After many meetings with industry bodies, department heads and ministers I am starting to get a feel for the bigger picture and the issues we need to address.

The Holy Grail for us as a profession at present is recognition, and an appreciation of quality. Recognition of the skills that we possess and the positive impact that we can have, will result in a better standing within the industry. This should reduce unrealistic expectations, such as the misconception that we are able to design and document for open tender, a million dollar project in three weeks.

Recognition is needed from premiers, through to ministers, departments, private sector investors and the public. We need to dispel the myth that we are an expensive luxury, with more trouble than worth.

Damaging articles like Leo Schofield’s, which used the term ‘architectural vandalism’, can paint us as villains. Of course we find this hard to understand, as there are several hundred architects in Tasmania working on a daily basis, making a positive contribution to a huge range of projects. However, apparently none of these make juicy article fodder.

I have been working to gain architects recognition in the building industry. Congratulations and thanks to Merlin Constructions, who in their own funded advertisement in the HIA Awards supplement, thanked both the client and architect along with the building team, for their Custom Built Home of the Year Award. It is this industry recognition that should not be the exception, but the norm.

The second item, appreciation of quality, is something that we need to address to assist in gaining recognition. It is quality of outcome that has the potential to define us. You won’t always get quality unless you ask for it and are prepared to pay for it. If a tender package doesn’t talk about quality and have a mechanism to value it, then the tender will be assessed on cost and quality won’t be valued.  The lowest common denominator will prevail.

So there you have it. We as a profession have our work cut out for us, but our future does depend on it.

 

Andrew Williamson
Tasmanian Chapter President