Committee on Design

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Committee on Design and College of Fellows .
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I think that my friend Tim misses the point (as does Mike, by the way.)  

The real issue is two fold.  First, we don't understand the marketplace.  Instead of understanding what clients (both existing and perspective) want and are willing to pay for, we concentrate on what we THINK they want.  Therefore, we're selling something they don't value and, therefore, look to others to provide what they really need.

Secondly, I don't think we can articulate the value of what we do provide them in terms that they understand.  We slap each other on the back by showing projects that look beautiful, but we never tell the story of the project from a client's voice.  What problems were solved?  How did it make the client's lives (business, services, etc.) better, more efficient, profitable, etc.     

The AIA has engaged in a lot of navel gazing the past year.  What repositioning needs to be is understanding what services the market will need in 5 - 10 years and then AIA should provide the knowledge and tools for members to be prepared to lead the market.  This is not done by talking to ourselves.  It is done by engaging the client base and end users in a "skunks work" environment. 

Three areas of focus to start:
1. Telling our story through our client's voice.  Let's start with Honor Awards and see how the buildings have solved client's lives and solved their problems?  What's it like to work with an architect?  How did they add value?
2. Set a research agenda for the profession (including firms and universities.)  We need to become a knowledge based profession where clients can rely on an outcome.  Only research, and a willingness to share (both successes and failures) can accomplish that.  There are no secret formulas anymore.  Thanks to the interweb, knowledge is everywhere.  Successful architects will be the ones who know how to determine what has validity and what is garbage, and then the ability to apply the knowledge to the problem at hand for a successful outcome.
3. Teach me how to quantify the value I bring to a project.  My clients expect a return on their investment.  Tell me how I prove that my services provide that.  

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Walter Hainsfurther FAIA
Kurtz Associates Architects
Des Plaines IL
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Walter What point have I missed? I know its probably hard on you, but it sounds to me as if we are in complete agreement. The client's voice is exactly what I am proposing we expose, illuminate and honor. Really, what point am I missing? ------------------------------------------- Mike Mense FAIA Owner mmenseArchitects Anchorage AK -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 01-09-2015 17:36 From: Walter Hainsfurther Subject: Repositioning and the Profession This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Committee on Design and College of Fellows . ------------------------------------------- I think that my friend Tim misses the point (as does Mike, by the way.) The real issue is two fold. First, we don't understand the marketplace. Instead of understanding what clients (both existing and perspective) want and are willing to pay for, we concentrate on what we THINK they want. Therefore, we're selling something they don't value and, therefore, look to others to provide what they really need. Secondly, I don't think we can articulate the value of what we do provide them in terms that they understand. We slap each other on the back by showing projects that look beautiful, but we never tell the story of the project from a client's voice. What problems were solved? How did it make the client's lives (business, services, etc.) better, more efficient, profitable, etc. The AIA has engaged in a lot of navel gazing the past year. What repositioning needs to be is understanding what services the market will need in 5 - 10 years and then AIA should provide the knowledge and tools for members to be prepared to lead the market. This is not done by talking to ourselves. It is done by engaging the client base and end users in a "skunks work" environment. Three areas of focus to start: 1. Telling our story through our client's voice. Let's start with Honor Awards and see how the buildings have solved client's lives and solved their problems? What's it like to work with an architect? How did they add value? 2. Set a research agenda for the profession (including firms and universities.) We need to become a knowledge based profession where clients can rely on an outcome. Only research, and a willingness to share (both successes and failures) can accomplish that. There are no secret formulas anymore. Thanks to the interweb, knowledge is everywhere. Successful architects will be the ones who know how to determine what has validity and what is garbage, and then the ability to apply the knowledge to the problem at hand for a successful outcome. 3. Teach me how to quantify the value I bring to a project. My clients expect a return on their investment. Tell me how I prove that my services provide that. ------------------------------------------- Walter Hainsfurther FAIA Kurtz Associates Architects Des Plaines IL -------------------------------------------

Walter I have to say it again and more clearly. Group 7 is making a presentation to the Culture Collective in about 10 days. With your permission, we will feature your 3 areas of focus, in your words. Good on ya, man, and I still want to hear what point it is that I am missing. Mike ------------------------------------------- Mike Mense FAIA Owner mmenseArchitects Anchorage AK -------------------------------------------
Original Message: Sent: 01-09-2015 17:36 From: Walter Hainsfurther Subject: Repositioning and the Profession This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Committee on Design and College of Fellows . ------------------------------------------- I think that my friend Tim misses the point (as does Mike, by the way.) The real issue is two fold. First, we don't understand the marketplace. Instead of understanding what clients (both existing and perspective) want and are willing to pay for, we concentrate on what we THINK they want. Therefore, we're selling something they don't value and, therefore, look to others to provide what they really need. Secondly, I don't think we can articulate the value of what we do provide them in terms that they understand. We slap each other on the back by showing projects that look beautiful, but we never tell the story of the project from a client's voice. What problems were solved? How did it make the client's lives (business, services, etc.) better, more efficient, profitable, etc. The AIA has engaged in a lot of navel gazing the past year. What repositioning needs to be is understanding what services the market will need in 5 - 10 years and then AIA should provide the knowledge and tools for members to be prepared to lead the market. This is not done by talking to ourselves. It is done by engaging the client base and end users in a "skunks work" environment. Three areas of focus to start: 1. Telling our story through our client's voice. Let's start with Honor Awards and see how the buildings have solved client's lives and solved their problems? What's it like to work with an architect? How did they add value? 2. Set a research agenda for the profession (including firms and universities.) We need to become a knowledge based profession where clients can rely on an outcome. Only research, and a willingness to share (both successes and failures) can accomplish that. There are no secret formulas anymore. Thanks to the interweb, knowledge is everywhere. Successful architects will be the ones who know how to determine what has validity and what is garbage, and then the ability to apply the knowledge to the problem at hand for a successful outcome. 3. Teach me how to quantify the value I bring to a project. My clients expect a return on their investment. Tell me how I prove that my services provide that. ------------------------------------------- Walter Hainsfurther FAIA Kurtz Associates Architects Des Plaines IL -------------------------------------------

Walter's first suggestion - Awards that recognize architects' contributions to their clients business enterprises is exactly why Architectural Record created their "Good Design is Good Business" awards seventeen or eighteen years ago (when it was the AIA's official instrument). Not all awards programs should adopt the same criteria.
Walter's other two points may contradict each other. (#2) Yes, architects need a research agenda in firms and universities, and we have that, albeit not in all firms and not in all universities. Should we? Research requires experimentation, and meaningful experimentation precludes reliable outcomes of the kind that come when architects can, in advance, "quantify the value (they) bring to a project." That's why architects, like every other profession, differentiate "practice," which aims primarily for known outcomes, from "research," which is essential to advance the practice. Much client dissatisfaction is purported to come from clients who invest in our services in order to realize "a return on their investment" but learn instead that they have supported a "research" experiment. Many clients' expectations are so low that they think of architects as mere technicians; others think the architect only wraps the work of engineers in a pretty package; few indeed are interested in a research agenda.

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Thomas Howorth FAIA
Principal Architect
Howorth & Associates Architects
Oxford MS
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2015 17:36
From: Walter Hainsfurther
Subject: Repositioning and the Profession

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Committee on Design and College of Fellows .
-------------------------------------------
I think that my friend Tim misses the point (as does Mike, by the way.)  

The real issue is two fold.  First, we don't understand the marketplace.  Instead of understanding what clients (both existing and perspective) want and are willing to pay for, we concentrate on what we THINK they want.  Therefore, we're selling something they don't value and, therefore, look to others to provide what they really need.

Secondly, I don't think we can articulate the value of what we do provide them in terms that they understand.  We slap each other on the back by showing projects that look beautiful, but we never tell the story of the project from a client's voice.  What problems were solved?  How did it make the client's lives (business, services, etc.) better, more efficient, profitable, etc.     

The AIA has engaged in a lot of navel gazing the past year.  What repositioning needs to be is understanding what services the market will need in 5 - 10 years and then AIA should provide the knowledge and tools for members to be prepared to lead the market.  This is not done by talking to ourselves.  It is done by engaging the client base and end users in a "skunks work" environment. 

Three areas of focus to start:
1. Telling our story through our client's voice.  Let's start with Honor Awards and see how the buildings have solved client's lives and solved their problems?  What's it like to work with an architect?  How did they add value?
2. Set a research agenda for the profession (including firms and universities.)  We need to become a knowledge based profession where clients can rely on an outcome.  Only research, and a willingness to share (both successes and failures) can accomplish that.  There are no secret formulas anymore.  Thanks to the interweb, knowledge is everywhere.  Successful architects will be the ones who know how to determine what has validity and what is garbage, and then the ability to apply the knowledge to the problem at hand for a successful outcome.
3. Teach me how to quantify the value I bring to a project.  My clients expect a return on their investment.  Tell me how I prove that my services provide that.  

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Walter Hainsfurther FAIA
Kurtz Associates Architects
Des Plaines IL
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