When you bring in an Architect

Long time ago, when we only begun to learn the wisdom of architecture, we had introductory lectures to our specialty, like all first-year students.
These lectures were outside of curriculum. They invited real, living masters to them, so they could share their experience with us.

Nobody remembers the lectures as a whole anymore. But one moment got stuck in memory firmly, and with time it turned into the story about three houses.

THE STORY ABOUT THREE HOUSES
His first house, a man usually prefers to build by himself.
It’s understandable. Who knows better than him what is needed in his house and why? How wide and how long it should be? What rooms are needed for complete happiness? How much concrete to pour in the foundation and what to build the walls from?

And all of this is based on experience of living in usual three-room apartment, where the family lives now, all those proverbial seven people and three generations.
After all the effort put in and the money invested, the house is built, and the happy family moves in.

And only there they understand what they learned during the construction.
Designing, purchasing, managing a crew and the building itself...
And also the eternal question:
“Why it was done not the way we wanted?”
As result of this very valuable experience, it becomes obvious: they need to build a second house. This time without the mistakes of the first one.

The second house will be built too, but the family won’t move in it anymore.
By this moment the head of family and his household, who may not be seven people anymore, realize that the family has changed and the list of mistakes is already visible. And it means the next house must be built!
And only on the stage of the third house the man finally becomes a client and invites the Architect.

Author: Gleb Ivlev