why hire an architect

To answer this question we need to ask another question:  What is Community?  

Here are some ways Dictionary.com defines community:

Community  [kuh-myoo-ni-tee] 

1. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. Also a locality inhabited by such a group.

2. a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists (usually preceded by the): the business community; the community of scholars.

3. Ecology. an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area.

We especially identify with community as  ecology, an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area.  Subconsciously we know community exists at many scales.   It exists in both the built world and our human relationships. It happens at the scale of the family, extended family, work family, worship family and even civic family.  Architecture is pregnant with the potential to create a sensory environment to host and enhance community.  

It would be unwise to rush into building without hiring an architect to thoroughly examine all the forces at work.  Too many forces to list but to name a few;  local climate, physics, natural light, color, texture, views or lack of views, regional or even national building traditions, history, gender, age, physical ability, the hopes and dreams of the inhabitants, the budget, the main purpose of the building, the secondary purpose of the building, the list goes on...  Rushing into the building of something, is choosing to embrace all the unintended and often regrettable consequences of that choice.  Consequences such as poor craftsmanship, bad debt, bad design or unsafe design.  Instead, be patient, hire an Architect and listen to their advice.

Architecture and building are not the same thing.  Architecture is rare.  Building is common.  Our nation is full of buildings but not architecture.  The reasons for this are many, likely driven by ignorance, both greed and the honorable pursuit of money, or indifference.  So how do you know if something is architecture or if it is just building?  One obvious but necessary question to ask - was it designed by an Architect? Someone classically trained to take all of the forces at work on a building and compose them into a symphony of beauty, form and function.  If not, you are likely dealing with a building and not a work of architecture.

Why can't I just build a building?  Why does any of this matter?  I propose one answer is to question if you care about the next generation.  If you have children or grandchildren, do you care what their future looks like?  Do you care about their safety or opportunities for inspiration?  Of course you do!  Architecture and buildings often last a very long time.  Many many generations!  This can be difficult for some Americans to understand.  But it is true!  Buildings last for hundreds, some even thousands of years.  So let us not only think of ourselves and what we want to build.  Consider yourself yes, but also consider the community.  Or better still, hire an Architect to consider it for you!  It is what we love to do.