14 Aug Self Build Thoughts From 1909

I was reading through one of the many books in my library and came across this gem which is even more relevant now than then.

“Although the architect’s authority must be supreme in matters of design and taste, we may expect him to satisfy our family’s requirements and our ideals of home life. It is essential there should be no mis-understanding with the architect: to give him carte blanche does not solve the difficulty; he must understand our point of view.”

“THE SMALL HOUSE, Arthur Martin 1909”

He goes on to say

“An architect is not only a person who is employed to make dull working drawings, and keep a sharp eye on the builder; he is much more than that, especially in building a homestead. He has to produce the ideal house, an important part of our whole conception of the home which we wish to possess. His duty is first to guide our ideas, then to give us ideas, and finally to produce a concrete realisation of them. Unless we are prepared to discuss the home freely with him, and unless we tell him every whim and fancy we may possess on the subject, he starts on his work most seriously handicapped.”

Those words are true for homes and any other building an architect designs, whether factory or hospital etc.

All architects must be registered with the Architects Registration Board. If not registered, not an architect, or even close. There is no ‘equivalent’ profession.