Organizing the Architect's Office PDF

Organizing the Architect’s Office Ar. Janvir Moses S. Escalona, uap  Table of contents 01 Office 02 Office 03 Office Organization Location Personnel 04 The 05 References Consultants and...

Organizing the Architect’s Office Ar. Janvir Moses S. Escalona, uap  Table of contents 01 Office 02 Office 03 Office Organization Location Personnel 04 The 05 References Consultants and Samples 06 Finances and 07 Public Insurances Relations  01 Office Organization The Office Organization Completion of registration as an architect seems to inspire the new architect into considering a practice of his own.  Office Organization Building your new office: 1. For young people, the starting of an office should not be too difficult, considering the possible workload that may be available. The young architect has, by this time, been an employee of a larger firm and should been able to observe quite a bit of the requirements. 2. He should be familiar with most of the operations necessary for the production of contract documents. He may not be too familiar with the business end, the cash flow or the process of finding clients. 3. General experience may be difficult to come by in the larger office, but any experience is better than none at all. Fortunately, the two years required between college graduation and possible registration allows for the gain of much experience. Five Primary Types of Office Organization 1. Single Proprietorship The individual owner or single proprietorship type of operation is still alive and going well in many cases. The Primary advantage, of course; is that the proprietor is his own boss and can accept or reject any clients as he feels inclined. 2. The Partnership This form of office organization may be considered in two major styles: two or more equal active partners, or a senior or a junior partner. Each condition may also involve associates. Partnerships exist where all partners are registered architects, where partners are architect or engineers, or even where only one person is a registered architect but other partners are contractors. lawyers, or good businessman in related fields. 3. Associates The term associates may mean something or relatively nothing. When younger employees reach an advanced stage of value to the office, they may consider their own office. They may have skills to replace and not really want to leave. They may simply want recognition. 4. The Corporation In many cities a corporation may be formed by architects. SimpIy explained, the corporation is a theoretical employer organization, and all members (stockholder~) are employees with financial responsibility limited by the amount of their investment. When a partnership becomes so large or unwieldy that efficient operation becomes difficult, the partners may decide that a corporation type office with its benefits, would be very interesting. 5. Joint Ventures and Others Regardless of the basic structure of a professional office, there are times when it may become expedient to combine offices or reorganize to better advantage. When several small offices feel that it may be advantageous to combine forces they may joint-venture the same as many other groups.  02 Office Location  The Office Location One of the first questions that arises in starting any type of business is the proposed location. This is as true for the prospective Architects’, Engineers’ office and any other profession related in the field. There are several major issues that may influence the consideration of locations; some that are made or controlled by the proprietor, and some that are byproduct of the society in which we live and work.  The Architect’s Office Considerations on choosing your Location: 1. Size of the Office 2. Types of Work Done Production Area 3. Convenience of Access - Drafting Space 4. Parking, Services and Utility Cost - Project Managers - Space for Specifications Space Requirements of an Office: and Engineers The Administration - Model Making Space - Reception Area - Library/Sample Room - Principal’s Office - Estimating Area - Conference Room (6 pax) Services - Secretariat/Bookkeeping - Toilet Area Storage Area - Maintenance Room - Dead Project Storage - Staffs’ Lounge - Correspondence Storage - Vault (Optional)  Office Locations Factors Before, most architect or engineer that feels ready to open his own office has worked in another office. While working in that other office he must also have had some feeling regarding the location, its availability to clients, proximity to supply sources, parking facilities, cost per square meter of space, utilization and many other factors. These bits and pieces of stored information plus good common senses will go a long way in helping the new architects to select a good location.  The “At Home” Office This may be a temporary expediency to make a little extra money, but as a starting point for a full-blown business it is not very good. Home distractions are not conducive to architectural thinking or creative work. City regulations and business license rules may prevent this type of operation. Very few manufacturer's representatives will call at a residential address, so probably the architect wilt not be able to build up a library or perhaps even know the representatives. People who have offices in the central business district are expected to somehow have better offices, better knowledge, better The City Location employees, better projects, and to do a better job overall. Location in a downtown area has a number of advantages for a new office, as well as a number of disadvantages that should also be considered. At any rate, the square meter cost will, in all probability, be higher than in most other areas. Availability and cost of parking, both 'for office personnel and clients. Proximity for supplies If the new office expects to be doing a great of residential work perhaps city location will not be so advantageous  The Suburban Location Suburban location may relate better to A suburban location doesn't mean that residential work and clients may be the office is "out in the sticks." less reluctant to come into a less busy area. It is true that it isn't downtown but most cities have shopping centers or It office client-prospects are not close neighborhood business districts by, or if they are of the type where the that may be very suitable for location of architect meets them in their own an architectural office, so let's consider offices, the location of the architects’ a few reasons for such a move. office is of little consequence. To do this, perhaps we can parallel An additional advantage may be that some of the reasons for a city location. the office may be nearer the In a neighborhood business district, architect's home and that of his there are often fair-sized office employees, thereby shortening driving buildings as well as many smaller one. time and freeway traffic. The Small Town Office With all of the crowing, higher costs, ecological problems, and inconveniences of the city, a huge number of people, including architects, are leaving the urban sprawl for the smaller towns. Such move may change the entire picture. Office space may again be more reasonable, ·but may also be less available, particularly space that reflects previous architecture. If the architect is fairly confident of success in his move he may want to design and build perhaps even with a rental space or two.  The Rural Office The strictly rural location is really not very practical for a full-time architectural office, and even less so far a consulting engineer's office. Office spaces as such may be nonexistent, so remodeled barns or addition to residences may be the answer. Again such design and construction may be regarded as a demonstration of ability. Personal Preference Despite any comparison of locations or other considerations, the location of an office depends a great deal upon the individual. Each person has some feeling toward the type or work he would like to do and this in turn influences location. After working in a city office, many young architects want to get away from the hustle and bustle when they get on their own. This means that they will migrate to the suburbs or smaller towns. On the other hand, some people like the feeling of being in the mainstream of city business or have some initial project which is best processed in a downtown location.  The Other City Up to 'now we have only considered relocation in a definite area in which the architect may have already been working, but what about new city? Occasionally the old location, city-wise, may not seem to present the best opportunities for a new office. This is a big step since, in most cases, it means practically starting over. The architect loses all previous contacts, both with prospective clients and with contractors, suppliers and even manufacturers' representatives.  Your Own Building Perhaps not strictly a location, but certainly closely related to location and definitely influenced by location, is the question of the A/E's own building. Sooner or later the question of rent, lease, or ownership arise and the A/E must determine in which he is most interested for the present as well as the future. If the general location is right, the next question is to buy and remodel an existing building, or to design and build a new building from scratch.  03 Office Personnel The Office Personnel Large office have some of the same problems regarding the personnel required. Each must have a leader or manager, and a number of others to produce the work. Not all offices have the same titles for their employees, and not all with the same titles have the same job. The Architect/Engineer Next Avatar The architect-engineer is usually the boss. He is normally college educated in the field of architecture and registered by examination in the country in which his office does business. He has at least four or five years experience in other offices and may have been in his own office for many years. He has the ability to meet and talk to clients as well as others in the community, and probably belongs to one or more clubs, primarily for possible client contacts. The Project Manager Next Avatar A person with experience in all aspects of architecture and engineering and project management, the project manager may be registered as an architect or engineer, or it may be simply a title, to forestall any question of registration. Experience is relative, but would probably be in the area of five to twenty years in various positions. He manages the total project, and typical responsibilities are within the general supervision of progress of the entire project. The Job Captain Next Avatar The job captain may or may not exist in many offices. In the smaller offices this position may roughly correspond to that of project manager while in larger offices he is an assistant to the project manager. As an assistant to the project manager, the duties of the job captain are primarily concerned with the production of the working drawings. Previous Avatar Senior Draftsman Next Avatar A person with substantial knowledge and experience or in younger men, a college graduate, may be a senior draftsman, but older men may be from the "school of hard knocks." Usually this person has at least eight to ten years experience. Major responsibility for him is in coordinating details and dimensions: checking working drawings for omissions or conflicts prior to bid time; checking for code compliance; controlling design continuity in detailing; and in smaller offices he does major drafting such as floor plans and elevations. Previous Avatar Intermediate Next Avatar Draftsmen Education for an intermediate draftsman probably includes graduation from a college of architecture or engineering plus three to five years of progressive experience. If not already registered this employee may be nearly ready for the final examination for registration. With less experience than the senior draftsmen, the intermediate draftsman prepares working drawings, coordinates details with plans or elevations, and works with the senior draftsman. Previous Avatar Beginning Draftsman Next Avatar A person with limited experience in architectural drafting, normally less than two years experience, and without a degree in architecture, is a beginning draftsman. He helps to prepare working drawings, helps prepare presentation drawings, does more correcting of drawings under supervision of others, and traces details. In small offices he may replace a trainee in this work. Previous Avatar Trainee 03. Reminder With little or no architectural education or experience beyond high school, a trainee often starts as the blueprint machine operator. In addition, he files drawings, delivers office material and drawings, and is generally "handy" around the office. He may do some basic drawings or tracing of details with supervision. Previous Avatar Construction 03. Reminder Administrator With a major position in the firms, the construction administrator should have a total knowledge of construction methods, codes and contracts. His responsibility includes actual administration of all projects under construction, periodic inspections of the onsite work, review and decision on shop drawings, communication with the contractor regarding change orders and payment requests, some contact with manufacturers representatives regarding proper materials and supervision of field inspectors in larger offices. Previous Avatar Specifications Writer 03. Reminder The specifications writer must have substantial knowledge of the use of materials and construction methods and may or may not be registered as an architect or engineer. Responsibilities include preparation of preliminary and final specifications, checking working drawings for compliance with specifications, evaluating and recommending new materials and construction methods, dealing with manufacturer's representatives, and advising other office personnel on materials or methods. The Designer Next Avatar The designer is responsible for the layout and appearance factors of the project and works with the project manager to provide proper facilities for the client. Work includes preparation of schematics, preliminary layouts, renderings, and sometimes interiors or special phases of the work. In an engineering office, the designer works out the system to be used, makes the major calculations required, and roughs-out diagrammatic sketches to be further developed by the draftsmen. The Librarian Next Avatar The librarian does not formally exist in most offices with less than fifty to seventy-five employer, but is very important when an extensive library has been acquired and a large drafting force is continually using reference materials. In smaller offices, the “library” is often scattered throughout the office in several different bookcases. Previous Avatar Engineers-Architects Next Avatar In some larger offices the special fields of mechanical an9 electrical design for projects is done "in-house" , that is in the A/E office rather than being "farmed-out" to consultants. This then requires education and registered engineers to design the various system and different 1levels of draftsman to produce their working drawings. These engineering positions parallel the architectural positions very closely. The same is true of those responsible for the structural design of a project. Previous Avatar Non-Architectural Next Avatar Personnel Almost all offices require the normal complement of secretaries, office accountants, file checks, receptionists, and other non- architectural personnel. The customary requirements for taking dictation, typing, filing, etc. are necessary and a great variety of education and experience may need to be considered. Menu 04 Consultants  Types of Consultants Structural Electrical-Mech Cost Estimating Their training and experience Oriented towards mechanical These consultants often do have been slanted towards and electrical works. Knows work for architects, and calculating requirements the rules and local conditions, contractors. They are familiar for size and strength of strategies, and computations with material and labor costs, structural members. of said scope. and cost estimates. Hardware Specifications Specialized Knowledgeable about the Is able to know more about Knowledgeable about details of the materials. the qualities of materials, specialized requirements. advantages, or disadvantages Landscape Arch. of use, availability, and some Architect For the provision of landscape idea of cost. Specializes on planning of drawings and specifications. specific projects.