smallprojects

The world of professional architecture tends to bifurcate at some unpleasant juncture during the course of all projects. On the one hand, one has the holy grail of design; the knit of space and technology, passion and practicality, client wants and client needs, building bylaws and creative possibility. On the other, one has the living hell of seeking approvals from the building authorities.

I have been led to believe that the Scandinavians run things differently up North. When it comes to the process of building submissions and authority approvals, our Viking counterparts have an interesting way of providing for accountability, check and balance. Authority submissions, for all intents and purposes, are taken care of by a professional collection of people; individuals not necessarily trained as architects but with all the required skills to produce submission drawings and the know how to liaise with those in charge. Leaving architects to do what they should be doing best, design. Not shunting between departments for stamps of receipt nor patiently sitting in lobbies for appointments on issues already seen to, not learning about what it takes to be a delivery boy.

It is simple, really; full authority submissions are detrimental to the design of good work by virtue of lost design time. So let us rid ourselves of peripherals and start focussing on the design of good, working buildings. I think Scandinavian style works best.