Archinect - News

A panel discussion on buying and selling architecture/design products during COVID-19

2020-11-30T18:02:00-05:00

Commercial interiors product manufacturers are struggling to understand the best way to reach their customers with the product information they need to make recommendations and execute on solutions that support the health, safety and welfare of employees returning to the office. Design practices across much of the US remain closed to local sales representatives, the traditional source of product information. The inability to travel has curtailed access for designers who depend on trade shows or other industry events to gain important product knowledge. Many furniture showrooms are operating on reduced schedules, making it difficult for designers and their clients to “kick the tires” on new products and evaluate mockups. This session will feature a panel of industry experts offering guidelines for communicating product information to the market during the pandemic and managing the specification process during this unprecedented time.

Join us as we talk to leaders in this space during...

How Building Product Manufacturers Are Working Though This Pandemic

2020-03-25T16:27:00-04:00

With the outbreak of Covid-19, architects, designers and adjacent professionals are desperately searching for indicators to help determine just how seriously the industry will be impacted. Last week, I published a chart illustrating that specification activity that we’re tracking post outbreak is chugging along at a fairly similar pace as always. Though circumstances may change day-to-day, I’ve confirmed no change since March 19, which is encouraging.

Now, I want share some of my findings in communicating with a number of the industry’s largest building product manufacturers. Let me begin by emphasizing that manufacturers are still very much in business and working tirelessly to meet the demands of their customers. In fact, some manufacturers are reporting an increase in orders.

According to Jane Hawkins, A&D Market Manager at Armstrong Flooring, “We are seeing heavy levels of activity as owners and contractors are hoping to complete their projects quickly.” She continues, “I’m al...

Architects in the UK reconsider their relationship with manufacturers and mass standardization

2019-07-12T13:49:00-04:00

It is now almost 80 years since the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act enabled the construction of the post-war prefab, but controversies and concerns about building a home in a factory have run deep ever since. While practically every other item we buy rolls off a production line, housebuilding’s transition to the factory remains, for many reasons, problematic.

With the rise of automation and advances in building manufacturing, architects have considered if machines can replace the profession. However, makes the job so rewarding is thinking of new and creative ways to execute ideas. This level of creativity and design distinction is something architects argue towards replacement by automation alone. However, in the UK, architects are learning to reassess their relationships with manufacturers and understand the silver lining in mass standardization. In 1944 the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act was passed by the British Parliament as a response to providing families with homes after World War II. Several decades later, the housing market is forcing architects to acquire new perspectives when it comes to manufacturing and how new relationships could foster better results.

According to Josephine Smit of the RIBA Journal, "with a skills shortage, a push from government and impetus from the build to rent sector, manufacturers and offsite s...

AIA study reveals architects want material manufacturers to step up their digital game

2017-01-03T17:24:00-05:00

As any architect who has spent precious time trying to identify a chrome versus silver nickel plated kitchen faucet for a client can attest, outdated websites and their corresponding vague specifications from building products and materials manufacturers makes life unnecessarily tedious. This specifications fatigue has been backed up by a study conducted by the AIA, in which architects hope that in addition to digital upgrades, manufacturers will make it easier for them to earn continuing education credits while they toil away in search of specifics. Here are the five main conclusions from the AIA study, as quoted in a press release:

Improved websites. Architects want product websites that are clear, concise, up-to-date, and easy to navigate. They also want easy access (no sign-up to view product information) and access to detailed information, including building information models and objects.
Focus on education. Architects are required to take continuing education courses in order t...