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Butterfly_855 Mar 2015 07:44Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum and have been reading with interest because my husband and I are planning to build a house soon. We are still at the very beginning and are currently having initial consultation meetings with architects.
We have one architect in mind who is already retired but has a lot of experience. He has also made us a good offer, and my husband thinks he is the right choice, although I don’t share the same feeling. I am skeptical because this architect belongs to an older generation and retired around the time when almost everything was becoming digitalized. He would draw the house for us on “paper” and deliver it that way. How up-to-date is it to hire such an architect? Would it be a problem to receive everything on paper?
I have serious concerns because I believe it would be much better for communication to have everything electronically. He said he would scan the documents for us if we need to clarify something.
What do you experienced users think? Does it matter what format he uses for the drawings?
Best regards from southern Germany
I am new to the forum and have been reading with interest because my husband and I are planning to build a house soon. We are still at the very beginning and are currently having initial consultation meetings with architects.
We have one architect in mind who is already retired but has a lot of experience. He has also made us a good offer, and my husband thinks he is the right choice, although I don’t share the same feeling. I am skeptical because this architect belongs to an older generation and retired around the time when almost everything was becoming digitalized. He would draw the house for us on “paper” and deliver it that way. How up-to-date is it to hire such an architect? Would it be a problem to receive everything on paper?
I have serious concerns because I believe it would be much better for communication to have everything electronically. He said he would scan the documents for us if we need to clarify something.
What do you experienced users think? Does it matter what format he uses for the drawings?
Best regards from southern Germany
Nowadays, everything is done electronically.
Plans are created digitally and then sent, for example, to the specialist engineers for further processing, who then add their details. Electrical and heating/plumbing engineers usually work this way.
Tender documents are sent to the trades in a specific file format; they complete them on the computer and send them back to the architect.
All communication takes place via phone or email. Paper letters are only used when "original" signatures are required, such as for contracts.
At least, this is how it works with my architect.
Apart from that, technology, standards, regulations, and so on develop very quickly. The architect has to stay up to date.
Plans are created digitally and then sent, for example, to the specialist engineers for further processing, who then add their details. Electrical and heating/plumbing engineers usually work this way.
Tender documents are sent to the trades in a specific file format; they complete them on the computer and send them back to the architect.
All communication takes place via phone or email. Paper letters are only used when "original" signatures are required, such as for contracts.
At least, this is how it works with my architect.
Apart from that, technology, standards, regulations, and so on develop very quickly. The architect has to stay up to date.
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Bauexperte5 Mar 2015 09:59Hello,
Whether or not you have a paperless office should not be the reason to choose for or against the architect 😉
Regards, Bauexperte
Butterfly_85 schrieb:No; it just takes longer for the documents to reach the recipient.
What do you experienced users think about this? Does it matter what surface he is drawing on?
Whether or not you have a paperless office should not be the reason to choose for or against the architect 😉
Regards, Bauexperte
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toxicmolotof5 Mar 2015 13:14At first, I was also a bit "surprised" to receive a hand-drawn sketch on paper. In hindsight, it actually had more charm than a digital floor plan (which, of course, was also provided for construction).
However, something I would not want to do without is email communication with PDFs, scans, etc. This saved both paper and time, because all parties could a) quickly coordinate and b) document and make decisions at night or on the go, allowing them to work at their own pace without needing to constantly make phone calls during work.
However, something I would not want to do without is email communication with PDFs, scans, etc. This saved both paper and time, because all parties could a) quickly coordinate and b) document and make decisions at night or on the go, allowing them to work at their own pace without needing to constantly make phone calls during work.
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Butterfly_856 Mar 2015 10:52Thank you all for your replies.
That’s a very good point I hadn’t considered. Thank you very much for the advice.
You’re right. Thinking about it, that’s probably just a gut feeling making me reluctant to work with him.
I can see the appeal of having everything on paper, but in our case, there isn’t even a digital floor plan... It could probably be digitized somewhere else, but that would mean additional costs. Otherwise, it would have to be scanned or photographed to carry it around everywhere.
klblb schrieb:
Besides that, technology, standards, regulations, etc. are evolving very quickly. He needs to be up to date.
That’s a very good point I hadn’t considered. Thank you very much for the advice.
Bauexperte schrieb:
Whether the office is paperless or not shouldn’t be the reason you decide for or against the architect 😉
You’re right. Thinking about it, that’s probably just a gut feeling making me reluctant to work with him.
toxicmolotow schrieb:
I was also initially a bit “shocked” to be handed a paper sketch. In hindsight, it actually had more charm than a digital floor plan (which of course was also provided for the construction phase).
I can see the appeal of having everything on paper, but in our case, there isn’t even a digital floor plan... It could probably be digitized somewhere else, but that would mean additional costs. Otherwise, it would have to be scanned or photographed to carry it around everywhere.
I think scanning should not be a problem.
I also don’t know of any tradespeople walking around the construction site with an iPod; they still carry their printed detailed construction plans and mark them up by hand – and we have also found these plans more practical on site, editing them with pencil.
I would have no problem with technology changing: ambitious professionals continue their education or seek expert advice. We are talking about a profession that constantly evolves and requires architects to keep learning.
Since he apparently has reached retirement age... he has his empirical knowledge and should also be flexible in design and creativity (assuming he has been so throughout his career).
And: once an architect, always an architect. "Retirement age" doesn’t mean leaving the field, as long as we’re not talking about old age limits 😉
Honestly, I do have concerns about the quirks that can come with age – I’m thinking of the stubbornness and rigidity that often don’t go well with accepting criticism 😉
I’m just reminded of my favorite film, the must-watch for homebuilders: "One Time in a Lifetime"... There the promoters choose their architect later based on quite bizarre reasons, after the first architect suddenly passed away due to age-related (heart) issues 🙂
I also don’t know of any tradespeople walking around the construction site with an iPod; they still carry their printed detailed construction plans and mark them up by hand – and we have also found these plans more practical on site, editing them with pencil.
I would have no problem with technology changing: ambitious professionals continue their education or seek expert advice. We are talking about a profession that constantly evolves and requires architects to keep learning.
Since he apparently has reached retirement age... he has his empirical knowledge and should also be flexible in design and creativity (assuming he has been so throughout his career).
And: once an architect, always an architect. "Retirement age" doesn’t mean leaving the field, as long as we’re not talking about old age limits 😉
Honestly, I do have concerns about the quirks that can come with age – I’m thinking of the stubbornness and rigidity that often don’t go well with accepting criticism 😉
I’m just reminded of my favorite film, the must-watch for homebuilders: "One Time in a Lifetime"... There the promoters choose their architect later based on quite bizarre reasons, after the first architect suddenly passed away due to age-related (heart) issues 🙂
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