book in progress
John Perkins is in the process of writing a book on the relationship of creativity, listening, and client involvement in the architectural design project. He is defining three different types of architects and three different types of clients and how the matching of client to architect is the key to a project’s success or failure. Click on chapter 1 and chapter 2 to read a sample.

chapter 1
Is Art Creative? Is Creativity Art?

The artist, alone in her studio, sees only the blank canvas before her. Slowly and with deliberate intent, her brush collects a studied mixture of oils. Her hand guides the brush over the stark whiteness leaving bright, decisive strokes. The image builds with each passage. A visual expression of her angst, joy, sorrow, and optimism. An image borne from within her. Her expression. Art.

Art is creativity blossoming from within the artist.
The architect, alone is his studio, stares at the blank paper before him. His mind turns over the many functional goals gleaned from the client. The requirements are complex. The client’s expectations are high. His hand holds the pencil and draws the first line, followed by another, until a bold, innovative solution springs from the sheet. An image borne from another’s problems. Another's goals. Architecture.

Architecture is creativity brought to life by the client's needs.
People often use the terms art and creativity with casual similarity; using one term or the other as if they are synonymous. While it is true that art and creativity overlap in meaning, understanding their differences is essential. Art results from a process that is largely introspective. Although artists discuss theory, style, and composition with other artists, the artistic process is still largely a solitary one.
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chapter 2

spe•cial•ist (spesh'_ list), n. 1. An architect focused on compiling detailed knowledge in a specific building type. 2. An architect whose common operating procedure needs only a low level of client involvement in problem definition.

gen•er•al•ist (jen'_r _ list), n. 1. An architect focused on the collaborative process of architectural creativity and designing any type of building. 2. An architect whose common operating procedure utilizes a generous quantity of client involvement in problem definition.

co•or•di•na•tor (k_ ôr' dn _'ter), n. 1. An architect focused on the technical execution of an architectural solution. 2. An architect who manages the technical issues of a client driven design solution, such as placing a prototypical building on a specific site.

Most people perceive architects as having a specialty based on building types, and indeed many architects do specialize by focusing their practice on hospitals, housing, schools, industrial buildings, and such.

A specialist though is only one type of architect. It is essential to understand that the balance between architect-directed effort and client-directed effort defines the specialist, generalist, and coordinator. A helpful image is to think of filling an aquarium with both sand and water. The sand represents effort that is architect-directed, and the water represents client-directed effort.

Architect directed effort can be understood by an architect completing a design with no client involvement and thus filling the aquarium completely with sand. She could design a house, or an office, without a client and all through her own architect-directed effort. If an architect completes a design independently, all of the problems and requirements are defined by the architect. All of the creativity is in response to the architect’s own issues. She has only to listen to herself. The aquarium is full of sand. There is no water.
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