The healthcare side of architecture is incredibly frustrating, but if you've got a project and have to deal with these guys on top of a tough client...good luck. I love the way they submissively jab at an architect's vision costing money and this is a great quote as well: “Value Engineering (VE) is a way of life for every META team.” More E.F.I.S. and fewer windows! It's the lapses in our profession that allow these types of firms to further diminish the work and creativity that Architects have.
Before you hire a hospital or healthcare architect
Here’s why you need an experienced advocate—a Program Manager to manage your total design & construction project scope & costs:
Very few hospitals and healthcare systems (without their own large Design & Construction Departments) have the top level time or expertise to handle the hundreds of components involved in a complex building project—while still focusing on managing the complexities of their own operations. You have other important business to attend to--other than your bricks & mortar.
A good architect (the Architect-of-Record that actually develops the contract documents) is crucial to any building project. But their scope of service does not include the comprehensive management of a total building project that typically requires a number of specialized disciplines —in addition to healthcare architecture.
Architects are disincented to challenge user “wish lists.†The result, we’ve found, is often a project whose total cost has ballooned 15-30% or more above the original budget. Plus, a significant percentage of hospital building projects end up in litigation. META’s percentage is 0%.
META currently has 19 architects on staff that are experts in knowing good architectural firms and how to manage them. We’ll provide the preliminary/conceptual design work you need up to actual schematic drawings, assist you in choosing the right architect, and make sure you get the most value from the architect that you choose.
More…On Why Architects Need To Be Managed
If YOU do not control the project, SOMEONE ELSE will, and that is often the Architect:
Every hospital building project needs a top-notch architectural firm with significant healthcare experience, but architects need to be managed in the same manner as any other employee or consultant. Managing architects, though, is difficult due to the creative nature of the design process and the specialized knowledge required in renovating or constructing a hospital. And when combined with a limited knowledge of hospital construction and insufficient time to manage the construction process, this results in project scopes that are often 15-30% higher than necessary (“scope creepâ€).
The Standard Agreement is intended to limit risk for the architect.
In addition to the Standard Agreement that limits the architect’s risk, clauses added to the agreement regarding basic services, additional services, changes, risk, errors and omissions, etc. also tend to favor the architect and place additional responsibility on the Owner. Owners need an advocate that will represent their best interests in contracting and fee negotiations with the architect as well as assistance in complying with contract terms.
Architectural Experience is Not Easily Delegated
A project is sold to an Owner based on the overall health care experience of a firm’s principals and senior level architects. Once a project is underway, responsibilities are often handed off to entry-level employees with limited healthcare experience. This creates a tremendous need for supervision.
Before you hire your architect or give your architect control of your building project, contact META. Here are some of the hospital and healthcare building pitfalls that occur all too often when a Program Manager is not involved.
Projects : Services : Testimonials : FAQs : About Us : Jobs : Contact : Site Map : Home
Before you hire a hospital or healthcare architect
Here’s why you need an experienced advocate—a Program Manager to manage your total design & construction project scope & costs:
Very few hospitals and healthcare systems (without their own large Design & Construction Departments) have the top level time or expertise to handle the hundreds of components involved in a complex building project—while still focusing on managing the complexities of their own operations. You have other important business to attend to--other than your bricks & mortar.
A good architect (the Architect-of-Record that actually develops the contract documents) is crucial to any building project. But their scope of service does not include the comprehensive management of a total building project that typically requires a number of specialized disciplines —in addition to healthcare architecture.
Architects are disincented to challenge user “wish lists.†The result, we’ve found, is often a project whose total cost has ballooned 15-30% or more above the original budget. Plus, a significant percentage of hospital building projects end up in litigation. META’s percentage is 0%.
META currently has 19 architects on staff that are experts in knowing good architectural firms and how to manage them. We’ll provide the preliminary/conceptual design work you need up to actual schematic drawings, assist you in choosing the right architect, and make sure you get the most value from the architect that you choose.
More…On Why Architects Need To Be Managed
If YOU do not control the project, SOMEONE ELSE will, and that is often the Architect:
Every hospital building project needs a top-notch architectural firm with significant healthcare experience, but architects need to be managed in the same manner as any other employee or consultant. Managing architects, though, is difficult due to the creative nature of the design process and the specialized knowledge required in renovating or constructing a hospital. And when combined with a limited knowledge of hospital construction and insufficient time to manage the construction process, this results in project scopes that are often 15-30% higher than necessary (“scope creepâ€).
The Standard Agreement is intended to limit risk for the architect.
In addition to the Standard Agreement that limits the architect’s risk, clauses added to the agreement regarding basic services, additional services, changes, risk, errors and omissions, etc. also tend to favor the architect and place additional responsibility on the Owner. Owners need an advocate that will represent their best interests in contracting and fee negotiations with the architect as well as assistance in complying with contract terms.
Architectural Experience is Not Easily Delegated
A project is sold to an Owner based on the overall health care experience of a firm’s principals and senior level architects. Once a project is underway, responsibilities are often handed off to entry-level employees with limited healthcare experience. This creates a tremendous need for supervision.
Before you hire your architect or give your architect control of your building project, contact META. Here are some of the hospital and healthcare building pitfalls that occur all too often when a Program Manager is not involved.
Projects : Services : Testimonials : FAQs : About Us : Jobs : Contact : Site Map : Home
exactly strawbeary - i lost a house project recently because a contractor told them he would "do the architecture for free."
free indeed.
of course i'm glad i had nothing to do with somone unsophisticated enough to fall for that...
Interesting thread. Caught my eye because I know the company. They're based in Louisville.
META has a very specific history that causes them to position themselves this way. I'll share the apocryphal version (meaning - I refuse to be held responsible for it as it's based on hearsay and reputation).
When Humana (a health care plan co.) began their relationship with Michael Graves in the construction of the Humana Building in Louisville, they started their own in-house architectural office to serve as the local/architect of record. After the building was complete, META was spun off as its own office - sort of. It still has ties to Humana and other health care organizations. Over the years the principals of META moved on to form other offices and left it in the hands of the administrators. So now you have a (pseudo-)architecture firm intimately associated with the health care industry.
I feel your pain- I dealt with these guys many, many years ago and it was very frustrating- they managed to take a very complex, technically demanding hospital project and make it almost impossible by meddling, then turned around and told the Owner that without META's help, the project would have failed. Like most other firms that specialize in VE consulting (and CM's), they make their living by trying to point out the faults of others (mostly Architect's) to justify their highly inflated fees. In my own personal experience, not once did they fulfill promises they made about their proposed services- whether it be project management, estimating, equipment consulting, ID, etc.
in the UK, typically all Healthcare/education projects are now built under the umbrella PFI. "Pubic Finance Initiative"....so huge companies (usually massive contractors) have architects as consultants, along with engineers etc, and so we do not run the project at all. The contractor has final say on all design and construction matters. Companies like META are only set for growth and the government has facilitated it by creating the PFI framework in the first place.
Luckily I have not had the pleasure of working with these guys, but with more and more players involved in the design process it makes me wonder how architects can distinguish themselves and better demonstrate our relevance in society.
On a side note, I think that it is pretty interesting how they (META) say that architects don’t have the comprehensive vision necessary to bring a project to completion without cost overruns and delays. But they go on to say that they have 20 or so architects working for them. That seems somewhat contradictory. Maybe they just employ architects for study purposes – to see how we tick and why we love to add program.
Jun 23, 05 5:01 pm ·
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Who needs architects with guys like these.
The healthcare side of architecture is incredibly frustrating, but if you've got a project and have to deal with these guys on top of a tough client...good luck. I love the way they submissively jab at an architect's vision costing money and this is a great quote as well: “Value Engineering (VE) is a way of life for every META team.” More E.F.I.S. and fewer windows! It's the lapses in our profession that allow these types of firms to further diminish the work and creativity that Architects have.
THIS IS CRAZY!
Before you hire a hospital or healthcare architect
Here’s why you need an experienced advocate—a Program Manager to manage your total design & construction project scope & costs:
Very few hospitals and healthcare systems (without their own large Design & Construction Departments) have the top level time or expertise to handle the hundreds of components involved in a complex building project—while still focusing on managing the complexities of their own operations. You have other important business to attend to--other than your bricks & mortar.
A good architect (the Architect-of-Record that actually develops the contract documents) is crucial to any building project. But their scope of service does not include the comprehensive management of a total building project that typically requires a number of specialized disciplines —in addition to healthcare architecture.
Architects are disincented to challenge user “wish lists.†The result, we’ve found, is often a project whose total cost has ballooned 15-30% or more above the original budget. Plus, a significant percentage of hospital building projects end up in litigation. META’s percentage is 0%.
META currently has 19 architects on staff that are experts in knowing good architectural firms and how to manage them. We’ll provide the preliminary/conceptual design work you need up to actual schematic drawings, assist you in choosing the right architect, and make sure you get the most value from the architect that you choose.
More…On Why Architects Need To Be Managed
If YOU do not control the project, SOMEONE ELSE will, and that is often the Architect:
Every hospital building project needs a top-notch architectural firm with significant healthcare experience, but architects need to be managed in the same manner as any other employee or consultant. Managing architects, though, is difficult due to the creative nature of the design process and the specialized knowledge required in renovating or constructing a hospital. And when combined with a limited knowledge of hospital construction and insufficient time to manage the construction process, this results in project scopes that are often 15-30% higher than necessary (“scope creepâ€).
The Standard Agreement is intended to limit risk for the architect.
In addition to the Standard Agreement that limits the architect’s risk, clauses added to the agreement regarding basic services, additional services, changes, risk, errors and omissions, etc. also tend to favor the architect and place additional responsibility on the Owner. Owners need an advocate that will represent their best interests in contracting and fee negotiations with the architect as well as assistance in complying with contract terms.
Architectural Experience is Not Easily Delegated
A project is sold to an Owner based on the overall health care experience of a firm’s principals and senior level architects. Once a project is underway, responsibilities are often handed off to entry-level employees with limited healthcare experience. This creates a tremendous need for supervision.
Before you hire your architect or give your architect control of your building project, contact META. Here are some of the hospital and healthcare building pitfalls that occur all too often when a Program Manager is not involved.
Projects : Services : Testimonials : FAQs : About Us : Jobs : Contact : Site Map : Home
Call 1-800-448-6382 toll free. Copyright © 2005 META Associates All rights reserved.
Web Site Development by NoSpin Marketing & InfoAdvantage
THIS IS CRAZY!
Before you hire a hospital or healthcare architect
Here’s why you need an experienced advocate—a Program Manager to manage your total design & construction project scope & costs:
Very few hospitals and healthcare systems (without their own large Design & Construction Departments) have the top level time or expertise to handle the hundreds of components involved in a complex building project—while still focusing on managing the complexities of their own operations. You have other important business to attend to--other than your bricks & mortar.
A good architect (the Architect-of-Record that actually develops the contract documents) is crucial to any building project. But their scope of service does not include the comprehensive management of a total building project that typically requires a number of specialized disciplines —in addition to healthcare architecture.
Architects are disincented to challenge user “wish lists.†The result, we’ve found, is often a project whose total cost has ballooned 15-30% or more above the original budget. Plus, a significant percentage of hospital building projects end up in litigation. META’s percentage is 0%.
META currently has 19 architects on staff that are experts in knowing good architectural firms and how to manage them. We’ll provide the preliminary/conceptual design work you need up to actual schematic drawings, assist you in choosing the right architect, and make sure you get the most value from the architect that you choose.
More…On Why Architects Need To Be Managed
If YOU do not control the project, SOMEONE ELSE will, and that is often the Architect:
Every hospital building project needs a top-notch architectural firm with significant healthcare experience, but architects need to be managed in the same manner as any other employee or consultant. Managing architects, though, is difficult due to the creative nature of the design process and the specialized knowledge required in renovating or constructing a hospital. And when combined with a limited knowledge of hospital construction and insufficient time to manage the construction process, this results in project scopes that are often 15-30% higher than necessary (“scope creepâ€).
The Standard Agreement is intended to limit risk for the architect.
In addition to the Standard Agreement that limits the architect’s risk, clauses added to the agreement regarding basic services, additional services, changes, risk, errors and omissions, etc. also tend to favor the architect and place additional responsibility on the Owner. Owners need an advocate that will represent their best interests in contracting and fee negotiations with the architect as well as assistance in complying with contract terms.
Architectural Experience is Not Easily Delegated
A project is sold to an Owner based on the overall health care experience of a firm’s principals and senior level architects. Once a project is underway, responsibilities are often handed off to entry-level employees with limited healthcare experience. This creates a tremendous need for supervision.
Before you hire your architect or give your architect control of your building project, contact META. Here are some of the hospital and healthcare building pitfalls that occur all too often when a Program Manager is not involved.
Projects : Services : Testimonials : FAQs : About Us : Jobs : Contact : Site Map : Home
Call 1-800-448-6382 toll free. Copyright © 2005 META Associates All rights reserved.
Web Site Development by NoSpin Marketing & InfoAdvantage
so who manages THEM?
exactly strawbeary - i lost a house project recently because a contractor told them he would "do the architecture for free."
free indeed.
of course i'm glad i had nothing to do with somone unsophisticated enough to fall for that...
Interesting thread. Caught my eye because I know the company. They're based in Louisville.
META has a very specific history that causes them to position themselves this way. I'll share the apocryphal version (meaning - I refuse to be held responsible for it as it's based on hearsay and reputation).
When Humana (a health care plan co.) began their relationship with Michael Graves in the construction of the Humana Building in Louisville, they started their own in-house architectural office to serve as the local/architect of record. After the building was complete, META was spun off as its own office - sort of. It still has ties to Humana and other health care organizations. Over the years the principals of META moved on to form other offices and left it in the hands of the administrators. So now you have a (pseudo-)architecture firm intimately associated with the health care industry.
DEtroit:
I feel your pain- I dealt with these guys many, many years ago and it was very frustrating- they managed to take a very complex, technically demanding hospital project and make it almost impossible by meddling, then turned around and told the Owner that without META's help, the project would have failed. Like most other firms that specialize in VE consulting (and CM's), they make their living by trying to point out the faults of others (mostly Architect's) to justify their highly inflated fees. In my own personal experience, not once did they fulfill promises they made about their proposed services- whether it be project management, estimating, equipment consulting, ID, etc.
Good Luck
in the UK, typically all Healthcare/education projects are now built under the umbrella PFI. "Pubic Finance Initiative"....so huge companies (usually massive contractors) have architects as consultants, along with engineers etc, and so we do not run the project at all. The contractor has final say on all design and construction matters. Companies like META are only set for growth and the government has facilitated it by creating the PFI framework in the first place.
It almost seems like the blurb was translated from German with all the semi-random capitalizations ("Not Easily Delegated") in there.
Luckily I have not had the pleasure of working with these guys, but with more and more players involved in the design process it makes me wonder how architects can distinguish themselves and better demonstrate our relevance in society.
On a side note, I think that it is pretty interesting how they (META) say that architects don’t have the comprehensive vision necessary to bring a project to completion without cost overruns and delays. But they go on to say that they have 20 or so architects working for them. That seems somewhat contradictory. Maybe they just employ architects for study purposes – to see how we tick and why we love to add program.
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