Architecture firms come in all sizes, from sole-practitioners to large multi-discipline companies. If your project is large, complex, repetitious, or does not need an individualized design, a large firm may make the most sense. Large firms often have specialists in various aspects of design, and can bring a depth of technical knowledge and experience. But there is a drawback to that compartmentalization of the design process. If your project is unique and you would like a finely tailored solution to your needs, working with a small firm can offer many benefits.
Listening
There are many architectural solutions to most design projects, but only a few that will truly reflect the values and goals of a particular client. For an architect to find the solution that resonates most deeply, they must start by understanding the client. Key to that process is the act of listening. In a small firm, the same person is interviewing the client and doing the design work – nothing gets lost in translation. More importantly, however, is that a good small firm will begin each project from the ground up, informed by past experience but not limited by it. This means using active listening to find what is most meaningful to the client: taking the initial client answers and going deeper, to find what is behind the surface desires.
Most clients do not have a lot of architectural experience, and so it is the job of the architect to help guide them to reflect deeply. A client may say they want a Victorian architectural style, but further questioning might reveal that their grandmother lived in a Victorian home, and what the client really wants is the sense of warmth and security that they felt when they visited as a child. Or a company may say that they want a new building to project strength, but really they want to be strong in order to give back to the community that supported them, and so a building that is respectful and open to the community better reflects their true values. A small firm can take the time and fresh perspective to get to these more meaningful values through careful, deliberate, and active listening.
Analysis
Once an Architect understands the needs, desires, and goals of the client (also known as the program), they must understand the site and conditions that will operate on the building. Analysis of the site will include physical factors such as solar angles, prevailing winds, view corridors, and cultural factors, such as historical context, surrounding buildings, and the needs of the broader community. Doing a deep dive into these factors and analyzing them takes time and an open mind. If a firm has done 30 libraries in the past, there is a tendency to assume a knowledge of what is needed and not do a deep analysis of this particular site, client, and context. A good small firm will explore factors and unique conditions that will enable the final design to fit harmoniously into its setting.
Holistic Design
In order to design buildings that are alive and responsive to a client’s needs, the designer must pay attention to the “wholeness” of the project, from the history of the community to the hardware on the cabinets. This can happen naturally in a small firm, but becomes more difficult when the design gets compartmentalized to different people. A thoughtful small firm should understand that good design occurs across multiple scales, and all must work together for a healthy building. The site design should reflect the building form which should reflect the cabinet detailing, as the plan geometry should reflect the elevation and section geometry. This process can best be accomplished with a generalist – a designer who sees across scales and specialties, and focuses on the whole.
An analogy would be specialized medicine versus a general practitioner. The specialist will likely have a greater technical knowledge (and equipment) for a particular aspect of our health. But they will lack a holistic understanding of all the factors affecting a person. The specialist may respond with an aggressive treatment of an isolated element, rather than a milder balancing of health factors that could be more effective. You are probably familiar with a new radiology wing of the hospital that sits like a space ship in its neighborhood, for example, or a new hotel that looks like an efficient but lost and isolated member of the community.
Responsiveness
It is estimated that a typical architecture project requires 100,000 decisions. Those decisions are often made jointly by the client and the architect, through all the phases of design and construction. When the client has a single point of contact, communication can be quick, deep, and easy. Communication does not get passed up a ladder, or down a chain.
The client of a small firm knows that they can easily reach the person responsible for the success of their project. When communication is easy, the information transmitted can be deep and nuanced. Further, because the small-firm Architect knows all parts of the project, they are an efficient gatekeeper of information, making sure the client knows what they need to know but is not deluged with non-essential information.
Responsibility (for the whole)
Large firms are made of people who specialize in a part of the project. Large firms have people who oversee the entire project, but they are not the ones making the decisions on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, there is not someone with a deep sense of responsibility for the outcome of the project as a whole. In a smaller firm, one or a few people are involved at every scale and every level of the project. They have a commitment to the success of the entire project, not just a portion of it. Every project, no matter how small, is important to the small firm.
Making
Building is an optimistic act, and befittingly it should be exciting and fun. A small firm goes on a journey with the client and builder, and can be there through the highs and also help both the client and the builder navigate challenges that may arise.
An important part of the construction process is feedback – the ability to stand on site, or in a partially framed room, and make decisions based on what is there and not what is on paper. Sometimes opportunities become apparent, or problems, and they can be adjusted or revised by paying attention to the feedback coming from the building itself. This can happen with a small firm, where the decision makers are all together, and when the principal designer is also the principal construction administrator.
