Why are Architects so Pretentious?

While conducting a search on Google recently, I typed in why are architects……….

The results surprised me. The suggestions were Necessary, Arrogant, Needed, Pretentious, Low Paid etc.

I did not see suggestions like Visionary, Contemporary, or Ultra-Modern.

To clarify, Architects need to be flexible, we need to respond to the vision and needs of our clients.

There is an art in balancing the vision of our clients along with a resulting design that brings together different priorities such as function, and aesthetics, not to mention the cost!

Our approach is to listen to our clients and chart a design that meets their expectations. At the same time, the design must be elegant and look great.

In recent years the ability to visualise projects with computer-aided design has made it much easier to produce ‘Fly-arounds’ and ‘Walk-throughs’ of the proposed buildings. Surely there is no excuse for poor buildings with these tools at hand.

Having said all of this, our client’s vision and aesthetic taste may still differ from ours and it is important to note that an architect must be flexible enough to take design changes and requirements into account.

This can be challenging for the trained architect but, at the end of the day, the building will be lived in by someone else who must completely love the end product.

At Paul McAlister Architects we have the good sense to amend our designs so that we have a building that is both what our client wants and at the same time a building that is considered beautiful in its proportions and design.

The enclosed video demonstrates two distinct styles within the same design which is a result of our client feedback!

Could I say that as an architect every design of mine in my 25+ years of practice is exactly what I originally designed?

No, better for me to say that the vision of the client is, and always has been paramount.

Paul McAlister Architects: - Taking your vision personally.