An Architect friend once told me if he charged what it cost him to do everything the code told him to do he’d never get hired because builders and developers wouldn’t like his fees. Conversely, a Developer friend once told me it was easier to beat up the design professional on his fee because in the end, the building inspector will approve what the code requires and ‘will tell me what the Architect forgot’.
This type of wishful thinking has frequently been worth the risk in years past when local politics and local regulatory eyes were the only ones taking (or not taking) an interest in your design and building performance. But this new century is well on it’s way to making a statement that new interests and advocacies from outside your local view are taking a keen and purposeful interest in what you’re doing, and more importantly, what you’re not doing.
This December 4th article in Global Accessibility News is of interest and worth following for future updates. You get a quick sense of what these outside interests are, their growing frequency and sophistication, and at least when it comes to accessible design, how long they’ve been growing their role and expertise in their advocacy. Just my 2 cents but you might be well served to plan on keeping up when it comes to your design and construction endeavors.
Click here to access the GAN article