It seems that we've been forever discussing why a doctor's input is more valued than that of an architect. Maybe personal health is just more important than the quality of the physical space with which a person inhabits and interacts? If the AIA can somehow establish and increase the perceived value of an architect, especially that of an "AIA architect", then perhaps we can start moving in a positive direction on this front. The message needs to be clear and compelling, and it needs to be made understandable to the general public. With an increased value perception, increased financial benefits should naturally follow - and perhaps we architects, especially those of us out in the trenches, could actually start to reap some of those benefits. This is especially true for the small firms and sole practitioners out there, who have so much to offer but are typically relegated to the most mundane of projects with the most undesirable clients.
FWIW, in 25+ years of practice and successful completion of hundreds of projects, and despite my best efforts to explain the benefits, I have never, ever, been asked to design a project for LEED certification. I don't think LEED is our magic bullet.
Regardless of the marketing approach employed, in my experience, most prospective clients generally view architects as a necessary evil, whose services (and fees) are to be minimized as much as possible. If we can repair this "culture", and work together to inform the bottom-feeders that exist within our profession that standing firm for better fees is a good thing, we should all see an increase in the architect's perceived value, and experience the related benefits, affording us the opportunity to expend time and resources to create new spaces and systems to benefit all without killing ourselves (or drowning in red ink) in the process. It would move the study of architecture off of those "lowest value college degree" lists, incentivizing subsequent generations of architects to pursue this career choice and thereby limiting the amount of ground our profession gives up to competing forces.
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David Barger AIA
Firm Owner/Architect
David Barger Architects Inc.
Rancocas NJ