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| 1. President - elect Donald Trump and his opponent, Hilary Clinton during the first Presidential Debate |
The highly
anticipated election for the 45th President of the United States of America has
finally been dispensed with. Phew!
We no see or hear word that
period! Preceded by a contentious, acrimonious and no holds
barred contest, the emergence of Donald Trump as the President- elect over the
preferred candidate, Hillary Clinton sent shock waves across the world. In
Nigeria, we went to sleep with Hillary in an early lead but woke up on the
9th of November 2016 with the unlikely and underrated Donald Trump
getting the required number of Electoral College votes to win. What a red
letter day!!
to publicly apologize for what it termed “a hasty and tone deaf post – election message”.
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| 2. Trump Tower, a 58 storey mixed use skyscraper located in Mid-town Manhattan, New York. |
By virtue
of his real estate empire, Trump has naturally had a long-standing relationship
with architects, and this would continue post-presidency. But during the first
Presidential Debate, Hillary Clinton made pointed reference to Trump’s refusal
to pay an architect his outstanding fees for a completed project. In
2002, Andrew Tesoro’s New York based firm, Tesoro & Associates had been
commissioned by the Trump organization to design a new clubhouse at the Trump
National Golf Club, Westchester, New York. Things progressed smoothly (with
Trump expressing satisfaction throughout the project) until it was time for the
final payment in 2006. Ghen!
Ghen!! By the time Trump and his team had aggressively
renegotiated the earlier agreed fee, Tesoro felt bullied and railroaded to
collect a mere $25 000 out of the $ 140 000 balance due to him. The tough
decision to accept the meagre offer instead of suing for the full fees was in
order to avoid a long drawn out and expensive court case even though his
chances of winning were high. As a fellow comrade-in-design, I was
naturally pained, the matter
touch me reach bone!!
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| 3. Top - Bottom: Andrew Tesoro, the architect who says Trump refused to pay his full fees for design of the Clubhouse at the Trump National Golf Club, Westchester, New York. |
The sword
of architectural practice in Nigeria is seemingly double edged. The architect
not only has to deal with the client’s reluctance to pay full professional fees
on a frequent basis but also with the general public’s low perception about the
role of the architect in the built environment. Like the programme ‘Wetin Lawyers Dey Do Sef?’ created
by the late Efere Ozako, copyrights expert and entertainment lawyer, it seems
pertinent to ask Wetin
Architects Dey Do Sef? Two key things - firstly and most
importantly, architects design and do not draw. Every single line made by an
architect is a graphical representation of a plethora/ conglomeration of design
ideas. Secondly, we are not engineers!! This should be an obvious &
no-brainer right? Wrong! Artisans and a lot of the general public often cannot
differentiate between the two professionals. On and off-site, the artisan
commonly refers to the architect as ‘engineer’ until you educate and tell the
‘culprit’ in no uncertain terms to cease and desist!
If you
will, think of architects as the Guardians of the Galaxy Built
Environment! By definition, an architect is a professional trained in the art
and science of designing buildings. They plan; design buildings to suit
existing site conditions and coordinate construction.Remember Ehiwenma and the high octane party she attended in 2042 in her
3D-printed outfit? (Read here)Imagine if the various wedding vendors were left to their own
devices without an event planner/coordinator to ensure the smooth and seamless
execution of their roles. Surely that would be begging for an unmitigated party
disaster? So how can a building project be deemed successful
(post occupancy inclusive) without the architect’s participation or input? An
architect is more than an architect!! In the immensely popular book, The
Architect In Practice, an anonymous quantity surveyor in 1951 was quoted, “I
have great admiration for an architect who does his job well, because he has
one of the most difficult jobs in the world. He must be an artist but at the
same time in his administration of a building contract be a business man and in
interpreting it, be even something of a lawyer!” You see?!
At the
most basic level, the architect is charged with the responsibility of providing
design solutions that meet and even surpass the client/end user’s
requirements, then in consonance with the relevant engineers, ensures that the
structure is stable and efficient. Last but most importantly, the design
solution must be aesthetically pleasant. Naturally, the roles and responsibilities
of the architect expand with the project complexity. Lest I forget, whilst
creatively proffering solutions, architects from design stage ensure that
developments adhere to zoning ordinances, statutory bye-laws and requirements
of the locality/region. The client thereby rests assured knowing that the
government bulldozers are compelled to ‘jump
and pass’ the structure on their next mission!
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| 5. Scene of a collapsed building |
In
situations where the architect’s involvement is restricted to the
pre-construction stage, because in the client’s estimation, “they charge too
much”, the loser in the scheme of things is not only that same client or
the end user, but by extension, the built environment. Then we have the
developers. Suffice it to say that is an interesting story for another day.
Many developers erroneously think that architecture is only about ‘drawing’
plans and ‘production’ of slick high definition three-dimensional visualizations
for obtaining finance and marketing purposes! A DIY (Do-
It-Yourself) approach in matters concerning the building industry makes for
chaotic, unproductive, hostile and even dangerous environments. Incessant
building collapse is just one of the glaring examples of architects
and allied professionals' functions not being given or allowed full expression
by commission or omission! Let professionals handle their business!
The benefits are astounding and enormous.
Read this article
on BellaNaija
Photocredits: 1. Vervepoints, 2. www.trumptowerny.com, 3. Top- www.building.co.uk, Bottom - www.architizer.com 4. www.housean.com 5. www.guardian.ng.com
I enjoyed the trip through the tale! Another angle that shows the imaginaTIVe potentials of the Architect is clearly shown in the narraTIVe!
ReplyDeleteIndeed an Architect is more than an Architect! Dazzol!