Architectural management

Architectural management falls into two distinct parts, office management and project management. Office management provides an overall framework within which individual projects are commissioned, designed and completed. Both parts have the same objectives but are typically addressed by separate management systems. Office management involves the allocation and financing of resources, principally premises, trained staff and computer systems, and on establishing and charging appropriate fees for the services rendered. Project management focuses on timescales, developing a design from initial concept to working drawings, and managing the construction process.

The essence of architectural management is to ensure that work on a project is cost effective, to achieve a balance between profitability and design quality.

Development

Standard management techniques and tools, borrowed mainly from repetitive industrial processes, have not always fitted comfortably with the image of the architect as a creative individual, rather than a professional member of a business team. The term ‘architectural management’ has been in use since the 1960s as building construction became more complex, because of a shift from standard traditional construction details, to innovation and experimentation. Architectural practice became correspondingly more complex, and therefore more in need of a disciplined approach to support and enhance the process of creating architecture. Efforts to combine managerial thinking with the management of architectural practices eventually gave rise to the establishment of architectural management as a new discipline of study and practice.

Bibliography

1. Emmitt, Stephen (2001). "Architectural management — an evolving field". Engineering Construction and Architectural Management journal. 6 (2).
2. Emmitt, Stephen (2009). Architectural management: International research and practice. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
3. Emmit, Stephen (2007). Design Management for Architects. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
4. Boissevain, Gustaaf W.O. (1995). "Architectural management and design management - the state of the art in Netherlands and ideas for research". International Journal of Architectural Management, Practice and Research. 9. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)