The Fountainheadache: The Politics of Architect-Client Relations
- ISBN-10
- 0471309923
- ISBN-13
- 9780471309925
- Category
- Architecture / General
- Pages
- 234
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1995-03-20
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Author
- Andy Pressman
Description
"I don't intend to build in order to have clients. I intend to have clients in order to build."—Howard Roark, hero of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead
Howard Roark's attitude toward clients was guaranteed to cause him endless headaches. Most architects understand that they must balance their creative ambitions with the client's need for a building that solves real-life problems, can be built for a reasonable cost, and doesn't leak. Learning to strike that balance, however, can be a painful trial-and-error process that produces its own special brand of headache.
The Fountainheadache investigates the complex, sometimes rocky relationship of architect and client through the personal recollections of some of America's best-known and most successful architects. Roger K. Lewis, Charles Gwathmey, Stanley Tigerman, and many others discuss their methods for establishing working relationships with clients, describe the impact of these relationships on the design process, and offer insights and advice on a broad array of issues covering a range of projects from single-family dwellings to large commercial buildings and public facilities.
Andy Pressman's often hilarious stories of his own fledgling practice illustrate the kinds of client-related problems that can take a young architect completely by surprise: A married couple can't agree on how to remodel their house, a client wants to have his house redesigned without meeting the architect, a couple allows a contingent of neighbors to grill the architect about his design. But from each jarring experience, Pressman draws a valuable lesson. He develops a set of guidelines that help bridge the gap that often separates architect from client, replacing frustration with satisfaction, conflict with collaboration, and disappointment with delight.
The Fountainheadache offers a candid and completely human perspective on the frustrations and joys of the architect-client relationship. It also provides plenty of practical advice that will help architects and prospective clients turn this potential headache into one of the most rewarding aspects of any building venture.
Get the book
Similar books
-
Pamphlet Architecture 20: Seven Partly Underground Rooms and Buildings for Water, Ice, and Midgets
By Mary-Ann RayRay reveals these quixotic spaces through constructed drawings, collaged photographs, and insightful text.
-
Douglas Johnson: Southwest Traditions and Modern Icons
By Paul Strand, Megan Fox, Gerald P. PetersDouglas Johnson: Southwest Traditions and Modern Icons
-
Morphosis, the Crawford House
By Frederic Migayrou, Aris Janigian, Michele SaeeThis is the first volume to showcase the Crawford House; it is emblematic of the dynamic interplay between art, architecture, and representation that characterizes Morphosis' work. -- from back cover.
-
Ruins Reused: Changing Attitudes to Ruins Since the Late Eighteenth Century
By Michael Welman ThompsonLooks at the development of an active relationship between the public and ruins as to how they can be preserved and used.
-
The Spaces of Organisation and the Organisation of Space: Power, Identity and Materiality at Work
By Karen Dale, Gibson BurrellThis book examines the role and utilization of workplace 'space': how it is organized; how it can reflect organisational values; how it can affect employee identities; and the many ways in which the physical environment can influence and ...
-
Simplified Design of Steel Structures
By James AmbroseThe seventh edition of Simplified Design of Steel Structures is an excellent reference for architects and engineers who need information about the common uses of steel for the structures of buildings.
-
Landscape Architecture: An Illustrated History in Timelines, Site Plans and Biography
By William A. Mann... previous experience in park design was gained through working under John Nash on the Regent's Park ( 1811 - c . 1828 ) . ... the La Follette legislation regulating grazing , preservation of the Appalachian watersheds , the Palisades ...
-
Warwickshire
By Nikolaus Pevsner, Alexandra WedgwoodWarwickshire
-
Frank Stella, 1970-1987
By Frank Stella, William Rubin... we owe thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Harry W. Anderson ; Ed Cauduro ; Douglas S. Cramer and the Douglas S. Cramer ... and Kate Keller , the Museum's Chief Fine Arts Photographer For the organization of the exhibition itself ( as well as ...
-
Designing the Exterior Wall: An Architectural Guide to the Vertical Envelope
By Linda BrockThe bond Colorado. of the concrete to the thin brick is dependent on a mechanical key provided by dovetailed slots in the thin brick as well as the balance between the initial rate of absorption of the brick and the cement-to-water ...