A normal fella
Hi. I’m Jason Laity. Director of Unity Architects.
Clients have many names for me. (I won’t tell you them all!)
But during a telephone call with one of my recent clients, she referred to me as ‘a normal fella.’ I absolutely loved it. And so did she!
So you can now call me ANF, if you like.
That is what all architects should be. Just normal people. The issue is that it probably doesn’t feel this way from a client’s perspective.
The client that referred to me as ‘a normal fella’ made contact with Unity Architects to discuss a project to her home.
During the telephone conversation, we went through the usual list of question and answers, one of them being the anticipated construction budget. The client informed me it was £50,000, including kitchen fitout.
The client mentioned her Initial brief was to bolt a single-storey rear extension onto their mid-terraced dwelling.
We agreed to meet at the dwelling and I sat with the client for two hours. I listened to what the client had to say, what she wanted from the spaces and how she thought the spaces could improve her daily living.
With an understanding of the client’s requirements, the restrictive development constraints at the rear of the terraced houses, acknowledgement of the spatial inefficiencies of the existing dwelling and the context of the proposed construction budget, my feedback to the client was as follows:
“I can deliver the spaces you require, in accordance with your construction budget. We won’t need to add an extension onto the rear but we will need to demolish a small outbuilding and make some structural alterations.”
The quote above sounds dead easy. You can read it in just a few seconds. But the truth is that my response is loaded with VALUE, to the client’s benefit. This is exactly what architects should do. Introduce their professional skills to maximise the return on investment.
To add greater context, unbeknown to me, the client had already approached other architectural practices before discovering Unity Architects.
But she felt uncomfortable with those architects who she had engaged with. Why? Because one of them laughed when she mentioned her budget was £50,000. That architect’s response was something along the lines of “clients spend £50,000 on just a kitchen!”
I actually know the architect who said this from our times spent working for AJ100 practices. It is the kind of wanky behaviour nobody wants, and it doesn’t do the profession any favours.
Some clients do spend £50,000 on just a kitchen fitout. Sometimes more. So it’s not an inaccurate statement. What is shocking, is that the client was laughed at and made to feel uncomfortable.
So much so, that she began her search for a new practice. I won’t blow my trumpet too strongly, but this was a great scenario. The client found ‘a normal fella’ who just so happened to be an architect that could help her make her project work.
Unity Architects won a new project. The client was in receipt of the spaces they sought, with a design that was targeted at the construction budget from the outset.
If you would like to view this project, click here:
https://www.unityarchitects.co.uk/our-work/guy-street
Clients are always at the forefront of our thoughts. Whether your project is XS, S, M, L or XL, the approach to design and commitment to the client remains consistent.
Unity Architects are always prepared to listen. If we can help you turn your development ambitions into reality by introducing our professional skills, then we will do so.
Feel free to talk. After all, I am just ‘a normal fella.’
Faithfully,
ANF!