hmm to add a few responses.

no.5 - yes, often in fact. The Stirling and RIBA Gold often interview the end users at varying levels as well as the other professionals in the job. But untimately its about the architecture...eh, not the how does the client feel prize

no.1 - I've worked in projects I've done, and am about to begin renovations on a house that I will live in. There are others who've done the same. Added no.2; I have consulted with other architects in regards to the house, and was willing to let them design it - but none that I admired were available (Adjaye, Fobert gimme a shout!)

no.3 architects are as arbitrary as parents - I'll let you figure that one out.

no.4 see the last sentence in the response to no. 5

wow - each of these could be an interesting thread in its own right - why don't you break 'em up?

thanks architechnophilia and quiz.. well with 163 views and 1 response I don't know if it's worth breaking them up into separate threads.. I though they were interesting questions but looks like no-one is keen to bite, care to comment why?

too much to take on in one post, i agree. you're just ASKING for short responses since it'd be hard to get into any of 'em too deep.

1. yes i have. you don't really want a number, right? like any architect, i'm very critical of the space i occupy, even if i've designed it.

2. eisenman had resolution 4 design his home/condo in nyc. there are certainly architects who would be better at residential than i am, so yes. (liberty bell, maybe...)

3. first, when does it start to be arbitrary? who says what's arbitrary? if architecture is generated from a particular problem and set of circumstances (and when isn't it?) why would it be arbitrary?

4. because the projects are published when they're 'fresh', not when they've been lived with/in for a while. and there are post-occupancy articles if you know where to look. and, despite lots of crits on these boards, dwell mags articles are almost always from the point-of-view of an owner/occupant who has occupied a project.

5. maybe? presumably an owner would see benefit in an award, no matter what their experience with a building. a building is an investment and notoriety improves the investment. you may not always get a straight answer from an owner. (i.e., 'this building sucks, you wanna buy it?' is unlikely.)

thanks Steven, correct, I was after short responses, but if it spills over into more a dedicated thread can always be started. In response to your 3rd answer, I would like to change my question to "in your opinion, what comes the closest to "perfect architecture".

ring the bell
that still can ring
let go of your perfect offering
there is a crack
a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in....

in regards to number 5, the answer is yes... i was on the jury for this year's national aia design awards... we reviewed all of the project submissions (over 500 of them) at aia headquarters over a long weekend... through that process we narrowed it down to about 30 finalists and each finalist project was visited by a jury member... during our site visits we interviewed the users and toured the entire facility with them... after all of the site visits, we reconvened at headquarters for another long weekend discussing the projects and picking the winners... there were several projects where the site visit really swung the vote (some positive and some negative)...

also, each of the owners/users were very excited at the prospect of their building winning such a prestigious award... and i believe that the owner's are always invited to the award ceremony...

1. I live in architecture. Not amazing, but it is solid design and something I am very, very happy to live in. 50% of the reason why I bought my place was because of the architecture.

2. No

3. Not sure what you are looking for here

4. I think it depends on who you ask too. Does the janitor like cleaning it? Does the secretary think her space is too small? Etc. I am cautious of people that have not taken the time to understand it what they think. I'd be curious, but would take everything with a grain of salt.

Kinda like 99% of the world would hate picasso if someone didn't tell them to like his work (or if they didn't know what people pay for his work).

5. see 4

1 - I feel that I currently live in modern architecture that is appropriate for the quirky quality of Arlington, Virginia. Furthermore, our building is well-designed: stuff lines up, and I can tell that there was a designer who thought about the details. The floor plan of our unit is efficient which yields positive space and breathing room.

I'm not sure if the building will win any awards - it wasn't designed by a famous architect, but we're pleased with it.


2 - Perhaps, but it would be as a consultant on a specific component of the design (like efficient kitchen layout or furniture selection).

3 - The first move is arbitrary. Everything else must relate back to that first move.

4 - Like Steven Ward mentioned above, post-occupancy evaluations have been published. However, I would counter that POE's were a trend of the early part of this decade and have deminished lately. (I find myself locking into POE mode when I walk through a new space with its new inhabitants... "Do you feel that you have enough space?" "How do you use these secondary spaces?" etc.)

5 - I'm not sure. Maybe for quotes in the publication.

I won't try to tackle all of these in one post, so here are a couple of immediate thoughts:

2. I recently completed a huge remodel (pretty much saved the foundation and not much else) of my home. My wife is an interior designer and I am an architect. Yes, we did the design and I stamped the drawings. Neither of us had done much single-family residential design in our careers. Our goal was not to make a "statement," but rather to blend into our neighborhood. I think we achieved that (and many neighbors have complimented us for it), but the result is not necessarily a publishable, or award-winning achievement. We like living in the house....enough said. In hindsight, could we have benefited from the advice/expertise of a highly-experienced residential architect? Sure. We made a couple of mistakes along the way that cost us, or that we had to decide to live with (nothing major, thank goodness). Although I think any design professional would be hard-pressed to allow someone else to "design" their personal domicile, I do think it would be wise to remember the old saying about lawyers (also applied to doctors and other professionals): "He who represents himself has a fool for a client."

4 and 5. This may be one of the great dilemmas of the architectural profession. End users are not consulted about anything. I once attended an AIA awards dinner and sat at the same table with the client of a project for which we (my firm) were winning an AIA award while we were in the middle of being sued by that client. And, it is a rare published article that addresses whether the actual user likes his/her space, or can function in that space. Most award programs and most trade journals promote architecture for architects, not architecture for clients.

i don't think this is necessarily true. though it might SOMETIMES be true.

we joke in our office that once we've done a project it's OUR project for life. when you're working on the 5th, 6th, 7th project with a client, you better believe you hear about the previous ones.

1. can't afford it.

2. never in a million years. collaboration is always possible, though.

3. ? never? always?

4. sometimes they are. usually the writer writes his or her opinion, though it is come to think of it not uncommon for articles that include praise of resident's or owners of project...

5. yes.

are you fishing for proof of something?