Mind your Business !!

The biggest folly Indian Architectural fraternity or teachers have done, and continue to do, is that they lay lot of emphasis only on creative/designing skills of the students. There is persistent naive effort to create an impression that architecture is a field of Engineering which requires unique skills set. As such every Architect in India comes out of the school with such a notion and strongly feels that the world outside is just waiting to welcome them with open arms. Most of them start off with this delusion, which is the biggest disconnect any Architect could possibly have from reality.

Factually speaking, Architecture is a profession where disciplines like fine arts, design, construction managment, business managment etc are all rolled into one. Unlike other fields, it requires working knowledge of many branches of engineering like civil , electrical ,mechanical etc to succeed.

Once out in the field, most architects realise ,sooner than later in their career, that their profession is not at all different than producing/dealing in any other “commodity”, like an automobile, handbag, toothpaste etc.

Hence, like any other production company , an Architectural firm also needs the support of all the departments necessary to conduct any such business and sometimes even more:

Managment, Marketing, Purchase, Production, Sales, Accounts and yes AMC too !! Associates, Vendors, Managers, Supervisors, Dealers etc etc….you name it !!Only a complete supply chain and a crazy number of skilled people can complete this creative process too. So why so much fuss about it being just a one man show ?!!

Since such an important & integral practical knowledge about the subject is not imparted during the learning years in architectural schools , it gets pretty challenging to pickup the nuances of the profession while in practice. For an architectural career to succeed in India it is pertinent to have a holistic approach. Those architects who grew up thinking that they were on a pedestal in some noble profession ( like doctors, teachers etc ) serving humanity and everybody is looking up to them, are set for some major disappointments. A business by any other name would still be a business. And those who donot admit/agree tend to suffer/crib and get left behind frustrated.

The client in the Indian market is out (except for a very few niche/uber rich/ultra rare segment in some la la land somewhere) for getting a product and architects (or their firms) are nothing but a medium to satisfy/quench that demand/thirst or craving…nothing else. Infact, Indian market treats Architects just like an OEM, Dealer & Facilitator all rolled into one.

For any business to be workable or profitable it is important to understand the demand and take care of the supply, not the other way round.

Personally an Architect may be in love with his/her work and creative instincts. But at the end of the day they must learn it pronto to convert such emotions/creative juices into a saleable product for a willing client. Otherwise that “awesome” creativity may never see the light of the day & might not ever get a chance to come out of that “awesome” mind/paper.

If Architects sell an Architectural “product” thinking about it as a precious piece of art /sculpture and expect the buyer/client to treat it similarly, they are in for some rude shocks all along their career. They must not forget that for the client/buyer that creativity ( product of labour & love ) is nothing more than an everyday utility item and they may not look at it as romantically. While the Architect is free to think he/she is creating a masterpiece, the client/buyer is mainly thinking about the money that goes into the OEM’s pocket while extracting their own maximum gains. Just like any other buying/selling business….isn’t it ?!!

So simply put, better to be practical rather than poetical about your architectural genius or else, keep romancing your dreams.

Cheers !!