I’ve been a specialist in the education sector (K-12 equiv) for 17 years, I’m well reknown and have long service agreements in place with several schools so work comes to me without me having to chase it. I know this is the holy grail of architectural commissions. BUT – whilst I love working with the schools and it fits my social agenda that architecture should be for the people not rich idiots who think its OK to spend $16m on a house in a world where there is so much need, what I loathe is the Government meddling. New policies which add exponentially to my work, (with pressure to keep them low cost) no benefit (ie form filling and reports that achieve nothing other than butt covering for someone higher up the chain). What I’m finding is that with these policies 20-25% of the project cost is lost upfront – consultants, consents, project managers etc. Schools get so little funding anyway that they are not able to achieve what they have been tasked and are expected to do. I care!
