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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. But, if an architect has a client who wants a new house, or an office, the client will have some idea on budget, room sizes and other requirements. These issues need to be addressed by the architect in creating her design. Other requirements such as building codes, zoning codes, accommodations of structural and mechanical systems, good design practices, construction techniques, and other problems are usually not defined by the client and are brought into the design problem by the architect. Her design solution combines both the problems identified by the client and those of her own definition. The house or office will have a different design from the one created solely by the architect in the paragraph above. The aquarium has both sand and water. Water is direction coming from the client. Water is the hope, the angst of a client's vision. Water is the essence of creativity that is responsive to a client's requirements.
The Specialist A specialist's aquarium has substantially more sand than water. The specialist knows the building type thoroughly. He knows room requirements, typical room arrangements, appropriate materials, technical issues, and other common problems with the particular type of building. By concentrating on a particular building type, he gathers a large amount of programmatic and technical information. He'll subscribe to magazines focused on the issues surrounding his selected building type. He may have written articles or given seminars regarding solutions to specific issues, overcoming common obstacles, or a breakthrough in a shared dilemma. His professional life centers on learning everything possible about this singular type of building. Consequently, he needs the client to provide only an efficient level of information on issues such as budget, unique room requirements, and other similar problems. His knowledge of the building type makes him the authority on the project. The information that a specialist needs from the client is often generated by the design specialist. He knows the building type so thoroughly that he naturally leads the effort in defining the problem. He leads as a matter of habit. His knowledge of the building type will result in prompting the client for information to issues that would not occur to an architect unfamiliar with the building type. If a client wants a particular type of building and presents the architect with a list of rooms required, the specialist can review the list and ask about rooms that may have been forgotten the client. When working with a specialist, the client's need to define all the issues of the design problem is diminished. A specialist can be very effective for buildings that are inherently complex. Their dedicated focus on learning the intricacies of hospitals, libraries, factories, or any other chosen building type, can benefit the client by providing state of the art design solutions that the client may not have knowledge of. The specialist's aquarium is roughly 3/4 sand and 1/4 water, displaying sand based on experience, knowledge, and a dedication to a chosen field. The water filling the remaining space provides that the building reflects the client's overall goals and requirements.
A "Town" is created in record time I used to work at a large architectural and engineering firm that specialized in the design of electronic wafer fabrication plants. These are very specialized buildings. The main building contains the cleanroom where the micro-chips that run our computers are produced. The surrounding buildings are all designed to support the cleanroom. Other buildings that are needed include: A utility building to supply the energy and filter the waste. An office building to house the engineers and managers who oversee the cleanroom. A warehouse to manage the inflow and outflow of materials and products. A cafeteria and locker facility to feed the workers, and provide cleanroom clothing. The company employed all of the necessary specialists in architecture and in dozens of engineering disciplines. If we knew the size required for the cleanroom, we could independently design the fabrication building, utility building, office building, warehouse, cafeteria, lockers, parking, and any other necessary support facility. With a single piece of criteria from the client, we could design an entire campus. I worked on one project that required the cleanroom to be over seven football fields in area. The main building and support buildings comprised over twp and a half million square feet of new construction. When initiated by the client, they did not have the typical phalanx of staff to manage the design effort, and instead had a relative skeleton crew to oversee the design effort. Many of the architectural and engineering specialists remarked how they were still able to do their work with the minimal input from the client, and how it would be possible to design and build this small "town" and then hand over the keys to the new owner. They were not making these remarks arrogantly, but rather as specialists who knew their selected building type so thoroughly that the client could be limited to a role of minimal participation. As the project evolved, the client did form a larger team to oversee the design effort. Many on the client team had years of experience and managed their responsibilities effectively. But, some of the client staff members were new hires, and our designers informally trained them throughout the project. Having a team of design specialists allowed the project, which was the largest privately funded construction project in the States, to be built within 18 months from initial design to building completion, ready to move-in.
The Generalist The aquarium of a generalist is roughly equal parts sand and water. A generalist designs building of many different types and cannot amass detailed information on every possible building type. He must rely on client input for a successful project. Because client provides invaluable information in defining the design problem the generalist must have excellent listening skills. The issue of room requirements, room arrangements, materials, and similar problems are defined with generous client input. The generalist melds his intimate knowledge of sound and universal principles of architecture with specific needs communicated by the client. The client collaborates with the architect in defining the design problem. Together, architect and client determine the building's requirements. The architect's design effort combines a response client-directed
problems and architect-defined problems. The generalist needs the client
to define problems within a specific building type that a specialist
would already have knowledge of. Consequently, the generalist's aquarium
contains similar amounts of sand and water. |