Through the Client's Eyes

After observations of several transactions between client and firm, I broke down the production of a space into three distinctly visible stages--all which I believe are equally and vitally important for the successful creation of a space:

1. the vision of the client for his/her project
2. the successful conveyance of the vision to the firm or project architect (proposals and meetings)
3. the execution of the actual project by the firm

 The optimal situation, in terms of these three stages, would be one where the client has a lucid and practical vision, the client is able to perfectly articulate the vision to the firm, and the firm can comprehend and accurately reproduce the client's vision. Everyone's happy and efficient.

In a more realistic situation, it is more likely that clients have very abstract or overly ambitious visions, they are unable to clearly convey the vision that they themselves cannot really ground, and the firm consequently  has to spend excessive time with follow ups with the client in order to clarify the hazy picture they originally received or sometimes just misinterprets their visions entirely from the start. On top of this, there are several professionals working on this project--designers, architects who majored in engineering, architects who majored in the arts, etc-- and that means several different backgrounds, areas of expertise, and perspectives all trying to collaborate and build one vision. The firm may end up having to struggle, squirm, and guess through the entire process in hopes of producing what the client possibly wanted.

Thus, from the very onset of the project, a profound detailing of the project from the client could serve to be very beneficial and efficient. The presence of someone trained in deciphering a client's intentions through psychological means or just empirical knowledge could profoundly aid in the process of excavating the client's true wishes. That's what psychologists are for, aren't they? Discovering the buried thoughts and wishes deep inside of us?

To be fair, in some scenarios, leaving the architects and designers with the reigns on the project could also have benefits...for people with little idea of what they want or those who possess an unlimited budget and want the most modern, trending design, allowing architects complete freedom with the project after designating a purpose could in fact be the best option. But usually, people are not so flexible and are not so wealthy...

To conclude, the purpose of a project ideally needs to be clearly established for a successful and harmonious project. And with that, until next time!

WORKSBUREAU: The Start of Something Beautiful

Hello again! Thank you for your commitment in reading not only my first, but second entry! I'd like to continue right where I left off from my last post and share with you the exciting start of my internship. Quickly before I begin, I will clarify the actual nature of my sessions at the firm. My "internship" is actually somewhat of a fusion of an internship and an "externship." An externship is supervised shadowing of a professional in a field for a relatively short period of time. Since I unfortunately do not possess the highly-specialized qualifications of architects (degree in architecture, dexterity with AutoCAD, photoshopping skills-eh..debatable), I will indeed be doing more shadowing, and in the process, will be earning valuable empirical knowledge. The duration of my study will last a little over three months, which is slightly longer than the usual externship, giving my study the additional essence of an internship. Now that I've bored you with semantics, I will recount my intriguing Day 1 and Day 2 at WORKSBUREAU:

Day 1

WORKSBUREAU is the definition of "modern."

As I frantically circle the sleek, angular, wooden building, I ask myself my first research question, "Where is the door?" After I solve this mystery and finally enter the building, I am in a studio that pulsates with a warm ambiance. The soft hues of the wooden building complement the splashes of color in the decor, giving the entire studio a very modern, chic feel. There is a sacred zen in the silent, yet charged atmosphere. The architects work independently and silently, but for a collective purpose, creating an efficient, unified space. If I had been asked to picture my ideal architectural studio, this is probably what I would have described.

The majority of the day was filled with formalities: introductions, tours, and so on--yet I thoroughly enjoyed everything, from the beautiful firm to the wonderful characters. I discovered that each architect was both brilliant and charismatic with a hilarious wit and kind nature. From the first day, I felt integrated into the firm, and I left excited to return for the next round.

Day 2

Architects are intellectual Olympians. 

As I sat in my second day of intern/extern smoothie-ing, I was able to sense more of what an architect's job entailed. Some members of the firm made business calls, while some diagrammed on AutoCAD or collaborated with partners on project details. Architects are masters of both breadth and depth. They must simultaneously be designers, engineers, businessmen, leaders, and intuitively psychologists. For my SRP, I would like to focus on the psychological aspect of design, and divulge explicitly what architects consider implicitly when they create: the impact of design on human behavior and well-being. My final product will hopefully be my own design, and sitting in a beautiful firm that produces beautiful buildings, I feel the beginning of something beautiful coming into creation.

Current project at WORKSBUREAU: KAFD Portal Spas 2014, Saudi Arabia





Disclaimer: Since this is the very beginning, I have heavily detailed my experiences at WORKSBUREAU to allow the readers to see through my eyes my setting for the next three months. Do not fret though--I will be intensely focusing on research, research, research for the majority of the blog. Staaaayyyy tuned~