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Living in the Real World: So You Want to Build a Building?

by Jim Greenman
July/August 1991
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/living-in/5008041/

You've made the decision to build a building or renovate a space and you have the financing. Great! What happens now? If you are smart, you'll find an architect.

Why Use an Architect?

Even if you know what you want, even if you have a contractor or developer who knows how to build buildings, even if you have a child care consultant who is an expert, get an architect.

Why? Because child care centers are not simple facilities, and most existing examples are hardly models - based on too little thought and too little money (see "If I Had a Hammer," Exchange, October 1988). Knowing what you want is usually knowing how to correct the flaws in the few centers you are familiar with. To make the most of the opportunity, work with the best architect you can find and afford, and together think through the center that will fit your demands for the next 10 or 15 years.

Architects know an enormous amount that you don't and can apply skills and perspective that few builders have. Architects are trained to see the possibilities inherent in space; balance numerous factors of form, function, structural integrity, codes, and regulations; ...

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