Whether it was displeasure or pride, professional ignorance or common inability people often face, is not important in the end. It shows the entire craft in a bad light. An architect is an artist, designer, manager and psychologist in one. They should be the ones who can collect and evaluate all available information and create the most suitable masterpiece at a given time, for a given company, for YOU. I refer to “YOU” on purpose. When we discuss it in detail, the basic fact is that architecture was and still is personal. Let’s just have a look at a few centuries back to the past. For whom, with what assignment, with what instructions or purpose cathedrals, chapels and palaces were built? It was for a particular client of a work and if it was a ruler, nobility or the Church itself did not play a role. Architecture is not exact. It is not technical. It connects everything. Math, geometry, aesthetics and a certain dose of emotion. Good architecture is a result of a combination of client's desire and artist's skill.
Imagine that you are in a shop choosing a bouquet. Although all of them are perfectly tied and beautiful, yet you are attracted to one you eventually purchase. It was emotion itself that touched you. You do not know what, but you feel it. This should be the same feeling when choosing your architect. Who your partner is going to be, matters. Choose by your heart. The following used to be true but I dare say it is not anymore. The more popular the more expensive, the more expensive the better. Likewise, the fact that everyone is equal regarding their abilities is not true either.
You need to trust your architect that they want the best for you, they can foresee and understand you at the same time. It is a mutual partnership though. On the other side, there is an architect, who, like you, must know if their skill matches your vision which is also within their personal convictions. When you make such a choice, later war of personalities in the process of creation is really not appropriate. It is like with a pediatrician. You let them take care of your child, not because you have to but because you trust them. You do not doubt their decision when they ask you to undergo a magnetic resonance. The similar should apply to your working relationship with an architect. Fortunately, we live in a modern period where people are not forced to do anything. We do what we want to do.
I have to say, from my own experience, that I used to be not so lucky with my choices, too. Nowadays, I follow my feelings. Indeed, I would lie if I said that I was born this way or it just happened to me. I believe that intuition is an ability one may improve or, in other words, sharpen. It is right to say that everything depends on people. On a person as such. It is not about politicians, lawyers, doctors, teachers or architects. When we leave our society and its functioning out of consideration, in terms of power, everything depends on a particular person. When you enter into any partnership, personal or work, only a particular person matters. This is something you should care about. You, your family, your surroundings, your space, your home, what you do, people you choose and time you spend or lose with them; all of these things matter. Be careful about your choice. Do not be uninterested, otherwise you will be dissatisfied. Do things in a way that makes you feel proud and happy. Happy with your right decisions that often stand for well spent time and finances.
Postscript
Have you ever thought about the fact that certain professions have been male dominated for centuries? And even today, there is a belief that males are simply better at them than females. When they asked me what I did for my living, my response was: “I am an architect”. Not a female architect but an architect. I have not noticed that the same “gender” typecasting would exist in the field of medicine, economy or law. It is likely to be due to the fact that there is the received wisdom saying that males are better at architecture than females. That they are the ones who understand the construction. But architecture is a space, not a construction. It is the mother of all arts. It is its cross-section. It is more about an emotion and excitement that the construction itself. To put it simply, I am a woman and I am proud of my attitude and potential. I am proud to be able to think technically and constructively more that any man so I can make solutions and concepts in a more distinctive way than any other man. I see things differently. I perceive them differently. Just because I am a woman. I perceive subliminal vibrations, perceptions, colors, materials and details. I am able to use reason and simultaneously add emotions. To be a psychologist and a designer in one. And there is more of us. More females who can compete in the world of males. Compete DIFFERENTLY. Because we are women. Let’s recall laureates of Pritzker Price such as Zaha Hadid or Kazuyo Sejima (SANAA) or a couple of other noticeable female figures of world architecture such as Farshid Moussavi (FOA, today as FMA) or Elke Delugan - Meissl from the Austrian studio Delugan Meissl or Eva Jiřičná (EJA) or a designer Barbora Škorpilová who runs a unique studio “Mimolimit” in our neighboring country of the Czech Republic. Take a look and see. You will see that there is something in them, something completely different from what you were used to. Why? Because we are women.