There is a clear divide between Architects Firms with regards to Residential and Commercial abilities. Either a firm will be predominantly one or the other however will dabble on the other side every now and then. In our experience we have dealt with both sides of this profession. We have designed homes of over 1,500sqm; shopping centres of 10,000sqm and office blocks of up to 3,500sqm however never massive commercial jobs of over 10,000sqm or more. How does one Firm gain a reputation for commercial projects while others never seem to pass the magical 10,000sqm mark?
As a Firm you build a brand, either it’s a brand that is known to the general public, usually these types of firms are based well within the residential market, while other brands are known within the commercial, industrial sector or even in Architectural circles (for public works etc). The two are completely different animals where residential Architecture is personnel, private and relatively small scale however large scale in the number of projects required to sustain the firm; while commercial Architecture is formal, public and large scale and a firm may only need one or two big jobs per year to sustain itself.
However, residential Architects in Johannesburg especially, would have been glad to have stayed on the domestic side of the scale during the slump in the economy since 2008. It was the residential work, be it alteration to new residences that kept these firms afloat while the commercial sector shelved and ceased many large scale commercial projects during this time. Although many of us prefer and would love to be involved in more large scale commercial work, after all the fees are good, the clients don’t have any personal attachments to the buildings and the contracts are followed to the letter; it’s the smaller residential jobs that have kept many of us alive and will continue to do so. Perhaps splitting a firm into two divisions is the answer where you have the “bread and butter” division with one name associated more with residential Architecture while during the good times you have a second division with another name associated with large scale commercial work if you lucky enough to have the connections and the reputation to get it.
Hmmm…. Dufourq & Associates…. Sound commercial enough for you?