| My Design/Build Coach Articles for Remodleing and Design/Build Professionals | |||
The Pilot Fish and the Shark Designers need builders, and builders need designers, so let’s work together You know those fish that tag along with sharks and eat the parasites that live on those prehistoric marvels? I believe they are called pilot fish. This symbiotic relationship is based on mutual need and benefit; the pilot fish gets food and the shark gets clean. This relationship is much like the one between designers and builders. Builders are looking for professional design services, and designers are looking for reliable builders who can bring their designs to life. Most importantly, these two parties share the same client: the homeowner. Many builders have become their own designers by using those tremendous software programs that produce such great drawings. But having the software and being able to produce good design are two different concepts. For instance, you can place a baseball in my hands and one in Roger Clemens’ hands. The resulting pitches will be vastly different because of the pitcher’s ability and expertise. Because today’s technology blurs the line between who is a design professional and who is merely a software user, it is easy for the builder to be tempted to take on the role of designer. However, the risks associated with this temptation include leaving design options off the table and leaving money on the table. I have witnessed increases in project scope after alternate designs were presented to homeowners. In fact, I often have become the builder’s second salesperson. That is, I’ve shown options based upon the homeowner’s needs and goals and increased the bottom line for the builder. Of course, any such deviations from designing within the set investment amount are presented with the builder’s approval. As for us design professionals, we need builders. Our product — architectural design — is useless unless it gets built. The vast majority of design professionals are not builders, do not have building licenses, nor do they want to go down that career path. Therefore, it is imperative that our profession start to accommodate the building profession. This can be a sensitive issue. I’ve noticed a reluctance to address the divide that exists between the design and build entities. If we do nothing to address this disconnect, we’re faced with a lose/lose proposition. Actually, the biggest loser from our dysfunction is the homeowner. We may pride ourselves on offering top-notch services to our clients, but it means nothing if the client feels no association or connection between the two vital parts of their project: design and build. However, all is well in the world of design/build. In fact, there is a shift among some high-end design professionals who have started to partner with high-end builders. They are creating teams that operate as one. Refined design requires skilled craftsmanship and project management in order to achieve the highest-quality product. They realize that working with each other is far more advantageous than working without each other. Getting back to those pilot fish and sharks, it’s easy to see how both species involved in a symbiotic relationship benefit from their partnership. It’s pretty obvious to me which one of us is the shark and which is the pilot fish. Of course the builder is the shark. They’ve been around for thousands of years, are highly efficient eating machines and evoke all kinds of imagery and emotions while remaining mysterious and dangerous. We little pilot fish designers are happy to eat the refuse of the builder sharks with the satisfaction that the shark won’t eat us. Furthermore, it satisfies our egos that we are steering things and responsible for making sure that the big builder shark does not get eaten alive by the tiny parasite details. |
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The Pilot Fish and The Shark By Joseph Dellanno April 11, 2005 Reprinted from Residential Design & Build Magazine www.dbmagazine.com |
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