Sometimes potential new client says they know exactly what they want when they first talk to us. This troubles me, and I’m tempted to say to them that they would be better off contacting an alternative architectural company, but I don’t, and here’s why.
There are always many possible alternatives that should be considered, even on simple designs, sometimes they’re only minor changes but they all need to be considered and agreed upon.
The drawing is the tool we use to explain to the client what it is that we understand they want. Until this drawing is prepared, we’re relying on words and no matter how simple the project is, language is just not adequate for this task.
Let’s take the case of buying a new car. You’ve decided on the make, model and even the colour. You get to the showroom and just look at all the questions you get regarding wheels, in car entertainment, glass etc. The product we’re dealing with doesn’t even start off with a make, model or colour and so there are always choices to be considered.
So for the client who knows exactly what they want, we prepare a few choices, probably variations on a theme it’s true, but it’s a shame if a client doesn’t get the best out of the process.
The other little problem with a client knowing exactly what they want is that what they want might not be possible. They may want too much glass to comply with building regulations, the planning department may not accept it and they may not be able to afford their dream design.
We want the client to get exactly what they want, whether they know what it is or not, but it’s seldom as simple as that.
A recent client very kindly acknowledged this in a testimonial received this week:
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Building Tectonics. Although only adding a small extension and having thought I knew what I wanted, Building Tectonics presented me with a variety of ideas and solutions to my challenges. Tony and his team guided us through the entire process, I can highly recommend them.
Maybe life’s just not that simple, but we do our best to simplify it for our clients. Sometimes initially they might think we’re trying to complicate matters, but we’re not really – we’re just doing our job.