The Titanic Project of Value Creation
10.6.2024
The titanic project of value creation
At the NPM24 hosted by ATL this week in wonderful weather in Helsinki, we discussed business models among other issues. As we discussed business models and their principal functional division into 1. value creation; 2. value delivery and 3. value capture, the assumption was that the value creation part was obvious, as we all now that architecture creates value in varied different ways to varied group of stakeholders – right? But as we were discussing this, our focus was on the client and how to render our critical value more visible to him or her?
Thinking back on those discussions later, I thought it was interesting that we had assumed that value creation was clear, but I found that perhaps, from the client perspective it was less so.
That became the basis for these two skeches I shared with my fellow guests and hosts in Helsinki as we departed:
The right side one shows how frequently the client understands that he/she needs an architect for code compliance reasons, and assumes that an architect will ensure that the building will be aesthetically acceptible in whatever context that might be important to the owner (branding/social or just keeping up with the jones). There is a long list of other values and services we render to the project, but as a general assumption, each client might see one or two other as part of the tip of the iceberg, but mostly they are hidden beneath the surface.
The client has various reasons and values for the project, but as human beings, risk is naturally in forefront of our sensibilities, and in this case it translates into time and money. So the sketch visualises the worst fears of the clients: that the need for an architect has a potential to sink his project, never appreciating the full scope of the services the architect renders to the project.
The second one would then be „our goal“ where the client project values are being guided to harbor by the tugboat of an aesthetic solution, while all the other services rendered are visible to the client thoroughout the project (I accept that the fume from the chimney is not the best analogy – but I had to fit the text somewhere…).
The perseption of the client of our value in their project is critical, not only to the project but to the profession. This is a common Nordic issue, and I suspect, not limited to our contries only. Let´s figure out a way to make our value creation visible to our clients, big and small.
Thanks for excellent time in Helsinki!
Halldor Eiriksson
Chair of the board at SAMARK, the Icelandic Association of Architecture offices
and Architect at T.ark architects
PHOTO Gunnar Freyr Steinsson www.gunnarfreyr.com