildingsshape-us-%e2%80%9d/. 15

and finalised by the client and owner as ultimately they need to put their own touch on the space to make it their own. Over two thirds of people thought that architects worked out and specified the structural components of a project. This overlaps greatly with the role of an engineer and although some architectural practices will be large enough to not require an external engineer to assess the project, they will still use an engineer from within the firm. This is one of the defining separations between engineering and architecture that is often confused and therefore proved by this result. Just over 50% of people said that an architect could be tasked with refurbishing an existing building. This shows a positive understanding when we consider our current environmental struggles. Many sites will be brownfield sites and potential include an existing structure so it is important that people understand that architects can be very useful when it comes to refurbishing an existing building. Perhaps this figure could have been higher, but over 50% at this point in time is an encouraging result, one which will hopefully increase into the future.

Do you think the media represents architects as being...? 18

0 Useful

Helpful

Essential

Unnecessary

Useless

Out of touch

Do architects apply for planning permission?

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know Yes No

Do you think the media represent architects as being…? ‘Architects are continually blamed for failing to come up with something that pleases everyone.’18 Architects have received a lot of negative media, perhaps some of which has been deserved, however, I thought it would be interesting to establish what the people felt about this press. This question was asked due to the fact that the Stirling Prize was taken off BBC 4 in 201219 shortly after the current funding policy by the government on arts, humanities and social sciences came in. These cuts contributed to perhaps ‘de-valuing’ of our profession in favour of a more ‘engineering’ approach. ‘Government funding for arts and humanities is to be hardest hit by cuts to English universities as outlined in the October spending review, while state support for science, technology, engineering and maths is maintained.’20 The results show greater support than expected for architects despite the negative media. The majority of people felt that the media represents architects as being useful, helpful and in some cases, essential. Encouragingly, nobody deemed architects as useless, however, some people did say that they felt that the media represents architects as unnecessary or even out of touch. ‘For some time now, architecture has been uncertain in its way’21 Do architects apply for planning permission? This question demonstrates that many people do not understand all the responsibilities an architect has, because over 50% of people replied by saying they did not know or that architects did not apply for planning permission. 50% of the people who said that architects do apply for planning permission are people who had consulted an architect. Having said this, one sixth of people who did not know or said no to architects applying for planning permission had also used an architect. It is the uncertainty surrounding tasks such as this which adds to the broader confusion of the role of an architect in a given project and consequently, it devalues the profession as people do not see all the benefits of using an architect. This value of the profession remains a very strongly debated topic currently. ‘I think the profession of architecture is losing its value in the world of today. I’m making a distinction between the architectural discipline and the architectural profession. I don’t think the discipline is going away. Just that the profession has a less and less to offer.’22

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Sharp, Dennis. Sharp Words!: Selected Essays of Dennis Sharp. London: Architectural Association, 2011 p.122 Waite, Richard. “Stirling Prize Ceremony Will Not Be Televised.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/stirling-prize-ceremony-will-not-be-televised/8632633.article. 20 Vasagar, Jeevan, and education editor. “Jeremy Deller and College Leaders Warn of Cuts’ Impact on Young Artists.” The Guardian, November 14, 2010, sec. Education. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/nov/14/arts-cuts-educationdesigners-musicians-overseas. 21 Harries, Karsten. The Ethical Function of Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1998 p.2 18 19

Do architects take control of the budget?

Yes

No Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know

Do architects choose contractors and lead the negotiations throughout the project?

Yes

No Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know

Do architects take control of the budget? Over two thirds of people said that they did not know or that architects do not take control of the budget. There is merit in saying that ultimately the client has a budget and therefore that is set as a maximum, although architects can sometimes promote the benefit of a little bit more investment. However, in terms of where the budget is spent, the architect would be the professional who works out the costing and as part of delivering the service, brings in the project under budget. The fact that under a third of people actually said yes, architects do control the budget, further proves the disunity in understanding the exact roles and responsibilities of an architect.

Do architects choose contractors and lead the negotiations throughout the project? Most people said that architects do choose contractors and lead the negotiations throughout a project with the second most popular answer being â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t knowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Worryingly though, still the number of people said that architects didn't choose contractors or that they didn't know outweighs the number of people who said yes. This continues to support the idea that people often do not realise what architects do.

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22 Choi, Esther, and Trotter, Marrikka. Architecture at the Edge of Everything Else. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT Press, 2010 p. xiv

What are the main responsibilities of an architect?

Research

Help source materials

Work out the structure

Co-ordinate the team

Oversee the project

Develop the drawings

Work with the client to develop the brief and the design

Advise the client in decision making

Regularly meet the client

Lead the project

What are the main responsibilities of the architect? ‘The architect’s role is that of mediator between the client or patron, that is, the person who decides to build, and the work force with its overseers, which we might collectively refer to as the builder.’ 23 This question established that the relationship an architect has with the client, in terms of developing the project brief and refining it to maximise the potential of the project, was voted as the top responsibility of the architect. This is important because it demonstrates just how approachable and dynamic architects have to be. The second most popular result was again looking at the more technical side of things in terms of developing drawings. I cannot help but feel that throughout the questionnaire this skillset has been perhaps overrated and been seen as too high a priority. Advising the client was the third most popular choice and again, similarly to developing the brief with the client, it demonstrates how important the relational aspect of being an architect is. Consequently it isn’t surprising to see that meeting the client becomes the third most popular choice. What is surprising though is the fact that once again, working out the structural aspects of a project received the same number of votes. In any building projects, from an extension to a multi-million pound development, the structure is fundamentally important to get right, but the fact that so many people think that the architects also work out the structure is what causes the confusion between the role of an architect and an engineer. Research scored highly with eighteen people selecting it, which is an important thing to consider because architecture is so often about problem solving. More than that, architecture has the potential to impact on some of the greatest global challenges we currently face and as people find research an important responsibility for an architect, architects must acknowledge this and implement research-based solutions to problems in their work. Overseeing the project, co-ordinating the team and leading the project then all come in with around the same number of votes. It is quite surprising that these responsibilities perhaps didn't score higher. It reaffirms the idea that nowadays people don't see architects as leaders or coordinators of a team but merely team members. Finally, helping source materials was the lowest scored responsibility. Architects have a role to play in encouraging clients to select materials both environmentally and sustainably, however, ultimately it will be the client’s decision and this result shows that this is understood.

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Kostof, Spiro. The Architect!: Chapters in the History of the Profession. New York!; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977 p. v

Which of these images do you think best shows how architects view housing? ‘God may reside in the details, but people tend to live in the house: wallpaper will not put the wall back in plumb or block the sound of the neighbours arguing.’24 75% of people said that the cleaner image of housing was the one they would associate with the view architects have of housing. This result was to be expected but is none-the-less disappointing as it supports the idea that architects tend to want to design the ‘show-home’ or award winning homes that don't actually relate to how people use the spaces. One person chose this image because it is ‘how architects’ drawings appear’ and another said that architects ‘view the housing as structure and design rather than a lived in space.’ This adds to the feeling that architects are out of touch because the reputation suggests that architects don't know how people would live in these spaces or they would design with this as a priority and it would be represented in each image produced. In contrast, 25% of people said that architects would view housing more like the cluttered image because, ‘It’s functional, lived in and has character – probably what the architect wanted when they designed the space’. Although this comment is reassuring because it demonstrates that architects do understand how people would want to live in the space, it still suggests that the project should be about what the architect wanted and not necessarily the user.

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Sorkin, Michael. All over the Map!: Writing on Buildings and Cities. London: Verso, 2011 p.147

What do you think the difference is between an architect and an engineer? Here, it became apparent that the majority of people see architects as having a ‘more aesthetic’ and ‘visual’ approach whereas engineers are more concerned with the mechanics and making the building stand up. It outlines the perhaps uncertainty in architects. If architects are just about making a building look nice whereas an engineer actually makes its structural sound then an architect is not a professional that most people would feel the need to consult. Aesthetics can be important, but in contrast to the importance of creating a safe and structurally sound environment, aesthetics become negligible. For many people, the engineer is seen as the ‘problem solver’ whereas the architect just provides the ‘vision’. This would infer that architects are often ambitious and perhaps have a reputation for overcomplicating a design to the point of requiring a specialist engineer to come and work through the specifics of the design in order to make it work. The graphic on the opposite page was designed to show the more frequently used words by making them bigger. The division in colour is there to label the words used to describe engineers (in black) and architects in red.

Increase in temperatures

Lack of quality and affordable housing

Current dependance on a global market rather than a local market

Natural disasters

Acid rain

Rising energy prices

Reliance on fossil fuels

Which of these project(s) do you think an architect worked on? 35

Do you think architects can help with the environmental issues we face?

Which of these images do you think an architect worked on? ‘Beauty is not the first consideration. I cannot persuade a farmer that he should build a beautiful cowshed. But if the cowshed works well, then it can be beautiful too.’25 Architects often receive criticism for producing buildings with the most important feature being the aesthetics. In reality, it is quite rare for the aesthetics to be the most important part of a building. This question was designed to test the public perceptions of building aesthetics and architects by asking the volunteers to choose which of these three projects an architect worked on. The most commonly chosen image was a building created by a design practice. Architects didn’t design this building, because the title of architect remains protected to those who have completed the RIBA accredited education route. A well-known property developer created the second most chosen image. This project may have used architects but they don't always use RIBA accredited architects for their projects. In third position was a new house addition on a row of existing houses. This project was undertaken by an architectural practice and was designed to respond contextually to the local surroundings. The findings behind this question challenge peoples’ perceptions of how people view buildings and their designers.

Do you think architecture can help with the environmental issues we face? This question produced many positive results in terms of the role of the architect into the future. Most people believe that architecture has a role to play in terms of some of the problems that our society and world face. Most people said that architecture has a role to play in terms of the current housing problems, which perhaps is quite a literal, yet important, link to make. Perhaps more challenging is how architecture may impact energy prices, fossil fuel usage and temperature increases. These environmental challenges should provoke architectural design to be well considered and the fact that people believe that architecture has a role to play should strengthen the value of employing an architect.

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Caminada, Gion. Meaningful Architecture in a Globalised World essay in Hagen, Petra & Toyka, Rolf. The Architect, the Cook and Good Taste. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2007 p.82 25

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Do you think from your experience that architects are doing a good job? Why/why not? ‘Architects are aware that the buildings they have designed have an effect on other people’s perception. They speak and write about ‘crisp’ façades, ‘lively’ masses, ‘intimate’ effects and ‘hard’ forms. The use of such terms is based on the tacit understanding that everybody will experience these things in the same way as the architect. But the beliefs and attitudes of the architect are products of his professional training and practice.’26 On the whole, most people responded positively to this question. A lot of people commented on buildings being aesthetically pleasing, but there were some more complex answers commenting on themes of sustainability, context and the vision of implanting new technologies. These answers didn’t necessary provide case studies but more a desire for architecture to become more sustainable and in this, it will enhance the environment meaning that architects will be doing a good job. Many of those asked said that architecture is a very subjective topic and that some people may like one specific development, when others do not. However, some of the crucial themes of context and the environment were still repeatedly picked up. It was also mentioned that although architects are seen to be doing a good job, ‘they are used more in corporate than residential’ which highlights the feeling of elitism between architects and the public. This is one of the greatest reasons in the division between architects and the public, whereas often the architect prides themselves as being a very much in tune with the people, often people only see and can therefore respond to the product which would be the building. As a result, many people feel that architects’ priorities are often centralised around money and larger schemes.

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Prak, Niels Luning. The Visual Perception of the Built Environment. Delft: Delft University Press, 1977 p.1

Limitations The questionnaire proved to be rather successful with a large variety of responses. However, the results also revealed some strong limitations to this method. One of these limitations would be the survey sample. In order to truly get a set of reliable results, the sample size would have to be infinitely bigger, something which an undergraduate special study just would not be able to accommodate. It would have to include opinions from every ethnic background, a larger range of ages, more living locations and should even include occupation amongst other factors. From there, results could be drawn upon these differing factors. Another limitation would be the lack of any questions within the questionnaire itself, that asked about money, both in terms of architectural fees and the perception of an architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wage. Having spoken to some of the sample afterwards, it became apparent that this was another topic in which the public has divided opinions on and many of which differ to the actual figures from the profession. Finally, due to the online approach of the questionnaire, some of the sample were perhaps more comfortable in terms of filling in the survey on a computer than others. This could have been done better by providing an option for a hard copy of the questionnaire to fill in by hand or even the opportunity to meet up with people and talk through the survey question by question.

Conclusions In conclusion, out of the people asked, all agreed that architects can add value to a property and also that architects have a role to play in the future in relation to the environmental problems we face. The results also demonstrated the large divisions between the agenda of an architect in relation to their social ideals in contrast to the arguably more commercial work produced, something which Margaret Crawford picked up on: “This suggests that the current gap between individual concern and professional inertia represents a contemporary reformulation of a persistent barrier between the needs of the professional identity and the demands of social responsibility.”27 In a similar way, one of the volunteers said: “Though my experience is that they are used more in corporate property than residential.” The respondent then goes on to talk about how architects are represented in the media, in particular, on television shows such as Grand Designs. They say: “I feel like they may be misrepresented in different shows like Grand Designs for example, where people tend to ‘design’ the house themselves rather than have an architect work on the project with them.” I think this raises perhaps the largest issue the profession faces and that is, proving its worth. If people feel that they can adequately design spaces themselves then that really questions the idea of consulting an architect at all. This idea perhaps is exaggerated by the view that architects design ‘show homes’ which came out of the housing question where 75% of people chose the cleaner, perhaps unlived in home. If architects are associated with this image, it is no wonder why some people thought that architects were unnecessary, as they could not relate to these images. I think Christine Outram touched on this: “No wonder architecture has become a niche vocation. You don’t connect with people any more.” 28 Although I think her article becomes too generalised in terms of an attack on the profession, she does touch on some of the ideas that are certainly picked up in BBC Radio 4’s ‘Architects’29. Overall, I think the general consensus is that there is a high level of confusion. Perhaps that is a rather simplistic statement, but, although people see value in architects, they differ on what they believe an architect’s job entails. As a result, is there any wonder why the profession is

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Crawford, Margaret Essat ‘Can Architects Be Socially Responsible?” in Frampton, Kenneth, etc, and Diane Ghirardo. Out of Site: Social Criticism of Architecture. Seattle: Bay Press,U.S., 1991. 28 “Why I Left the Architecture Profession.” ArchDaily. Accessed February 12, 2014. http://www.archdaily.com/440358/why-i-leftthe-architecture-profession/. 29 “BBC Radio 4 - The Architects.” BBC. Accessed April 21, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rgj12. 27

devalued? The process that an architect has to go through per project, regardless of the scale of a project, is never seen and obviously, never comes across. If all that the people see are the buildings we produce and the occasional drawings, then that is all they can form their opinion on. I think there is merit in saying that perhaps the RIBA and the ARB should break down some of these divisive barriers and make it clearer for potential clients to see, in a quantifiable form, how an architect can add value. In essence, I suppose the Plan of Work was originally designed to ensure that there was a strong architectural process that runs throughout all projects, however, that remains in the professional circle and is also, widely rejected by industry.30 ‘We are at present in the midst of a widespread transformation of ‘architectural history’, with its emphasis on aesthetics, design and authorship, into ‘building history’, which has broader social and economic preoccupations.’31 The elitism image should be shaken off allowing architects to become even more approachable and prevent the idea that architects are only concerned with commercial projects. As Jeremy Till states: ‘This model of the architect as interpretive agent, and thus of architecture (as profession, practice, and product) as transformative agency, is dependent on a revised version of a professional values, asking them to come down from their detached heights and instead engage as one set of informed principles among many.’32 Overall, the research was designed to attempt to establish what a variety of people think architects currently do. Although many roles of the architect remained confused or debated, certain positive characteristics shone through. For instance, the proportion who felt that creativity was an important feature of an architect was very reassuring. This is an approach that architecture as a profession has traditionally been very strong in, and, in a time of economic cuts and the desire to build quickly and efficiently, it is often an approach pushed aside. This creativity has to be communicated effectively in order to justify defining features of a project’s ideas. The results from the questionnaire showed that a lot people didn't see an architect being a strong communicator as important, however, I think communication is crucial. This may be done graphically through diagrams or through appointments, but what is important is that architects communicate clearly. From there, it makes it easier to justify the decisions made through harnessing the creativity when approaching a project. This in turn will potentially help strengthen the image of the profession. As a result, this research has proved

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Mark, Laura. “Industry Snubs New Plan of Work: 54 Per Cent Don’t Use It.” Accessed February 12, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/industry-snubs-new-plan-of-work-54-per-cent-dont-use-it/8655482.article. 31 Saint, Andrew. The Image of the Architect. New Haven!; London: Yale University Press, 1983 p.ix 32 Till, Jeremy. Architecture Depends. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT, 2009 p.164 30

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that the public image of the architect remains uncertain, but that architects should accept the responsibility of being the people to rectify this.

Acknowledgements With thanks to Prue Chiles for her help and support in supervising the project, Rachael Farnworth for her help in testing the questionnaire and a special thanks to all the fantastic people who took part in filling out the visual questionnaire.

Appendices

Dear Sir/madam, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What do architects really do?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; centres around the image of the architect within the public eye. The research has come at a crucial moment in time as the profession seeks to prove its worth and potentially undergo a restructuring. The main area of research will involve asking willing volunteers to contribute by working their way through a mixture of questions based on the role of the architect, as depicted by the RIBA plan of work alongside a popular BBC 4 radio program and other means of media. I am particularly interested in finding out what non-architects really perceive architects to do and how that differs from perhaps other roles in the construction industry. These results will come from a broad range of demographics from both within and outside of the UK. The findings shall be made anonymous and be presented as a series of graphics before being analyzed and compared to other sources for the remainder of the dissertation submission. From there all volunteers will receive a copy of the results in the form of the final dissertation submission. I am writing to ask whether you will be a wiling volunteer and fill out the attached questionnaire. Alongside this, please fill in the following tables. If possible, please could your completed survey be returned by Friday 28th March 2014.

Many thanks in advance!

Jordan Egglestone

Please sign/type your name and date here:

Age Range

Do you live in England?

20-30

Yes (please specify North or South)

30-40

No (please specify which country you live in)

40-50

Gender

50-60

Male

60-70

Female

70-80

Cover Letter for Questionnaire sent to sample

✔

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

9 10 7 2 6 5 8 7 4 3

✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

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Completed questionnaire example

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✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

The other picture has too much detail and depicts how people use the space. The image I chose more defines the space and suggests their function.

✔

An architect designs buildings with a client, deals with the logistics of planning permission and runs the project by hiring contractors etc. Engineers check the structural integrity of buildings and ensure it is built according to the plans and specifications.

✔

â&#x153;&#x201D;

Its quite subjective depending on the building and its locality. Sometimes its good to be respective of the surrounding area, but other times it being too respective the building gets lost and fades into the rest. On the other hand, striking out of place architecture can be interesting and attract attention to an area and the building's function, but too much can make the community feel like they've lost their home.

Bibliography Books Anstey, Tim; Katja, Grillner; Hughes, Rolf. Architecture and Authorship. London: Black Dog, 2007. Choi, Esther & Trotter, Marrikka. Architecture at the Edge of Everything Else. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT Press, 2010. Frampton, Kenneth, etc, and Diane Ghirardo. Out of Site: Social Criticism of Architecture. Seattle: Bay Press,U.S., 1991. Hagen, Petra & Toyka, Rolf. The Architect, the Cook and Good Taste. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2007. Harries, Karsten. The Ethical Function of Architecture. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1998. Hillier, Jean & Rooksby, Emma, Habitus!: a Sense of Place. 2nd ed. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. Kostof, Spiro. The Architect!: Chapters in the History of the Profession. New York!; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977. Lewis, Roger K. Architect?!: a Candid Guide to the Profession. Rev. ed. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT Press, 1998. Prak, Niels Luning. The Visual Perception of the Built Environment. Delft: Delft University Press, 1977. Pressman, Andy. The Fountainheadache!: the Politics of Architect-client Relations. New York!; Chichester: Wiley, 1995. Saint, Andrew. The Image of the Architect. New Haven!; London: Yale University Press, 1983. Samuel, Flora. “Suburban Self-build.” Field Journal 2, no. 1 (October 2008). http://www.fieldjournal.org/uploads/file/2008 Volume 2 /Suburban Self-build_Samuel.pdf Sharp, Dennis. Sharp Words!: Selected Essays of Dennis Sharp. London: Architectural Association, 2011. 59

Sorkin, Michael. All over the Map!: Writing on Buildings and Cities. London: Verso, 2011. Till, Jeremy. Architecture Depends. Cambridge, Mass; London: MIT, 2009. Online articles, websites and television programmes “BBC One - Breakfast, 17/09/2013, Building Your Own House, Is It Worth It?” BBC. Accessed September 18, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01gvlsm. “BBC Radio 4 - The Architects.” BBC. Accessed April 21, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rgj12. “BBC Two - The House That £100k Built.” BBC. Accessed April 19, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bjqk4. “Grand Designs.” Channel 4. Accessed April 19, 2014. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs. Mark, Laura. “Industry Snubs New Plan of Work: 54 Per Cent Don’t Use It.” Accessed April 21, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/industry-snubs-new-plan-of-work-54-per-centdont-use-it/8655482.article. Murray, Christine. “An Open Letter to Your Future Client, Explaining What Architects Do.” Accessed October 22, 2013. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/comment/an-open-letter-toyour-future-client-explaining-what-architects-do/8633192.article. November, 26, and 2013. “Chris Dyson, Paul Middleton, George Saumarez Smith and Mark Allen Join AJ/Saint Gobain Sketch Jury.” Accessed April 7, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/chris-dyson-paul-middleton-george-saumarez-smith-andmark-allen-join-aj/saint-gobain-sketch-jury/8655958.article. Plunkett, John. “TV Ratings: Grand Designs Lays Firm Foundations for New Series with 3.3m.” The Guardian, September 16, 2010, sec. Media. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/sep/16/tv-ratings-grand-designs. RIBA. “RIBA Plan of Work 2013.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/Professionalsupport/RIBAOutlinePlanofWork2 013.aspx#.U1FJP-ZdXOg.

“The RIBA.” Accessed September 23, 2013. http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/TheRIBA.aspx#.UkBY7WTwKMd. “The Value of Good Design.” Accessed February 12, 2014. http://www.architecture.com/TheRIBA/AboutUs/InfluencingPolicy/Thevalueofgooddesign.aspx #.Uvu6GkJ_tko. Thompson, Max. “It’s True: People Don’t Know What Architects Do.” Accessed October 22, 2013. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/its-true-people-dont-know-whatarchitects-do/8633240.article. Vasagar, Jeevan, and education editor. “Jeremy Deller and College Leaders Warn of Cuts’ Impact on Young Artists.” The Guardian, November 14, 2010, sec. Education. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/nov/14/arts-cuts-education-designersmusicians-overseas. Waite, Richard. “Stirling Prize Ceremony Will Not Be Televised.” Accessed April 18, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/stirling-prize-ceremony-will-not-betelevised/8632633.article. “The Apprentice’s Gabrielle Omar: ‘Architects Need a Brand Overhaul’.” Accessed September 23, 2013. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/the-apprentices-gabrielle-omararchitects-need-a-brand-overhaul/8631112.article. “‘We Shape Our Buildings, and Afterwards, Our Buildings Shape Us.’” Learning Architecture. Accessed April 19, 2014. http://architectureintlprogram.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/%e2%80%9cwe-shape-ourbuildings-and-afterwards-our-buildings-shape-us-%e2%80%9d/. “Why I Left the Architecture Profession.” ArchDaily. Accessed February 12, 2014. http://www.archdaily.com/440358/why-i-left-the-architecture-profession/. Questionnaire images Which of these images do you think better represents how architects view housing?

Hellman, Louis. “The Hellman Files #121.” Accessed February 12, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/comment/hellman/the-hellman-files-121/8657956.article.

Which of these project(s) do you think an architect worked on?

Ravenscroft, Tom. “Sam Tisdall Reveals Victorian Terrace Replica.” Accessed April 25, 2014. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/first-look/sam-tisdall-reveals-victorian-terracereplica/8651609.article. “Reflections, Winchester, 2 | Barratt Homes,” November 26, 2013. http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/city-of-plymouth/H600501-Reflections/plot-2/. “Griffin Primary School.jpg (1024×568).” Accessed April 25, 2014. http://www.labcyorkshire.co.uk/ContentImages/2011/Griffin Primary School.jpg