It's been a long time coming....

Finally! Two of the longest running client projects are in the construction phase! It's good to be out of the dog house and running around the yard a bit. With all of the stress of these past 4 months it's nice to be able to move forward and work on other projects. Sometimes it's just best to be able to hang on until the client sees the reality and that it did match up with what you said it would be. This pictured project has been in the works since 2007! All in all, the drama, the drawbacks, the delays, the STRUGGLE will be worth it for not only me but for the client as well.

All the Economic Uncertainty and yet, a Strange Optimism

It's nearing the Fall of 2011 and our "september rush" was met with mixed success. My definition of the "september rush" is one where clients start coming in due to kids going off to school, the winter coming on and the pressing need to get something going before next spring. This year it has begun to pick up. With all the turmoil of the world financial markets, the trashing of retirement accounts and the never-ending recessionary attitude many are just tired of being depressed. Get out, do something and accomplish that project you wanted to do but were just to hesitant to start.

My office has nearly always kept enough hands in enough cookie jars to make sure we are not completely dead or broke (for long). The only time we ever were at the brink was the winter of 2008 when all our projects ended and no new ones came in due to the Recession. That was quite the cold and quiet time until about mid-summer of 2009.

This Fall is seeing a mix of commercial and private projects and we are glad to have them. I'd rather be paid well and have less projects than have a large number of fee-poor projects that lamentably are nothing much more than "brush fires" that need constant attention to keep going.

With the world economic situation you would think everyone is running for cover and not spending any time thinking or working with Architects. Not the case. Instead, we have seen clients that just are tired of waiting and understand that while the world is a crazy place it is by no means a way to run one's life by and everything does have a way of working itself out in the end. Sanity, stability and growth do return and will do so once everyone starts focusing on what is good instead of what is bad and wrong.

Good luck to all and keep moving forwards!

Everyone has lost their minds, except for me...

This has certainly been a challenging summer. The big challenge has been the planning and zoning meetings and maneuvering through those towns/ villages that are now playing catch up with all the new environmental and zoning changes. There's nothing like a rapid rise in property values and out-of-state owners to jump start the process. I just think that many places just aren't up to snuff to handle the change.

The problem is that I have clients who get caught up in the process and suffer from the lack of understanding that these towns just don't want to address. Namely, the common sense factor. Stop the bureaucratic crap and see the forest for the trees and ACT! Tabling motions, postponing decisions, etc. really just add to the frustration.

It's a big race to either get ahead of what may happen with these boards and their possible delays or fight what is really just a large step towards inhibiting an owner's ability to use their property by delay tactics and procedural technicalities that mean nothing in the end.