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How not to value-engineer

R. Buckmister Fuller (L) and Norman Foster (R, with watch)

In the article “Why Is Europe Winning?” in the February 2005 issue of Architecture, author Peter Buchanan discusses some reasons that clients turn to European design teams for expertise and innovation.

His observations are mostly balanced, often surprising, and sometimes revelatory.

Some select quotes:

“An American architect-engineer now working in London comments: ‘In the United States, goodwill has been value-engineered away. Clients and contractors profess willingness to innovated, but only if shown [a precedent] in a catalog or a successful existing application.’”

“For European architects committed to technological innovation, design is an extended process that continues in close collaboration with all parties right from inception to completion. Structural and mechanical engineers have been known to accompany the architect even on the initial site visit to discover and discuss factors that might influence the design and its construction.”

“Owner-occupiers build a greater proportion of business premises there than in America. Unlike developers, such clients expect innovative solutions tailored to their precise needs to improve efficiency and user satisfaction, which deliver huge economic benefits in all but the short term.”

“The British profession of quantity surveying provides invaluable support when innovating. Rigorously measured “bills of quantities” and independent advice on cost control reassure architects about a design’s economic viability. Quantity surveyors also check the tendency of builders to overprice and over-order when faced with the familiar.”

“…some British engineers wonder if buildings like Swiss Re’s 30 St. Mary Axe (by Foster and Parners) mark a climax for such intensively and collaboratively designed architecture. They worry that, with Europe emulating America, competitive fee tendering is driving firm billings below the threshold at which thorough and innovative work is feasible.”

Thursday | 17 February 2005 | Inspiration