Management in an architectural firm includes project management and firm management primarily. In addition, the manager’s functions cover the administration of construction contracts and related activities, if any. The application of modern management techniques can increase the efficiency of an architectural organization by 10-30% (Kocakaya, 2019). At the same time, the aim of management optimization is not to increase the number of instructions and stricter control but to create a favorable, creative work environment at the workplace. Management will make me a mixed-type leader, enabling me to distribute responsibilities among the bureau members more appropriately and consider their wishes.
The emergence of the idea of an architectural project is not a sufficient condition for its birth and realization. It must manage for the architect’s idea to take a logical shape and become a working draft that can transfer to the construction site for implementation. The role of management at this stage is to make the project technologically, economically, and aesthetically attractive – this function is the basis of the project’s initiation. Knowledge of management and governance basics allows one to properly and effectively conduct the preparatory work before implementing the idea.
Designing is a high-risk enterprise from the management point of view. Design activity risks consist of the uncertainty of conditions of its implementation and approximation of design parameters obtained in the course of conceptual design. Accordingly, reducing risks of investment and construction projects is also connected with closer cooperation of the customer and the architect, both in drawing up the program and forecasting target parameters. It requires a broad set of interdisciplinary knowledge in management and administration. Additionally, this knowledge allows for creating a cohesive group of specialists from different fields and effectively coordinates their work on the architectural project (Kocakaya, 2019). The success of the project and the entire firm providing services in the architecture and planning sector will depend on the choice of communication and interaction.
The architect becomes a natural intermediary between the project participants because the architectural part serves as a communication interface between the different specialists. Management in an architecture firm is mostly informalized, which makes it less efficient as the number of employees grows. The Achilles’ heel of management is often referred to as project termination: the team is often too busy with the next project to close the previous one correctly. In turn, the project closure process presents an excellent opportunity for the manager’s personal growth as an effective manager and team growth. Teams that devote time to the project closure procedure are significantly more successful in working on subsequent projects (Kocakaya, 2019). The skills acquired in this program will empower the team to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
Project closure involves evaluating the activities and methods that contributed to the success, fixing problems in the work organization, and improving the work on the new project. In addition, the manager uses a streamlined procedure to identify each team member’s contribution to the work, archive materials, and work, and, finally, celebrate the completion of the work. From design management to project management – patterns of organizational development and points of growth for the profession. Management reveals the skills of an effective manager in an architectural office and establishes key processes during project activities. Managing an architectural firm and projects is a set of measures, cases, and actions that can be implemented with the skills and knowledge gained in the management program.
Reference
Kocakaya, M. N. (2019). Building information management (BIM), a new approach to project management. Journal of sustainable construction materials and technologies, 4(1), 323-332. Web.