The professional quality of building design

The term ‘professional’ can be applied to those who offer goods or services for financial reward, which they attempt to maximize in response to prevailing market forces. The business arrangements associated with commercial design, including general office practice, conditions of employment, efficiency and profitability are essentially private matters to be agreed between employer and employee dictating the costs or fees that can be demanded or negotiated. Being ‘professional’ in this sense is about ‘making money’ and is already well documented by other authors.

It is not always compatible with the other definition of ‘professional’ which is about doing something in a responsible, conscientious manner. This is a concept of both personal and corporate behavior being controlled or motivated so that customers or clients can be assured that they are being offered, and are receiving the best possible goods or services under the circumstances. Evaluation of the professional quality of building design and the performance of designers is difficult for most clients because they do not know what to expect. They are not buying a product like a bunch of bananas or a television set, which can be seen and chosen from a range of demonstrated alternatives. They are buying a process leading to an end product and must rely on the vision and efforts of their advisers, which may range from brilliant to average to poor. For many clients, procuring a new building is a ‘once in a life time’ event, of which they have no previous experience and little time in which to undertake research to gain the necessary understanding or appreciation of the processes and the contributions expected of their advisers. They may also be unclear about the part that they should play themselves. The way in which the relationship between client and advisors develops can have a profound influence on the design process and the nature of the outcome itself.

For many products, it can be argued that quality is proportional to cost and generally the client ‘gets what they pay for’. This can be true for the bananas if the more expensive ones are bigger, fresher and taste better. It may be true of the more expensive television set, if it has a clearer picture, more elaborate controls and lasts for longer before needing replacement. For many elements found in buildings, it is certainly true. For example, the lifespan of a carpet exposed to heavy wear and tear is directly related to its cost for both manufacture and installation. But competent design is not always directly related to cost. A good designer may quickly see an excellent solution whilst a poor designer may take a long time to discover a mediocre one. An efficient designer incorporates all the relevant elements into the design whilst a disorganized designer misses out critical elements. In this respect, higher design costs will not guarantee the quality of the end product.

When goods like bananas, television sets and carpets are offered for sale, consumers not only have the benefit of legal protection with regard to remedies against faulty goods, but can purchase them with confidence, knowing that they are supplied or manufactured in accordance with applicable controls and standards, guaranteeing that they are of a certain quality, fit for the purpose intended. Measuring and checking can easily verify that the performance of the product is satisfactory. For design itself, defining useful quality assurance references is not so simple. The various institutes concerned with building design publish codes of conduct defining competent performance and acceptable ethical behavior so that in their view, the ‘public may rely on the standard of integrity and professionalism’ with which their registered members can be expected to comply. Some of the issues identified in the codes are specific to membership of each individual professional institute, like maintaining subscriptions and not bringing the ‘Institute’ into disrepute. They cover business arrangements such as agreement on fee charges and indemnity insurance to protect against the costs of mistakes. These codes are applicable to their qualified practitioners, and can be studied in their publications.