Is it normal course for a designer/architect to withhold CAD?
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2 years ago
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3onthetree
2 years agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoRelated Discussions
Online garden design courses
Comments (6)Like any investment , be it education a business or a major consumption of time and money it makes good sense to do some homework. If I was going back to school for a second career I would like to know how the industry is doing and what the outlook for work would be . I'd like to know who my competition is going to be so that I can be prepared and I'd like to know that if I should become a sole proprietor what the potential of my social-economic area can handle. I live in an affluent area of the country and prior to 2008 there was a great movement of people entering the landscape design field and my area was able to handle the influx of 'talent' and 'not so much talent'. Many , if not most of the people entering the land design field were women seeking their second or third career change. It's hard to say what makes someone 'successful' in their work, but most of these new designers were doing some form of garden design to a various degree of design . Then the Great Recession hit and a huge % of these people are no longer working in the landscape design field, yet they have a few years of experience , a few jobs under their belt and some certificates or degrees . Many of these landscape designers didn't want to leave the field and have taken jobs at nurseries or with garden maintenance companies. Some have gone back to school for their masters or BA in landscape architecture. I'm hedging my bets that as soon as there appears to be a steady up tick in economy there is going to be a great deal of experienced + educated talent hitting the dirt running. That is going to be your competition. Be prepared. Landscape design has always been a romanticized profession. I would suggest interviewing a few successful designers who have been in the field for a good twenty some odd years to get a real taste of the profession. See what it took and is taking for them to weather this depressive job market and what they expect for the profession in the future in order to continue to stay on top of their game and gainfully employed....See MoreDesigner, Architect, DIY?
Comments (34)Hi, I think as in all trades there are good guys and bad guys. Before I go further I declare that I am biased because my brother is an architect, and a builder (and I think very good one at that.) You can judge for yourself, he put his money and skill where his mouth is and designed and built this hotel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_di_Moravola. Architecture is also about personal preferences too, so some things some guys like more than others. My personal acid test is if the normal chap in the street visits a building and thinks wow this is nice, then you got a winner. It is a matter of when you see it you know it. I also speak from a client end. My brother did design for me a house, however we came in way over budget. So I had to start again. This time I used a local architect who knew the market and could design to a budget target. We came in high, everyone does. I mean everyone, but not ridiculously so. My recomendation is design to a target of $US 100 and be prepared to pay about $US 150 for a single family home in the 2,000 to 3,000 sq feet range. I.E. you will be 50% over budget. In our ultimately abortive design we also used a structural engineer. He was great and we needed him to sign off on the plans becuase he was NY state licensed. I still would recommend him, he is Mr. David Kufferman and he is based in Connecticut. Ultimately I think the choice of which depends so much on the situation. Especially the site. If the site is difficult then you need a more difficult and intricate design. If the site is easy, flat, no oustanding issues, then you can go for a buy off the shelf designs. Incidently if you go for a buy off the shelf design note that you will still need someone to sign off on the design. I.E. if the house colapses, that person is on the hook for it. Some off the shelf designs are so bad that you may not be able to get anyone to sign off. One final note for the ultimate Arcitecture design you can get (loads of money though) CATIA. This is a software package originally used for aircraft 3d modeling and design. Frank Gehry used to to design the museum in Bilbao, that is how they managed to get that free flow curve look. Other neat tricks include special on site window glass curve shaping which used a tight bed of steel rods. (Just like those toys with many steel rods that you place gently on your face to get an impression recorded). The glass was placed on the bed of rods and heated. It then deformed to the desired shape. Note one special mold but many many shapes of glass. Anyhow enough rambling on...... Best, Mike. Here is a link that might be useful: Moravola: Hotel...See MoreHelp me with feedback on selecting architect/designer for our house
Comments (9)Assuming you felt at ease with all three, I think I'd pick the Designer. My logic to follow.... Works with low-mid to high end projects [...] Likely to respect your budget. Two thumbs up. [...] sole practitioner with no employees/helpers [...] Carries 100% of design responsibility; can't blame someone else for mistakes. [...] but will contract 3D designs out [...] No biggie. PPF and Res (from the forums) do this. ;-) [...] has designed several hill country style houses [...] YES!!! This carries a lot of weight with me; I'd be nervous the entire time if my architect/designer wasn't intimately familiar with my style, because I'd be trying to research all of the design elements (to ensure accuracy) while s/he was designing. And that's just bad juju, right there. [...] and showed me them as well as one very similar to our project with of course some specific differences [...] I think we have a winner. <3 [...] would travel in from a large city 75 miles away for site visits. [...] This also is super important to me; I need someone to back me up if things aren't built according to the drawings, and offer assistance in either compromise or demands for repair. [...] but not sure we want to go just the designer route as there is no construction "supervision." Wait, does he or does he *not* do site visits? :-) Is there another professional who can be brought on board, to offer this service to you? [...] Not an architect, but has an architecture degree. Very detail oriented as well. I recall Mr. Doug/ARG specifically saying that there are architects out there who he wouldn't trust to design a dog house for him, but there was an intern he had one time (who decided not to complete formal architectural education) who had enormous talent. Cost: $4/sq ft. I just realized I forgot to ask which sq. ft this is based on - target or final. I'm not crazy about per-square-foot fee structures (there's no incentive to keep square footage down, and I value smaller houses, lol), but there's no reason you can't exert discipline in this area, yourself. :-D...See MoreWho do I need? Architect? Designer?
Comments (7)Builders aren't architects, so while what he did was servicable, I'm not surprised you found it to be soulless and without creativity. I think you still got something out of the process thusfar as you seem to know what you do and don't want. That is valuable knowledge to take to your first meeting with an architect. You will need a couple iterations to get to what you want, so now you've cut one out. This could be a really awesome house that you'll love for decades to come, so hold out for what you want. I was blessed to work with a really gifted architect on an addition, so I hope you get as lucky as I did. Good luck!...See Moreelcieg
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoUser
2 years agoKristin Petro Interiors, Inc.
2 years ago3onthetree
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2 years ago3onthetree
2 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
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2 years agoNaf_Naf
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2 years agores2architect
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2 years agoelcieg
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2 years agoCharles Ross Homes
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2 years agoIndecisiveness
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
2 years agoCharles Ross Homes
2 years agores2architect
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoCharles Ross Homes
2 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
2 years agoCharles Ross Homes
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