It all starts with a commission-or contract-from a client.The commission may involve the design of a single building or a group of buildings and the spaces between them.The client may be a person,a board of directors,a government department or a business.
Usually,the architect leads a team of specialists including structural,mechanical and electrical engineers,as well as others.The architect must also understand and deal with building codes and bylaws set out by municipal and federal government.
The architect keeps everyone on time and on budget.Technical knowledge,good people skills and no-nonsense business sense are all important to this task.
What's the bottom line? Architecture is a business.Being creative and designing something beautiful are only the first steps in making a vision come to life.