HOUSE PLANS AT DISCOUNTED RATES?

Architects don't generally advertise, yet it pains me to say that a sudden trend in advertising has produced a very grave situation for architects as professionals.

Reaching deep into my post box this morning, I pulled out about five soggy fliers. Now I generally don't read fliers, they go directly into the bin. But wait, in bold red Arial font, this one caught my attention. "HOUSE PLANS AT REDUCED PRICES " , choke.

Reduce is a word which South African architects know well. We are fully fledged reductionists. Firstly, in this cut throat business of securing a commission, we ignore our institute rates as mere formalities in the industry. Architects complain of other professionals on the project team who receive far greater remuneration for their work, yet we don't stick to our guns and charge for our services. Secondly our clients complain of cost and we reduce the quality of materials, which cheapen even the best of designs.

It is with this in mind, that this flier becomes the red flag.

Is this the state of architecture? Do architects now advertise, in the post like estate agents? We need to be strict with these people, who are churning out millions of Balinese, Tuscan and Classic templates for consumption by the unwitting masses.

Being pacifists we standby and watch these people reduce our professions to "someone who draws up plans". We spend ours thinking, drawing, talking, listening and then hopefully come up with something of greater value than a plan. Our role doesn't stop there. Who is going to argue with the builder to attain quality of workmanship, or make sure the client isn't being cheated?

These reductionists are perhaps more hazardous than we think. They have websites with comparisons of normal architectural fees juxtaposed with their reduced fees. The fees are so low that one cannot even buy a roll of paper for a plotter with this sum.

We need to be firm with these guys and regulate their prices, or regulate their business model. My worry is that this is a taste of things to come. Our profession needs to adopt our own advertising slogan, or steal one from the famous L'Oriel advert :"Because we're worth it!".